The images above are from a brainstorm and analysing activity we did in class. We were looking at the formal and stylistic elements used by Carol Ann Duffy in her poem Mrs. Sisyphus. At the start we struggled a lot to gain the context of the poem which I think was due to our fault of not reading it several times over. The context to this poem is about a Biblical figure that was was punished to push a rock up a hill for eternity.
The first technique that was quite obvious to us was that of half rhyme running mainly throughout the second stanza. Words such as “irk”, “shirk”. Some connected back to the first stanza such as the word “kirk” which helped the poem flow. Along with the concept of repeated sounds, there were moments of assonance and consonance which were done with harsh sounds to emphasise the fact that she is annoyed.
In terms of the stanzas and lineation, the poem felt to me much like a free verse as there was no consistent pattern that was carried throughout. Each stanza varied in line number and line length. Furthermore, it felt like free verse due to its conversational manner such as when the voice asks the reader rhetorical questions as though speaking to us, for example: “what does he say?”. The stanzas are also broken up into different ideas. The first one introduces her anger, while the second one depicts the arguments they have and the third portrays the loneliness that she feels.
Carol Ann Duffy also brought in the cyclical nature of the problem explored by alluding to tales from the bible and elsewhere, while also incorporating repetition of certain words in close proximity of each other. “Think of the perks, he says What use is a perl, I shriek”. There is also very specific connotation that helps to enhance the way Mrs. Sisyphus is feeling, such as when it says “hammered away” or “twisted smirk”, helping to enhance the emotion felt during that moment.