A Song of Faith Forsworn - John Warren, Lord De Tabley Flashcards
THEMES (3)
love and heartbreak; commitment and betrayal; manipulation and deceit in relationships
AUDIENCE
speaker’s husband
TONE
angry, bitter
Take back your suit.
It came when I was weary and distraught
With hunger.
Could I guess the fruit you brought?
I ate in mere desire of any food
STRUCTURAL FEATURES + IMPACT
anaphora (“Take back your”) and parallel structure
convey speaker’s frustration, bitterness and anger
FORM
9 sestets
RHYME SCHEME
abbcca
Take back your love.
It is a bird poached from my neighbor’s wood;
Its wings are wet with tears, its beak with blood.
(…) Death’s raven, it may be, for all we know.
Take back your gifts.
False is the hand that gave them; and the mind
That planned them, as a hawk spread in the wind
To poise and snatch the trembling mouse below.
What is your love?
Leaves on a woodland plain
What is your faith?
Straws on a mountain height
Dancing like demons on Walpurgis night.
Walpurgis night (2)
a) a European spring festival associated with sorcerers and witches;
b) something (such as an event or situation) having a nightmarish quality [Merriam-Webster]
Take back your kiss.
Shall I be meek, and lend my lips again
To let this adder daub them with his stain?
(…) You kiss like Judas in the garden gate!
