# Confession explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

The narrator describes a unique method of detecting wrongdoing in his son: rather than solving a crime by finding the culprit, he already knows the culprit (his son) and must deduce what mischief has occurred based on the boy's guilty behavior.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humor and Satire

The poem humorously inverts the detective genre, portraying a father who already knows the 'criminal' and must uncover the unknown crime.

### Innocence and Growth

The son's childish attempts to hide his misdeed—through affection and denial—highlight the tension between innocence and the growing awareness of right and wrong.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who describes his reverse-detective method of parenting.

### Son Lou

The son whose guilty demeanor—hanging head, affectionate behavior, and stalling—signals that he has done something wrong.

## Key lines

> A sleuth like Pinkerton or Burns Is told that there has been a crime. He runs down clues and leads, and learns Who did the deed, in course of time. It’s just the other way with me: The first thing I am sure of is The criminal’s identity, And then I learn what crime was his.

A detective like Pinkerton or Burns is called after a crime and investigates to find the perpetrator. But I work in reverse: I already know who the culprit is—my son—and only later discover what he actually did wrong.

_The narrator explains his inverted detective method._

> When Son comes up with hanging head And smiles a certain kind of smile, When he’s affectionate instead Of playful; when he stalls awhile And starts to speak and stops again, Or, squirming like a mouse that’s caught, Asserts, “I am a good boy,” then I look to see what harm’s been wrought.

When my son approaches with a downcast look and a peculiar smile, acting loving rather than playful, hesitating and starting to speak only to stop, or wriggling like a trapped mouse and claiming 'I am a good boy,' I know to search for whatever damage he has caused.

_The narrator lists the behavioral cues that signal his son's guilt._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/confession
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters