We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(9) Mount Everest
On a scale of 1 to James Joyce's Ulysses, this work ranks pretty high. It takes concentration and creativity to read it well, so make sure all your synapses are firing when you take this work on. There are also multiple narrative levels in here—lots of stories going on at once and a variety of timelines, too—all of which move fluidly, sometimes from one line of verse to the next. So, you know, stay sharp.
Because of all this narrative texture, it can be difficult to establish the subject/speaker and setting of any given section. You'll have to be patient and look for clues in the text to help you figure it out. And finally, there are many literary, historical, and pop culture references. Forget what you thought you knew—when it comes to this poem, pretty much no one knows enough. Thank heavens for Shmoop and Google, eh?