Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
by Charles Causley
Stanza 1
Stanza 2
Stanza 3
Stanza 4
Stanza 5
Stanza 6
Stanza 1- The persona, a young boy is asking his mother where his sister, Lulu is. He says there
is nothing on her bed except an old rag-doll and a shoe by its side.
Stanza 2- The persona is asking his mother why Lulu's window is open and her money-box is
missing.
Stanza 3- The persona asks his mother why she is turning her head away and crying. He asks her
again why she crumples and throws the note into the fire and tells him that nothing is wrong.
Stanza 4- The persona wants to know why his mother is saying that the voices and the roar of an
engine he heard are just a dream. The roar of an engine implies that his sister, Lulu was driven
away in a car.
Stanza 5- The persona heard somebody cry in pain or anger but his mother tells him that it must
have been the wind.
Stanza 6- The persona wants his mother to explain why she is confused and what has happened
to his older sister, Lulu.
In this poem, the persona is the poet himself as a young boy. He tells us that his older sister, Lulu
is missing. Actually she has run away, but when he asks his mother, she doesn't tell him what has
happened. He sees Lulu's old rag-doll on her bed and a shoe by its side. Her window is open and
her money-box is gone. When he asks his mother why she is crying and burning a note, she says
that is nothing. He is puzzled and asks her innocently what has happened to Lulu, but she is silent.
Then he tells her that he heard voices and a car late at night, but she says that he must have been
dreaming. Next, he says that he heard somebody crying in anger or in pain, but she explains that it
must have been the rain. He is confused. He notices that she is confused too and wants to know
what has happened to his sister, Lulu.
Setting
Tone
Puzzlement and Confusion : The boy doesn't understand what is going on. He is confused
about his mother's reaction towards the loss of her child. The persona explains what he saw in
Lulu's room and he sees his mother crying, but she says nothing us wrong
(Stanza 3). He knows something has happened to his sister, so he tells her that he heard voices
and a car in the middle of the night. But she dismisses whatever he has heard as merely a dream.
In Stanza 4, his mother is crying and grieving. She is confused too and doesn't know what to do
now that she has lost her child, Lulu.
1. Running away from home- Running away from home doesn't solve our problems.
2. Importance of close family ties- We must have a close relationship with our family
members to discuss our problems easily.
3. Coping with the loss of family member- The loss of a family member affects everyone
in the family.
4. Love for our family members- We must love our family members.
Word vs Meaning