Key:
Red: Negative Imagery
Orange: Signs and Process of grief
Green: Positive Thoughts
Red: Negative Imagery
Orange: Signs and Process of grief
Green: Positive Thoughts
I had grieved. I had wept for a night and a day
over my loss, ripped the cloth I was married in
from my breasts, howled, shrieked, clawed
at the burial stones until my hands bled, retched
5 his name over and over again, dead, dead.
Gone home. Gutted the place. Slept in a single cot,
widow, one empty glove, white femur
in the dust, half. Stuffed dark suits
into black bags, shuffled in a dead man's shoes,
10 noosed the double knot of a tie around my bare neck,
gaunt nun in the mirror, touching herself. I learnt
the Stations of Bereavement, the icon of my face
in each bleak frame; but all those months
he was going away from me, dwindling
15 to the shrunk size of a snapshot, going, going.
Till his name was no longer a certain spell
for his face. The last hair on his head
floated out from a book. His scent went from the house.
The will was read. See, he was vanishing
20 to the small zero held by the gold of my ring.
Then he was gone. Then he was legend, language;
my arm on the arm of the schoolteacher-the shock
of a man's strength under the sleeve of his coat-
along the hedgerows. But I was faithful
25 for as long as it took. Until he was memory.
So I could stand that evening in the field
in a shawl of fine air, healed, able
to watch the edge of the moon occur to the sky
and a hare thump from a hedge; then notice
30 the village men running towards me, shouting,
behind them the women and children, barking dogs,
and I knew. I knew by the sly light
on the blacksmith's face, the shrill eyes
of the barmaid, the sudden hands bearing me
35 into the hot tang of the crowd parting before me.
He lived. I saw the horror on his face.
I heard his mother's crazy song. I breathed
his stench; my bridegroom in his rotting shroud,
moist and dishevelled from the grave's slack chew,
40 croaking his cuckold name, disinherited, out of his time.
over my loss, ripped the cloth I was married in
from my breasts, howled, shrieked, clawed
at the burial stones until my hands bled, retched
5 his name over and over again, dead, dead.
Gone home. Gutted the place. Slept in a single cot,
widow, one empty glove, white femur
in the dust, half. Stuffed dark suits
into black bags, shuffled in a dead man's shoes,
10 noosed the double knot of a tie around my bare neck,
gaunt nun in the mirror, touching herself. I learnt
the Stations of Bereavement, the icon of my face
in each bleak frame; but all those months
he was going away from me, dwindling
15 to the shrunk size of a snapshot, going, going.
Till his name was no longer a certain spell
for his face. The last hair on his head
floated out from a book. His scent went from the house.
The will was read. See, he was vanishing
20 to the small zero held by the gold of my ring.
Then he was gone. Then he was legend, language;
my arm on the arm of the schoolteacher-the shock
of a man's strength under the sleeve of his coat-
along the hedgerows. But I was faithful
25 for as long as it took. Until he was memory.
So I could stand that evening in the field
in a shawl of fine air, healed, able
to watch the edge of the moon occur to the sky
and a hare thump from a hedge; then notice
30 the village men running towards me, shouting,
behind them the women and children, barking dogs,
and I knew. I knew by the sly light
on the blacksmith's face, the shrill eyes
of the barmaid, the sudden hands bearing me
35 into the hot tang of the crowd parting before me.
He lived. I saw the horror on his face.
I heard his mother's crazy song. I breathed
his stench; my bridegroom in his rotting shroud,
moist and dishevelled from the grave's slack chew,
40 croaking his cuckold name, disinherited, out of his time.
Line 1-5:
The poem begins with the speaker in terrible grief over her husband's death. The poetic voice utilises "wept," "howled, shrieked, clawed" to indicate the initial distress of loss. Later on, to show that mental distress can lead people to inflict physical harm the words "hands bled, retched" to indicate the physical tramma that the speaker is going through.
Line 6-10:
This cinquain has the focus of the "widow" trying to remember her dead husband and cope with her loss. Evidence for this includes the use of referring to household objects as incomplete to emphasize the loneliness of the speaker; "Slept in a single cot, window, one empty glove... half." The wife attempts tot re-imagine her husband by going into his shoes literally "shuffled in a dead man's shoes."
Line 11 - 15:
The speaker begins to accept the death of her husband. The stanza begins with the speaker still in grief when referring to herself as a "gaunt nun." This changes as the speaker learns of the "Stations of Bereavement." This is the 2nd time there is positive imagery used at all in this poem, but instead of focusing on Lazarus, stations of bereavement refers to the process of accepting his death and moving on with life. This is further enforced with the images of Lazarus "going, going."
Line 16-20:
The words in light orange represents the words that indicate her acceptance of her husband's death. The poetic voice uses the words "no longer", "floated", "went" and "vanishing" to show that Lazarus is disappearing. It could also mean that the speaker is letting go of the grief and she is ready to move on.
