Anyone who has lost a loved one knows just how devastating it can be. This poem addresses the overwhelming sorrow which can make the mourner feel that there is no joy left in the world. Sadly, this is an experience that most of us will go through at some stage in our lives, which gives the poem its universal appeal.
Collections
‘Funeral Blues’ deals with the themes of death and love, so it would fi t into a collection dealing with either or both of these issues.
The speaker’s love is captured in the description of the deceased as ‘My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song’.
The statement ‘I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong’ reminds us that all things come to an end in this world.
1. What impression do you get of the relationship between the speaker and his lost lover? Support your view with reference to the poem.
2. Do you think the use of deliberate exaggeration is effective in this poem? Explain your view with reference to the poem.
3. Choose two lines or images from the poem that you feel best convey the speaker’s intense grief. Give reasons for your choices.
4. This poem was originally written to be set to music. Imagine you have been asked to make a YouTube video to accompany a reading of the poem. Describe the visual images, music and lighting effects, etc. you would choose as a background to the reading. Explain your choices based on your knowledge of the poem.
