Poets Inspired by Titian - Wendy cope - Metamorphosis - Titian 2012 - The national gallery, London

I have to confess that I’m not terribly drawn to this kind of painting [Diana and Actaeon]. I’m not terribly drawn to paintings on mythological subjects. My favourite paintings are mostly Dutch – portraits and interiors, and I like landscapes. So, I thought, I wonder if I can do this? I wasn’t sure which one was Diana to begin with, but I suppose you look at the other figures, you say, well what did they really think about what was going on? I mean, this goddess, who seems quite horrible to me, did they think she was wonderful or did they have any choice about being her attendants? Would they have liked another job? To begin with I thought about this horrible, horrible story and I thought that perhaps as a woman I should try and see it from Diana’s point of view. But my attempts to see it from Diana’s point of view, to think that what she did was in any way justified, just defeated me. I couldn’t do it from Diana’s point of view and I didn’t really think I could do it from the point of view of this kind of sporty guy who’s keen on hunting. But I looked carefully at the picture and I saw this figure behind the pillar, and I thought: what’s she doing there and why is she looking so upset? Then I began to make up this story about this particular figure. A man! My secret love, who loved me too. He used to meet me by a certain tree. That day I couldn’t make our rendezvous Because the goddess said she needed me. Of course, everybody has to find their own way into it. I can’t remember how long it took me, but I think I probably spent longer worrying about whether I could do this, and then once I’d got an idea it didn’t take too long to write the poem. Any time I look at that painting now I’ll be looking for the person I wrote about.