Paragraph 3 (word choice) Flashcards
Topic sentence
The technique of word choice is used by Auden to revel the central concern of insanity when Victor kills Anna.
Victor’s reaction following Anna’s cheating allegations
After Victor finds out that Anna has been cheating on him, he doesn’t know how to deal with this information as he had been brought up in a suppressed environment focused on religion. This causes him to act outrageously following the situation, instead of talking to Anna and figuring out the real story.
Quotes
Auden uses the quote “but Victor came slowly after her: said; “prepare to meet thy God.”” to convey a sense of Victor’s insanity during these moments.
Quotes analysis “Victor came slowly after her”
The phrase “Victor came slowly after her” implies that he has lost his sanity as he is preying on his wife who he used to love dearly, which is foreshadowed earlier on in the poem when time was preying on Victor, however now, the roles were reversed. Victor is not scared to murder Anna as he is playing with time instead of killing her in an instance, this links to the idea of insanity because it shows that he is not concerned about the consequences of his actions like a sane person would be.
Quote analysis “prepare to meet thy God”
The phrase “prepare to meet thy God” also links to Victors insanity because it tells us that Victor believes that he must murder his wife for her sins to be forgiven by God. As Victor was brought up in an extremely religious environment, his whole life has been surrounded by avoiding sin, so he is not well equipped for dealing with people who have committed sin. He therefore believes that the only way to free Anna of her sins is to kill her and he doesn’t care about the impacts that this has on him and others.
Link back to question
Therefore, Auden effectively uses word choice to convey the theme of sanity when Victor kills Anna because his insanity is revealed, and readers are made aware that Victor is mentally unwell.
