“He saw her from the bottom of the stairs/Before she saw
him” (line 1-2). In first sentence of the poem, the tone is set as uncertain
and tense, thanks to the enjambment. It makes it clear that the wife is trying
to avoid the husband, although it is not clear why. The whole poem is wrought
with enjambments and with each enjambment, uncertainty.
I’ve always had a soft spot for narrative poetry, although
the enjambments in this particular poem drive me nuts, probably because I am
more of a prose writer than verse one. I think the enjambments are meant to
heighten tensions in certain parts of the poems, but I noticed in most in the
beginning six lines of the poem.
The broken-up style of those few lines leave the reader in
confusion, as the line ends with something but the beginning of the next line
adds some new layer to the previous line. This confusion and uneasiness about
the enjambments also reflects the confusion and uneasy tension in the poem
between the husband and the wife, who clearly do not understand each others’
emotions over the loss of their child and their rocky relationship with each
other.
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