Anne Hathaway Flashcards
explain the central symbol of the bed used in the poem.
The second best bed was left to Anne in Shakespeare’s will. Some people see this as proof he did not care for her but the poem suggests that the best bed was for guests and the second best bed is where Anne and William would have had their physical relationship and happy memories.
why does Anne never mention her husband by name in the poem?
She uses the pronouns “we” “our” or “my” to show that she had a personal relationship with him and he belonged to her, while the rest of the word only knew the famous playwright. The plural pronouns show that they were a unit or team.
which other poems are about love or romantic relationships?
Valentine - positive and negative
Mrs Midas and Havisham - negative
“the bed we loved in…”
The poem opens by focussing on the bed and making it clear it was the site of their lovemaking- become s a symbol of their love. Positive word choice of “loved” – can take this in both an emotional and physical sense.
which other poems use a symbol to convey the theme?
valentine - the onion as a symbol of an honest view of relationships
which words connote the excitement and passion of their relationship?
spinning, shooting stars, clifftops, seas, dancing…
“…a spinning world…”
Metaphor. “spinning” connotes out of control, excitement. “world” suggests that they were everything to each other.
“…words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses”
Suggests the power of language to seduce. Makes his kisses sound otherworldly, beautiful, too fleeting.
which phrases compare physical love to language?
- “my body now a softer rhyme to his”
- “his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun”
- “the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands”
“…my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance”
These are all noise techniques where noises match. It makes it sound like they (she and her husband) matched well. A rhyme is a perfect sound match, but an echo is the sound left behind after the noise is over – suggests now that he is dead all she has of him are memories. Assonance is a half imperfect rhyme, which suggests that now he has gone she feels incomplete.
“Some nights I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands”
Makes the bed sound like a place for him to create something beautiful with her. Sounds as though he was as dedicated and creative with Anne as he was with his plays.
“by touch, by scent, by taste”
List of senses. Again, the world got his words but she got the real man.
how does she make the best bed (and their friends’ relationships) sound boring?
“dribbling their prose”, “dozed”
“My living, laughing love”
She remembers him after his death, not just his work. Makes him sound positive and full of life. Alliteration to emphasise. Note the use of “my” again.
How are the closing lines effective?
Repetition of hold/held suggests tenderness and also their equality. “casket” is a box for precious things, or sometimes a coffin – he is dead but she treasures their memories. Ends on a rhyming couplet for emphasis. Comes back to the central symbol of the bed
