The Forsaken Wife- Elizabeth Thomas

In this poem, Thomas depicts a speaker who has been forced to suffer at the hands of her husband’s infi-
delity- Thomas potentially hopes to warn women of the cruelty that men can exhibit and hence the pain they
can inflict upon their wives.

-The intense pain and disappointment she experiences due

-The first word of the poem is ‘methinks’, a way of both differentiating her from him (’me-’ vs ‘you’) The
repetition of the word ‘you’ establishes a binary opposition between the wife and husband, perhaps insinuat-
ing that the speaker is so dejected by her husband’s actions, she wants complete and permanent separation
from him. Assonance creates an echo of the word ‘you’ in the words ‘humanity’ and ‘due’, emphasizing the
‘I vs you’ opposition between the husband and wife.

-The speaker seems to be especially distressed by not only her husband’s actions but also by the fashion in
which he selfishly refuses to acknowledge them. The husband’s choice to not even give ‘one pitying look’ or
one ‘parting word’ to his wife emphasizes his aloof and disdainful nature. Plosive alliteration here empha-
sizes the acute sense of disappointment she experiences and the repletion of ‘one’ further emphasizes the
lack of consolation she receives from him.

- The speaker implying her ‘broken heart’ is a clear symbol of emotional pain and suffering

- ‘Pitying’ is an important concept; to pity someone requires the ability to sympathize or empathize – quali-
ties her husband does not possess

- The speaker seems hurt and affronted by the flagrant behaviour of her husband, right under her nose, as if
he thought she was too ‘blind’ (perhaps meaning ‘stupid’?) to notice; or worse – that her noticing was in-
consequential to him.

- The first line ‘Cruel man! I am not blind’ features a mix of hard consonant sounds hinting that, below her
controlled and composed exterior, strong emotions and turmoil seethe.

- The cruelty of her husband

- The poem is written in three unequal verses, possibly suggesting an imbalance in the relationship between
man and wife. The first verse is four lines long and is the ‘neatest’ of the three. It establishes the poem’s
main conceit – that a husband has left his wife without explanation or acknowledgement. This suggests
him leaving was completely unjustified and symbolic of his harsh and uncaring nature. Repetition of ‘hu-
manity’ further indicates her husband’s lack of it and, thus, his brutish and uncaring nature
- Addressing an absent party as if he is present is a technique called apostrophe. Here, the speaker labels
her husband ‘cruel’, suggesting he is without feeling, or worse – that he enjoys inflicting pain on another.

- The beginning of verse two features a disturbance to the prevailing rhythm. ‘Crūel mān’ is a spondee; the
extra weight serves to emphasize the barbarism of the man’s actions

- The description of her husband as ‘rigid’ conveys the impression of a hard, inflexible man impervious to
feeling and emotion.

- Her determination and desire to overcome such cruelness

- The poem is written in regular iambic tetrameter – each line has four measures of two beats arranged un-
stressed-stressed (this arrangement is called an iamb). The regularity of form suggests the speaker retains
control; despite her hurt and suffering she acts in a thoughtful and measured way, unlike her husband who
cannot control his desires. The poem follows an AABB rhyme scheme. Again, the regularity of rhyme
suggests the speaker remains in control of herself. Pairing rhyming words in couplets suggests the ideal-
ized union of two people – a union that has been disrupted by the man’s thoughtless and callous behaviour

- ‘Preeminence’ means ‘superiority’. The speaker resolves to rise above the petty actions of her husband
and to be the better of the two

- The word ‘forever’ is arguably a hyperbole; it has the function of conveying her determination. She will
never allow her constancy and commitments to lapse in the way her husband has. This word is repeated
in the final verse

- In this section of the poem, the importance of the regular iambic rhythm becomes clear. The speaker
musters her strong ability of self control to take hold of her raging emotion and channel it into determina-
tion instead. Full rhymes create the same effect; that the speaker is strong and determined in her resolu-
tion to rise above the cruel treatment meted out by her husband. (Yet maugre…forever still the same)

- The word ‘yet’ indicates a turning point in the tone of the poem, sometimes referred to as a turn or volta.
The beginning of the poem was marked by strong anger and emotion (such as ‘pity’). Here the speaker re-
gains control of her emotions and resolves to rise above her husband’s petty behaviour.

- The final verse begins with a statement in the imperative tense: ‘Show me…’ The speaker demands to be
shown a man who is her equal. The imperative tense is also known as the command tense; using it here
demonstrates how the speaker has regained complete control of herself and her emotions.
- The lines in this section are studded with hard consonant sounds, particularly alliterative D. These sounds
reinforce the tone of determination and resolve that has come into the speaker’s voice. ( Show me a man..
Ever loved without regard)

- The first stanza focuses on ‘singing’ – the speaker serenades the lady with love songs, but she would ‘not
hear.’ Swinburne uses negation to emphasize the lady’s determined rejection of his seduction.

- Throughout the poem, Thomas has been careful to finish every line on a stressed syllable. Technically
these lines are said to be written in rising rhythm. In Thomas’ day, patterns ending in a stressed (or strong)
syllable were called masculine; patterns ending in unstressed (or weak) syllables were called feminine! By
writing her poem using masculine rhythms, Thomas subtly implies that women could be as strong as men.
- Occasional hard sounds help to reinforce her words and give an undercurrent of strength and determina-
tion at the end of the poem.

the power of) her husband and presents a role-reversal.