Carol Ann Duffy's poem “Pilate’s Wife" appears in her 1999 collection The World’s Wife, which retells myths, fairy tales and historical events from the perspective of famous men’s female family members. “Pilate’s Wife” reimagines the crucifixion of Jesus Christ through the eyes of the wife of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor responsible for Christ's execution. The poem depicts Pilate’s wife’s frustration: at her husband, at her inability to prevent Jesus’s death, and at her own lack of power. In this way, the poem questions the traditional power structures that reward weak men like Pontius while oppressing women like the speaker.
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The Full Text of “Pilate's Wife”
The Full Text of “Pilate's Wife”
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“Pilate's Wife” Summary
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“Pilate's Wife” Themes
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Marriage and Women's Oppression
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Masculinity, Power, and Desire
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4
- Lines 9-12
- Lines 14-16
- Lines 19-24
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Pilate's Wife”
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Lines 1-4
Firstly, his hands—a ...
... me flinch. Pontius. -
Lines 5-7
I longed for ...
... the frenzied crowd. -
Lines 8-12
I tripped, clutched ...
... to the gates. -
Lines 13-16
The night before ...
... sweating, sexual, terrified. -
Lines 17-20
Leave him alone ...
... up his sleeves -
Lines 21-24
and slowly washed ...
... believed he was.
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“Pilate's Wife” Symbols
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Hands
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “Firstly, his hands—a woman's. Softer than mine, / with pearly nails, like shells from Galilee. / Indolent hands. Camp hands that clapped for grapes. / Their pale, mothy touch made me flinch.”
- Lines 14-16: “His brown hands touched me. Then it hurt. / Then blood. I saw that each tough palm was skewered / by a nail.”
- Lines 19-21: “Pilate saw me, / looked away, then carefully turned up his sleeves / and slowly washed his useless, perfumed hands.”
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“Pilate's Wife” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “a woman's”
- Line 3: “Indolent hands. Camp hands that clapped for grapes.”
- Line 4: “pale, mothy touch,” “made me flinch”
- Line 5: “I longed for Rome, home, someone else”
- Line 6: “I crept out”
- Line 13: “I dreamt of him.”
- Line 14: “brown hands”
- Line 15: “tough palm”
- Line 16: “I woke up, sweating, sexual,”
- Lines 19-20: “Pilate saw me, / looked away”
- Line 21: “his useless, perfumed hands.”
- Line 23: “My maid knows all the rest.”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Line 2: “pearly nails”
- Line 4: “pale, mothy touch”
- Line 12: “rough men shouldering”
- Line 14: “Then it hurt.”
- Lines 15-16: “each tough palm was skewered / by a nail. ”
- Line 21: “perfumed hands.”
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Irony
Where irony appears in the poem:- Lines 19-21: “Pilate saw me, / looked away, then carefully turned up his sleeves / and slowly washed his useless, perfumed hands.”
- Lines 22-23: “They seized the prophet then and dragged him out, / up to the Place of Skulls.”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “hands”
- Lines 10-10: “He looked at me. I mean he looked at / me / .”
- Line 14: “hands”
- Lines 14-15: “Then it hurt. / Then blood.”
- Line 21: “hands”
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Galilee”
- Line 4: “Pontius”
- Lines 5-6: “When the Nazarene / entered Jerusalem,”
- Line 13: “The night before his trial, I dreamt of him.”
- Lines 18-23: “the Nazarene was crowned with thorns. / The crowd was baying for Barabbas. Pilate saw me, / looked away, then carefully turned up his sleeves / and slowly washed his useless, perfumed hands. / They seized the prophet then and dragged him out, / up to the Place of Skulls. ”
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“Pilate's Wife” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Galilee
- Indolent
- Camp
- Pontius Pilate
- The Nazarene
- Jerusalem
- Ass
- Barabbas
- Place of Skulls
- The Prophet
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(Location in poem: Line 2: “pearly nails, like shells from Galilee.”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Pilate's Wife”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Pilate's Wife” Speaker
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“Pilate's Wife” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Pilate's Wife”
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More “Pilate's Wife” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to "Pilate's Wife" read aloud.
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A Brief Biography — Read a short biography of Carol Ann Duffy.
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The World's Wife — Read more poems from The World's Wife, the collection in which "Pilate's Wife" was published.
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Duffy as Laureate — Watch a brief interview with Duffy in which she discusses becoming the first woman Poet Laureate of the UK.
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Pontius Pilate — Learn more about Pontius Pilate, one of the central characters of the poem.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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