Mrs Lazarus
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11 questions
| 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 |
| Collection Introduction | The World's Wife, 1999 Biblical allusion to the Gospel of John, Chapter Eleven |
| Subject (2) | The wife of Lazarus is shocked at his revival but has since married someone else Duffy uses poetic license, moving away from historical accuracy of the story, and extends the length of time in which she was grieving |
| Form (3) | Eight quintets Dramatic monologue The title indicates the protagonist assumes the identity of her husband. - In a patriarchal society, she isn't known as anything more than the wife of Lazarus (C.R to title of collection) |
| Theme (4) | Stages of grief and the process of moving on Hysterical mourning which was expected from women in those times The poem gives a voice to the woman who is otherwise never heard in history - highlights the judgement placed on women The protagonist is almost defending herself for moving on - she is scared of the judgement from society - Broken relationships |
| Motifs (3) | "I had grieved" "howled, shrieked, clawed" (tricolon) "I was faithful for as long as it took" |
| Diction; Language (2) Lexical fields (2) Cliche metaphor Transferred epithet (2) Epizeuxis (2) | Standard, down to earth diction universalises the experience Romantic, lyrical descriptions of the protagonist falling in love - 'fine air', 'edge of the moon' Bereavement - 'wept', 'loss', 'vanishing' Moving on - 'legend', 'memory', 'healed', 'dwindling', 'gone' 'shuffled in a dead man's shoes' (literal and metaphorical) - Her role has changed in society - she is now defined by her status as a widow 'shrill eyes (of the barmaid)' 'sly light (on the blacksmith's face'; judgement towards the woman who, according to society, has moved on from her late husband too quickly 'dead, dead' 'going, going'; grieving process |
| Imagery; Pictorial Associational (2) Auditory (2) | "ripped the cloth I was married in"; expectations from society "widow, one empty glove, white femur" (economy on words); intense pain resulting from the realisation that she is no longer a couple "small zero held by the gold of my ring"; her recovery, he is a remembrance only - solidified in "Then he was gone" Romanticism is broken by 'shouting' and 'barking dogs' |
| Rhythm; Monosyllables Consonance Dissonance | 'He lived. I saw the horror on his face'; her shock upon seeing him Liquid - 'shrill eyes', 'sly light' 'grave's slack chew'; unpleasant image - his 'stench' contrasts the 'fine air' described earlier. - Lazarus brings his former wife embarrassment and unhappiness |
| Rhyme; Distantly approximate (2) | 'breathed', 'shroud' 'clawed', 'retched' |
| Tone Mood (2) | Sympathy towards a character whose husband's 'revival' brings disappointment and disapproval from society Shifts from one of painful devastation, to a more romantic one, emphasising the stages of grief. However, it reverts back to being dark upon the horrific surprise of his revival, which terrifies her |
| Conclusion | Duffy expertly combines past and present aspects in the poem; - Modern elements in poem, “stuffed dark suits”, “schoolteacher” are used in conjunction with aspects from the past “cot”, “blacksmith”. The fact that the poem is not restricted to a particular time period universalises the experience. It also highlights the shared experience of women throughout history, which still happens in modern times – societal judgement has and will always remain present towards women |