Maude Clare

Question 1

What is ‘Maude Clare’ about?

Answer 1

Tells the story of an aristocrat Lord Thomas who chooses to may Nell, a seemingly ideal Victorian Bride, over the bold Maude Clare, whose reputation has been ruined due to Thomas.
Poem elevates love triangle into a tragic tale of sexism and hypocrisy.

Question 2

What are the main themes in ‘Maude Clare’ ?

Answer 2

Love, Marriage, Social expectations, hypocrisy + sexism in Victorian England.

Question 3

When was ‘ Maude Clare’ written + published?

Answer 3

Written probably between 1857 — 1858, and published in 1862, GM + other poems.

Question 4

What are the main symbols in ‘Maude Clare’ ?

Answer 4

The hearth, the board, the marriage bed.
Lillies
Maude Clare’s gifts.
Fruit blooms and flower dew.

Question 5

What is the rhyme scheme of ‘Maude Clare’ ?

Answer 5

ABCB, typical scheme of a ballad. Strong sense of lyricism, elevating the tale, akin to the ballads of King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere.

Question 6

What is the form of ‘Maude Clare’ ?

Answer 6

Ballad, 12 stanza quatrains.

Question 7

What is the meter of ‘Maude Clare’ ?

Answer 7

Alternates between lines of iambic trimeter and iambic tetrameter.
Poem on the whole maintains a rhythmic and musical metrical consistency.