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The best Penelope study guide on the planet. The fastest way to understand the poem's meaning, themes, form, rhyme scheme, meter, and poetic devices.
- Summary
- The Myth of Penelope
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Detailed Analysis
- Similar Poetry
‘Penelope’ by Carol Ann Duffy(Bio | Poems)depicts Penelope’s wait for her husband’s return from the Trojan War. In the first lines of the poem, Penelope mourns for her husband. This doesn’t last long, though. After six months, she’s tired of playing the role of the widow and moves onto a new pursuit: sewing. She turns her attention to it entirely. ...
Penelope features in Homer’s ‘Odyssey.’ She is a minor character who is only part of the story because her husband, the King of Ithaca, is the protagonist. The original tale follows her husband’s travels to Troy and his return home. Her role is that of a faithful wife who, despite her large number of suitors, remains loyal to her husband. She waits...
‘Penelope’ is a five-stanza, dramatic monologue that is divided into stanzas of nine lines. The poem is written in free verse. Meaning that it does not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. But that doesn’t mean that the poem is entirely without either. For example, “trees” and “knees” rhyme in the first stanzaat the ends of lines thr...
Throughout ‘Penelope’ Carol Ann Duffy(Bio | Poems)makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited to: 1. Allusion: throughout the poem, the poet alludes to the Greek mythof Odysseus and the story of his voyage home from the Trojan War. 2. Caesura: seen when the poet inserts a pause into the middle of a line. It can be throu...
Stanza One
In the first lines of ‘Penelope,’ the speaker, Penelope herself, begins by describing what she did for the first six months that her husband was gone. She’d look down the road hoping that he’d come sauntering through the trees and whistle for the dog. This is a clear image taken from experience. It’s obvious she’s thinking back on happier times, hoping to see her husband come back to her as he always did before. There is also an example of personification in this stanza when she describes the...
Stanza Two
Penelope has found a new hobby: sewing. It’s something that amuses her. She’s excited about it and the fact that it gives her something else to think about. She describes sewing a “girl / under a single star.” She’s running after a “childhood’s bouncing ball.” Most readers will be able to imagine the childhood happiness that is depicted in this image. The fact that Penelope is sewing suggests that this is something she’s dreaming about. Perhaps she lived this moment, or she wishes she could’v...
Stanza Three
There is a good simileat the beginning of stanza three when the poet’s speaker compares her thimble to an acorn. This is again another example of her adorning her normal world with happier images. She continues to embroider, making the scene more and more emotional. There is an oak tree, a maiden, and “heroism’s boy.” The fact that “heroism’s boy” goes unnamed and undefined suggests that this could be Odysseus or perhaps a better version of him. But the boy sails away as her own husband did....
Readers who enjoyed ‘Penelope’ should also consider reading some other Carol Ann Duffy poems. For example: 1. ‘The Map-Woman’ – uses a metaphoricaldepiction of the female body to describe how inescapable identity is. 2. ‘Beautiful’ – focuses on the damage beauty can cause. Duffy speaks on Helen of Troy, Princess Diana, and others in these lines. 3....
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Dorothy Parker’s ‘Penelope‘ uses the classical figures of Odysseus and his wife, the titular Penelope, to explore themes related to gender and the true nature of heroism. Tips to know before reading the poem
- Male
- April 20, 1997
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
So for much of the poem, he’s either doing the talking or he’s being talked about by other people. But meanwhile, his wife, Penelope, is back at home dealing with challenges of her own. So Christine, Penelope’s perhaps most famous for being Odysseus’ faithful wife.
Dec 14, 2017 · Atwood’s novelistic reworking of the Odyssey provides an overt engagement with the potential for identifying and working across faultlines in the Odyssean narrative through alternative female viewpoints from the start, in that it is named after her eponymous heroine, Penelope.
Penelope, in Parker’s poem, seems slightly bitter about the contrast between her life and the life of Odysseus, and she seems slightly jealous of the reputation he will eventually...
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Though her love for Odysseus is unyielding, she responds to the suitors with some indecision. She never refuses to remarry outright. Instead, she puts off her decision and leads them on with promises that she will choose a new husband as soon as certain things happen.
