Raman spectroscopy is used to investigate the conformation and packing of isotactic crystalline alpha -phase polypropylene compared with lower-order beta -phase isotactic polypropylene and to study the solution behavior of atactic polypropylene. The high-frequency region of the spectrum is analyzed in light of a normal-mode calculation that takes into account the methyl-group vibrations. Differences in the thermal behavior between the two solid isotactic polypropylene samples are explained in terms of packing defects which exist in the beta -phase form.