Line 21-25:
The dark orange phrases are evidences of Lazarus being gone not only literally but also, in Mrs Lazarus' life. He is not coming back and she is moving on. She has faced reality and is now over the grieving stage. The words/phrases in green are the words with positive connotations. "My arm on the arm of the schoolteacher" is a visual evidence that she has moved on. The use of concrete detail makes the relationship sound authentic. Also, the use of a definite article ("the) instead of an indefinite article ("a") proposes that he is respected in the community for his status.
Line 26-30:
The words marked in green indicate that the created persona has overcome her grief and is ready to move on. The words "could" "healed" "able" indicate that she is "able" to do things again,"able" to live her life without her husband and achieved closure. The element of nature, where the speaker is watching "the edge of the moon occur to the sky and a hare thump from a hedge", also indicates new life, satisfaction and ultimately accepted the death of her husband. The very last word "shouting" is marked red, because it has a negative connotation and is the introduction of the following stanzas. It also indicates a change in rhythm, where the words and sentence structures have a faster pace, signaling a change in action.
Line 31-35:
The next verses create a negative imagery, where the words "barking" "sly light" "shrill" "bearing me" "hot tang" create the mood. It is as almost the speaker is pressured, watched by everyone because she sees the "shrill eyes of the barmaid", "sly light on the blacksmith's face" and "the crowd parting" in front of her. This imagery shows that she is the center of attention, but not in a good way.
Line 36-40:
In this line, Duffy describes the interaction between the created persona and her resurrected husband. She uses sensory imagery, where the poetic voice "breathed his stench" and "his rotting shroud" is "moist and dehevelled", to describe the reaction of the speaker in a lyrical and metaphorical way. It can be concluded that she is shocked with disbelief and realizes in what a tricky situation she was put into. She is horrified, because she has moved on, as described in the previous stanzas where the words were marked green, however now her husband has come back and it raises many questions on whether she is obliged to go back to her husband, or if it is ethically right for her to move on with her life as if her husband has never resurrected.
The poem begins with the speaker in terrible grief over her husband's death. The poetic voice utilises "wept," "howled, shrieked, clawed" to indicate the initial distress of loss. Later on, to show that mental distress can lead people to inflict physical harm the words "hands bled, retched" to indicate the physical tramma that the speaker is going through.
Line 6-10:
This cinquain has the focus of the "widow" trying to remember her dead husband and cope with her loss. Evidence for this includes the use of referring to household objects as incomplete to emphasize the loneliness of the speaker; "Slept in a single cot, window, one empty glove... half." The wife attempts tot re-imagine her husband by going into his shoes literally "shuffled in a dead man's shoes."
Line 11 - 15:
The speaker begins to accept the death of her husband. The stanza begins with the speaker still in grief when referring to herself as a "gaunt nun." This changes as the speaker learns of the "Stations of Bereavement." This is the 2nd time there is positive imagery used at all in this poem, but instead of focusing on Lazarus, stations of bereavement refers to the process of accepting his death and moving on with life. This is further enforced with the images of Lazarus "going, going."
Line 16-20:
The words in light orange represents the words that indicate her acceptance of her husband's death. The poetic voice uses the words "no longer", "floated", "went" and "vanishing" to show that Lazarus is disappearing. It could also mean that the speaker is letting go of the grief and she is ready to move on.
Line 21-25:
The dark orange phrases are evidences of Lazarus being gone not only literally but also, in Mrs Lazarus' life. He is not coming back and she is moving on. She has faced reality and is now over the grieving stage. The words/phrases in green are the words with positive connotations. "My arm on the arm of the schoolteacher" is a visual evidence that she has moved on. The use of concrete detail makes the relationship sound authentic. Also, the use of a definite article ("the) instead of an indefinite article ("a") proposes that he is respected in the community for his status.
Line 26-30:
The words marked in green indicate that the created persona has overcome her grief and is ready to move on. The words "could" "healed" "able" indicate that she is "able" to do things again,"able" to live her life without her husband and achieved closure. The element of nature, where the speaker is watching "the edge of the moon occur to the sky and a hare thump from a hedge", also indicates new life, satisfaction and ultimately accepted the death of her husband. The very last word "shouting" is marked red, because it has a negative connotation and is the introduction of the following stanzas. It also indicates a change in rhythm, where the words and sentence structures have a faster pace, signaling a change in action.
Line 31-35:
The next verses create a negative imagery, where the words "barking" "sly light" "shrill" "bearing me" "hot tang" create the mood. It is as almost the speaker is pressured, watched by everyone because she sees the "shrill eyes of the barmaid", "sly light on the blacksmith's face" and "the crowd parting" in front of her. This imagery shows that she is the center of attention, but not in a good way.
Line 36-40:
In this line, Duffy describes the interaction between the created persona and her resurrected husband. She uses sensory imagery, where the poetic voice "breathed his stench" and "his rotting shroud" is "moist and dehevelled", to describe the reaction of the speaker in a lyrical and metaphorical way. It can be concluded that she is shocked with disbelief and realizes in what a tricky situation she was put into. She is horrified, because she has moved on, as described in the previous stanzas where the words were marked green, however now her husband has come back and it raises many questions on whether she is obliged to go back to her husband, or if it is ethically right for her to move on with her life as if her husband has never resurrected.