An Epitaph Poem Analysis

573 Words3 Pages
With conformity and rebellion being the title of the chapter, “An Epitaph”, “The Unknown Citizen”, and “Penelope” all shared a similar theme in terms of rebellion. Each of these pieces was more focused on conformity rather than rebellion, with each author using numerous literary devices to give a very defined meaning for each poem’s own case of conforming. In “an Epitaph”, by Matthew Prior, the two main characters Jack and Joan are both citizens who have conformed to the modern day society of doing the bare minimum to be a good member of society. Prior used diction such as “sauntering” (line 2) and “idle” (line 2) to describe both Jack and Joan. From this, the reader gets the feel that they do not have a great amount of purpose in their lives, and the repetition of…show more content…
When Penelope’s husband first left, she would constantly find herself “[looking] along the road hoping to see him saunter home (lines 1-2). However by line seven, Penelope already finds herself “[noticing] that whole days had passed without my noticing” (Lines 6-7). The tone of the first six lines gives the piece a very hopeful and peaceful feel. Duffy begins to use longer lines after this point, perhaps to create the sense that Penelope’s days are much more exciting and full of events. Then at the end Duffy returns to much shorter lines as Penelope “aimed it surely at the middle of the needle’s eye once more” (line 45). The diction of the word “surely” (line 45) suggests that Penelope is finally sure about what she is doing, and no longer worries about the return of her husband. In addition to this, at the end of the line with the use of the words “once more” (line 45), Duffy may be trying to say that Penelope has conformed from waiting for her husband and is now ready to move onto a new

More about An Epitaph Poem Analysis

Open Document