Edward

Wow! The first thing I would have to say is that if I wrote this poem, I wouldn't want to claim its insanity either. The whole plot of this poem is completely twisted. I didn't realize what had happened till my small group talked about the poem and somebody joked about the mother being the psycho one. Then, I realized that when the boy told his mother of his father's death, she wasn't sad in the least bit. The mother only cares about where the material items and property will go to since they are not legally her son's. She is so concerned with what everyone will possess since the death of her husband. The son explains to her that she will only get "the curse of hell from me [Edward] shall ye [mother] bear." Edward blames her for raising him the way that she did. She is the reason why his dear father is dead.

The pattern in this poem goes from what least matters to the mother to what is cherished by the mother. The poem starts off talking about animals. Then, it goes from the father to penance to possessions and land to Edward's children and wife to the most important, herself. Also, the same lines are repeated throughout the poem and the structure of every stanza is the same.