“A Quoi Bon Dire” Introduction

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“A Quoi Bon Dire” Summary

“A Quoi Bon Dire” Themes

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  Death, Loss, and Everlasting Love

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• 

  The Unique and Universal Experience of Love

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Quoi Bon Dire”

• Lines 1-4

  Seventeen years ago you said
  Something that sounded like Good-bye;
  And everybody thinks that you are dead,
  But I.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  So I, as I grow stiff and cold
  To this and that say Good-bye too;
  And everybody sees that I am old
  But you.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-11

  And one fine morning in a sunny lane
  Some boy and girl will meet and kiss and swear
  That nobody can love their way again

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 12-13

  While over there
  You will have smiled, I shall have tossed your hair.

  

  

  

  

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“A Quoi Bon Dire” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Sibilance

  

  

  

  

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• Paradox

  

  

  

  

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“A Quoi Bon Dire” Vocabulary

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• A quoi bon dire
• Lane

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Quoi Bon Dire”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“A Quoi Bon Dire” Speaker

“A Quoi Bon Dire” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “A Quoi Bon Dire”

More “A Quoi Bon Dire” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Short Biography — Read the Poetry Foundation's short biography of Mew to learn more about her all-too-short life.

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

  • A Portrait of Mew — Take a look at a photo of Mew and admire her dapper cravat: she was known for her dandyish, flamboyant personal style. She dressed in elegant menswear at a time when this was a pretty scandalous choice for a woman.

  • Mew's Legacy — Read a review of a Mew biography that discusses her literary afterlife.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Charlotte Mew

  • Rooms

  • The Farmer's Bride

  • The Trees are Down