We have seen, by taking a second look at the poems introduced in Chapter 1, how each of these poems is not only an utterance springing from a life-situation but also a construction, an arrangement. The elements that can enter into the arranging of a poem are very various. The author can be arranging a sound-pattern while arranging a list of parallel elements, and also, simultaneously, advancing the plot through a series of changes in tense or mood. Or the author can be setting up a stanza form at the same time as a logical form: the stanza form may tell us that the poem is a ballad, while the construction may tell us that the poem is built on a logical contrast between “then” and “now.” A poem may say “the same thing” three times (“I am growing old”), but each time may use a different model for aging and thus convey a different emphasis. Tones of voice can be varied, from protest to resignation, while another element is held constant (say, the tense of the verbs). By learning to look at each level of organization — phonetic, grammatical, syntactic, psychological, temporal, spatial, and so on — you learn to see the work the author is doing to make the poem both interesting on many levels and coherent in its arrangements. We will be looking at all of these levels in greater detail in subsequent chapters.