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poetry > a wife in london > Flashcards

a wife in london Flashcards

1
Q

who wrote the poem?

A

Thomas Hardy

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2
Q

when was the poem composed?

A

2 months after the start of the Boer War (1899)

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3
Q

what type of person was Hardy?

A

a pacifist

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4
Q

is it positive or negative about war?

A

negative

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5
Q

what does the poem illuminate?

A

illuminates the absurdity and tragedy that go hand-in-hand with violent conflict

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6
Q

what is the poem a message of?

A

a message of war’s hopelessness- war cuts life short- needlessly affecting not just those immediately involved, but those back home as well

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7
Q

what type of words are used?

A

light and simple words- the effect is heavy and real

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8
Q

what does the opening reveal?

A

it reveals it will tell a tragedy- rest of a wife in London follows this simple, yet effective form of syntax

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9
Q

what is significant about the title?

A

the determiner “a”- shows how it is a universal experience for many wives in London- highlights the impact of war as it can happen to anyone

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10
Q

what is significant about the noun “wife”?

A

a passive word- her helplessness may show mankind’s inability to stop itself from going to war
there is another passive word in the poem- “sits”- highlights her helplessness

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11
Q

what image does the first stanza create?

A

a simple yet beautiful picture- image of a young wife sitting alone in the dark, cold city of London

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12
Q

“she sits…

A

in the tawny vapour”

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13
Q

what is “tawny vapour” an example of and what does it link to?

A

an example of pathetic fallacy
setting suggests that decisions to go to war take place in a moral fog- war makes morality unclear

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14
Q

what was “tawny vapour”?

A

a fog specific to London at the time- consisted of factory emissions and chimneys
“tawny vapour” is more manmade than natural- suggests war is more man-made than natural- tawny vapour creates a feeling of murkiness- hard to see clearly

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15
Q

“the street lamp…

A

glimmers cold”

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16
Q

what is significant about “the street lamp glimmers cold”?

A

foreshadowing- her “light” will fade soon
the street lamp should be hot, not cold
should be shining- not glimmering

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17
Q

“a messenger’s…

A

knock cracks smartly”

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18
Q

what is important about the “messenger’s knock”?

A

the silent cold of London is interrupted

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19
Q

what is important about the “cracks smartly”?

A

he is about to bring pain

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20
Q

“flashed news..

A

is in her hand”

21
Q

“of meaning…

A

it dazes to understand”

22
Q

“though shaped…

A

so shortly
He- has fallen- in the far South Land…

23
Q

what does the “though shaped so shortly” mean?

A

the letter is extremely short- shows the universal experience for all the wives- the letters are impersonal and generic

24
Q

what is significant about “he- has fallen- in the far South Land”…

A

euphemistic “fallen”- masks the horrible death he has endured

25
Q

what is significant about using the word “he”?

A

his identity is not revealed- again, the universal experience

26
Q

what is part 2 called?

A

the irony

27
Q

“‘tis the morrow…

A

the fog hangs thicker”

28
Q

what does “the fog hangs thicker” mean?

A

the wife feels the pain more

29
Q

what does the second part allow for the reader?

A

allows the devastating news to sink in for the reader

30
Q

what dos the 3rd stanza portray?

A

a letter arrives from her husband one day after he dies- heightens the tragedy- like the letter came from the grave

31
Q

“by the…

A

firelight flicker”

32
Q

what does “by the firelight flicker” mean?

A

the light is flickering from the hope of the letter- her hope is flickering as she realises he died being in love with her and having hope

33
Q

what does the final stanza convey about the hopelessness of war?

A

the mismatch in content and timing between the telegram and letter develops the poem’s central message of war’s hopelessness

34
Q

“fresh- firm…

A
  • penned in highest feather”
35
Q

what does “fresh- firm” mean?

A

the description of the lines symbolises the pain in the woman’s heart- just like the letter, the pain is “fresh” and “firm”

36
Q

“page-full…

A

of his hoped return”

37
Q

what does his “hoped return” convey?

A

the irony- he was already dead by the time she received the letter- his hoped return

38
Q

“in the…

A

summer weather”

39
Q

what does “in the summer weather” mean?

A

summer- season of new life, light and hope
it is deeply ironic as we can infer he died before Summer- hopeless
seems these words were written beyond the grave

40
Q

“and of new love…

A

that they would learn”

41
Q

what does the final line do for the reader?

A

readers can experience the heart ache the women would have felt
can also grasp the frailty of life and the futility of death

42
Q

what does “the fog hangs thicker” also convey about her as a widow now?

A

her new identity as a widow has sunk in

43
Q

“hoped returns” also conveys what?

A

this young and strong man was certain he would arrive home
the man had confidence in his love- even though he faced perilous conditions, he knew he would arrive home and be with his wife
this was snatched from a man so confident- heightens the sting of death- death was not expected by the man or his wife

44
Q

the phrase “He has fallen” shows what?

A

the unemotional language- it shows the disconnect between the unfeeling bureaucracy of war and the all too real tragedy it brings upon people

45
Q

what is the structure like?

A

5 lines per stanza
the equal stanzas show her grief and mourning will constantly be in her life

46
Q

what does “in highest feather” mean?

A

her pain is at the “highest point”- in comparison to the letter being in highest humour/ form

47
Q

what does the rhyme scheme show?

A

the rhyme scheme is clear- showing a sense of inevitability of death in war

48
Q

what tense does Hardy use?

A

the present tense- to create a sense that this is a story unfolding before us- making it more dramatic and emotional

poetry (16 decks)

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