In “Mrs Sisyphus” by Carol Ann Duffy, there are various tones such as:
- Lonely tone – it is used in the second stanza, “when you haven’t the time to pop open a cork or go for so much as a walk in the park?”. This line clearly shows her loneliness in her life as her husband always puts his work first priority which reflects the theme that loss of intimacy from marital neglect. This is a part of the dramatic monologue therefore, her husband doesn’t answer this question in the poem which assists to create a lonely tone to this part of the poem. A line from the last stanza also helps to create the lonely mood, “But I lie alone in the dark, feeling like Noah’s wife did”. The word, alone empathize with the tone.
- Mad tone – “He’s a dork.” – this line comes after “when you haven’t the time to pop open a cork or go for so much as a walk in the park?”. It clearly shows by calling him stupid how she is mad about her husband putting his first priority for his work/duty rather than for her. Also in the first line, “I could do something vicious to him with a dirk.”. This line indicates that she might take action against her husband with a dirk – a knife led by anger towards him.
- Disappointed tone – The last stanza has, “while, up on the deepening murk of the hill, he is giving one hundred per cent and more to his work.”. In this line, she expresses how she is feeling in the first half, then describes how her husband is living his life. The difference in their daily lives creates a contract that empathizes with the theme of the poem. The last line shows her disappointment towards her husband. The entire poem expresses her struggle and feeling in their marriage life. Even though she is under so much stress and loneliness, we can see that the situation is not improving by looking at the last line. I think it is fair to say she is being sarcastic and expressing how nothing is changed which is her disappointment caused by the theme of the poem.