Sister Maude

Sister Maude

written through the eyes of a character who is having a love affair
1. narrator kept affair secret from parents but her sister told them about it
2. writer is abusive and harsh to her sister for this and for the death of her lover
Form
1. dramatic monologue in form of Ballard
2. end-stopped lines help make poem more rhythmic and so more intense expression of anger
Structure
1. poem starts ambiguously with details of what occurred slowly introduced
2. ideas repeated building impression of the narrators anger
Amibguity
1. link between the discovery of narrator's love and her lovers death
2. very little detail about what happened-makes it more mysterious
3. 'shame'
  1. doesn't seem to be ashamed of relationship-perhaps this is how parents view it
4. 'cold he lies'
  1. not clear how lover dies -mysterious
Angry Language
1. poet uses sibilance with 'sister'-could be read as if narrator is almost spitting words out
2. 'spy and peer'
  1. emotive, negative language turns us against Maude and makes us sympathetic for narrator
3. 'Cold...cold...clotted..curls..comeliest corpse'
  1. alliteration of hard 'c' sound emphasises strong rhythm- makes poem sound more angry and energetic
  2. 'clotted curls'-mysterious about death
4. 'though I had not been born .. never have looked at you'
  1. spiteful comment-Maude did what she did out of jealousy
5. 'sister'-repletion emphasises closeness of relationship and so the seriousness of betrayal
6. 'sister...sister...sin'
  1. alliteration helps link sister Maude with sin -as with spy
Religious Language
1. poem deals with question of guilt and redemption
2. idea that some sins forgivable others aren't
3. 'paradise'-narrator's parents may get to heaven
4. 'shall get no sleep early or late'
  1. suggest Maude won't escape her feelings of guilt in life(early) or in death (late)- wont 'rest in peace'
  2. she will go to hell
5. 'if my dear and I knocked on heavens gate perhaps they'd let us in'
  1. narrator thinks that her & lovers sins might be forgiven but sisters wont
  2. wants to die cant live without him
6. 'Bide you with death and sin'
  1. last stanza repeats ideas of one before -increases sense that narrator is cursing sister
7. 'mother at heaven-gate'
  1. mom is almost in heaven
8. 'father may wear a golden crown'
  1. dad lead good life
9. 'mother a crown may win'
  1. will receive goodness
Feelings & Attitudes
1. Betrayal
  1. she's bitter as her sister told parents what she wanted to be kept a secret
2. Jealousy
  1. she implies that Maude's motive was jealousy for her love
3. Spitefulness
  1. aims to hurt her sister by saying the lover would have never desired Maude
4. Cold Anger
  1. repeatedly talks about belief or even hope that Maude will suffer for eternity
'Who'-rhetorical question draws us in by making us wait for answer
'Maude..Maude'
1. repetition-wants reader to be absolutely certain where blame lies
'comeliest corpse'
1. juxtaposition of beauty and death- highlights her sense of loss
'of my shame'
1. knows she's wrong
'lurked' 'spy' 'peer'
1. conveys a sense of slyness
'oh sister Maude'
1. sense of disappointment

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	Created by eilishhardy about 10 years ago