A Wife in London

I need help annotationg it due to being off the day we did. I can't find any decent annotations (to my personal liking really) on the internet, any help?

Reply 1

CandidateZero

14

Sure, I can help. Is it language analysis, structural significance or contextual factors and the poet's purpose that you need most help with?

Reply 2

omegabuzz

3

Here's some annotations for language:
Webby fold on fold - metaphor, spider web imagery, feeling of entrapment + anxiety
Life a waning taper - simile, the candle of hope is going out
She sits - passive verb, she is helpless to do anything. Present tense, makes it tense as we don't know what will happen next
He - has fallen - euphemism, could be the messenger being polite, or that her reaction is dulled
Fresh firm - Irony, the man is no longer fresh and firm. Alliteration, makes it feel more frivolous
Page-full of his hoped return - The man was excited about returning

Annotations for structure and form:
Change in pace in second stanza - Warm language juxtaposes against how much the wife has lost
Awkward phrasing - 'Of meaning it dazes to understand', shows the shock of the wife
Rhyme pattern - ABBAB, (like a sing song), which contrasts the happy relationship to his death

Other things you could look at: Tawny vapour, street lamp glimmers cold, The Irony, Firelight flicker, In the far South land...

Hope this helps!

Reply 3

Pxachblsh

OP

2

Thank you! It did help :smile:

Original post by omegabuzz

Here's some annotations for language:
Webby fold on fold - metaphor, spider web imagery, feeling of entrapment + anxiety
Life a waning taper - simile, the candle of hope is going out
She sits - passive verb, she is helpless to do anything. Present tense, makes it tense as we don't know what will happen next
He - has fallen - euphemism, could be the messenger being polite, or that her reaction is dulled
Fresh firm - Irony, the man is no longer fresh and firm. Alliteration, makes it feel more frivolous
Page-full of his hoped return - The man was excited about returning

Annotations for structure and form:
Change in pace in second stanza - Warm language juxtaposes against how much the wife has lost
Awkward phrasing - 'Of meaning it dazes to understand', shows the shock of the wife
Rhyme pattern - ABBAB, (like a sing song), which contrasts the happy relationship to his death

Other things you could look at: Tawny vapour, street lamp glimmers cold, The Irony, Firelight flicker, In the far South land...

Hope this helps!

Reply 4

Pxachblsh

OP

2

It's just context I need help with now more than anything

Original post by CandidateZero

Sure, I can help. Is it language analysis, structural significance or contextual factors and the poet's purpose that you need most help with?

Reply 5

CandidateZero

14

Other salient points you may discuss/annotate:

(As mentioned above) the use of euphemism: "hand the worm now knows" to emphasise how the information pertaining to the husband's death was intended to console the wife, but "The Irony" that is the second letter only amplified her mental torment

The use of pathetic fallacy, especially in association with fog: "webby fold on fold" to highlight the ambiguity of death, its toll on relatives and loved ones. "Fold on fold" expresses the sheer number of mortalities and possibly criticises the lack of reporting of the Boer War, due to conflicts with gold mines in South Africa.

The use of structure to contrast the love and happiness the wife experienced on receiving the first letter, to be destroyed upon receiving the second letter, "The Irony". The reader understands that the "new love they would learn" is not a result of his return, but the way in which the wife handles her grievances. Hardy uses the emotional torment of the wife to emphasise the harrowing, unforgivable nature of war and conflict.

Thematics of time, specifically surrounding the "Irony". The soldier's plans to "learn" "new love" are stricken by his death and Hardy emphasises the unpredictability of warfare, the soldier's death he did not foresee. Familiarity of the "worm" in the ground is a metaphor for his own decomposition, clearly far from loving grievance at home.