Introduction
The speaker in Amy Lowell’s Aftermath describes how she ‘stripped’ her ‘soul’ in the letters she wrote to her beloved. Sadly, that intense and unwavering devotion remains unrequited and her ‘tears’ are now ‘hopeless’.
Read through the poem and answer the comprehension questions that follow.
Aftermath
I learnt to write to you in happier days,
And every letter was a piece I chipped
From off my heart, a fragment newly clipped
From the mosaic of life; its blues and grays,
Its throbbing reds, I gave to earn your praise.
To make a pavement for your feet I stripped
My soul for you to walk upon, and slipped
Beneath your steps to soften all your ways.
But now my letters are like blossoms pale
We strew upon a grave with hopeless tears.
I ask no recompense, I shall not fail
Although you do not heed; the long, sad years
Still pass, and still I scatter flowers frail,
And whisper words of love which no one hears.
Comprehension Questions
- Suggest why the speaker felt ‘happier’ when she began writing the letters.
- When the speaker refers to her ‘heart’, what does the image usually represent?
- Consider the word ‘chipped’. What does the verb suggest about how she felt revealing her ‘heart’ in the letters?
- A ‘mosaic’ is a picture made of coloured stone or glass. Do you think this is an effective metaphor to describe her ‘life’? Explain your answer.
- Look at the lines five to eight. In your own words, describe why did the speaker write those letters?
- The speaker compares her letters to ‘blossoms pale’ which are placed on a ‘grave’ to remember a loved one. In detail, explain why you think this simile is effective.
- Why do you think the speaker will continue to write her letters?
- How do you think the speaker feels at the end of the poem?
Sample Answer
Remember, you should use the key words of the question and words from the text to support your thoughts and arguments. For example, in response to question one, you might write:
The speaker believes her ‘days’ were ‘happier’ when she began writing the letters because she was still optimistic and hopeful that her love would be returned.
Write out this answer and identify which words come from the question and which words are quotations from the poem.
Also, notice how the conjunction ‘because’ leads confidently into the interpretation of the poem. Too many students use the less precise ‘as’ instead, which weakens the quality of the response.
Rhyme Scheme
If you count the number of lines in the poem, you will notice that there are fourteen and this makes it a sonnet. Another important aspect of this form is the rhyme scheme. It should be obvious that ‘days’ and ‘grays’ rhyme. Listen carefully to the sounds at the end of each line and identify which words rhyme.
When critics are studying the rhyme scheme of a poem, they use letters to map out the sounds:
In this example, ‘a’ represents at ‘ays’ sound in lines one and four, and ‘b’ stands for the ‘pped’ sound in lines two and three.
Work through the rest of the poem and, using letters from the alphabet, label the sounds at the end of each line.
