The Last Supper

Question 1

“Last Supper”

Answer 1

The title of the poem is an allusion. It references the ‘last supper’ between Jesus and his disciples and immediately brings to mind betrayal, finality and death.

Question 2

“his sweet flesh”

Answer 2

enjambment emphasises how she will devour him- positive connotations of ‘sweet’ suggests how she enjoys the physical side of the relationship. ‘flesh’ is negative, she saw him as a piece of meat, and lacked emotional connection.

Question 3

“Not just for lent. (For Ever)”

Answer 3

mention of lent continues religious reference of the title. the parenthesis and capitalisation of (For Ever) emphasises the finality of the breakup.

Question 4

“assembling the ingredients”

Answer 4

carefully building her plan of gluttony/losing control

Question 5

“rather more than rather well?”

Answer 5

suggests the relationship provided low level pleasures rather than anything profound or long lasting.

Question 6

“tearing foliage, scrambling the salad”

Answer 6

connotations of messy and a lack of control

Question 7

“(and oh yes now will have to lie on)”

Answer 7

pun on ‘made your bed, now lie in it’, suggests that she has made her decision to end the relationship and will have to deal with the consequences

Question 8

“cooked goose”

Answer 8

pun - play on ‘his goose is cooked’, showing how her lovers fate is sealed.

Question 9

“betrayal with a kiss”

Answer 9

links back to title ( a kiss is how Judas identified Jesus to the Romans at the last supper) , suggesting her lover is treacherous and cannot be trusted as he has betrayed her (infidelity)

Question 10

“leftover hash”

Answer 10

connotations of flinging together leftover food. Cheap and satisfying meal, the relationship will provide good conversation material.

Question 11

“The Girls, when those three met again”

Answer 11

capitalisation of ‘The Girls’ lends it importance. it references Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’s 3 witches, suggests sisterhood but also a sinister side of toying with and confusing men

Question 12

“tasty if not elegant”

Answer 12

echoes reference to leftover hash, the conversation will be crude and unsophisticated - but enjoyable.

Question 13

“cackling around the cauldron”

Answer 13

alliteration, repetition of the harsh ‘c’ sound suggests the violence and malevolent joy of the girls. reference back to Macbeth - but also could be general reference to witches, suggesting the women are heartless and cruel.

Question 14

“spitting out the gristlier bits of his giblets;”

Answer 14

the girls mentally tear apart the relationship and the man. enjambment draws attention to the messy + brutal language.

Question 15

“intricate irony”

Answer 15

assonance slows down the reading of the poem, emphasises how this feast is one to be savoured slowly.

Question 16

“grave and dainty”

Answer 16

serious topics discussed in a lighthearted way between the girls.

Question 17

“the proper feast”

Answer 17

part of extended food metaphor. connotations of gluttony and losing control. the girls feast themselves on the lies and gossip of the destroyed relationship.

Question 18

“‘That’s rich!’”

Answer 18

dual meaning - ‘rich’ means enjoyable but hard to stomach in relation to food, but also ‘that’s rich’ is a phrase to mean outrageous ironic or hypocritical.

Question 19

“sizzling as sausages”

Answer 19

sibilance sounds like actual sizzling meat, but also a snake like tone of menace from the girls. ‘sausage’ - crude phallic reference suggesting no topic is safe or off limits from the girls cruelty.

Question 20

“savage integrity”

Answer 20

oxymoron - despite how cruel they have been about the man they continue to maintain their moral high ground - they are hypocrites.

Question 21

“preening like corbies”

Answer 21

Allusion - reference to Twa Corbies, where crows eat a dead knight who abandoned those closest to him. suggests the man deserved his fate.

Question 22

“go hunting again”

Answer 22

suggests that the women have the power and enter into relationships on their own terms to satisfy their own needs when it suits them. poses the question of will they ever be satisfied? they are bloodthirsty.

Question 23

Main theme

Answer 23

female relationships (unflattering yet truthful depiction)
the poem challenges out usual perceptions of women who have been betrayed by an unfaithful partner. she’s not a victim, her and her girlfriends gorge themselves on and enjoy the lies and infidelity of her ex lover.