RP for Mrs Sisyphus by Carol Ann Duffy

● A possible interpretation of the poem, is that Mrs. Sisyphus’ husband is a

workaholic. Looking at it in this perspective, pushing up the stone served as the
work of Mr. Sisyphus and as the boulder became bigger this means that Mr.
Sisyphus became more and more devoted to work thus leaving Mrs. Sisyphus
with a feeling of neglect and unhappy.

● A possible theme highlighted in the poem is feminism. Looking at the title, we see
that the wife has no identity, only as Mrs. Sisyphus. In the poem, Mrs. Sisyphus’
role is merely as a wife and is a shadow at the glory of her husband.

● The repetition of words with “rk” is to help a tone of anger, mimicking that of a
person who is ranting.