My Last Duchess
The duke starts to reminisce on his young wife who is no deceased. He first thinks about the good things, and then his attitude turns bitter. He starts toe accuse the duchess of flirting with everyone who came around her, and not appreciating her current marriage. I think that the duke killed the duchess because of the lines "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together. There she stands as if alive." It looks like he had her killed, because she was not committed enough for him.
My Papa's Waltz
This poem to me is an alcoholic beating his child. The waltz is a metaphor to a drunken stumble. The narrator talks about scraping his ear on the buckle. He also says "you beat time on my head..." Which could be the boy just really getting beat by his father, the waltz is a just a metaphor.
Good Sarah, but a couple of them are maybe a little too oversimplified. :)
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