a wife in london

• 'a wife in london'


  indefinite article suggests this is a common experience for many
• 'she sits in the tawny vapour'


  sitting waiting for news, making it more tragic
• 'webby fold on fold'


  spiders web, trapped in hopelessness
• 'waning taper'


  burnt down candle foreshadows her husbands life being cut short
• 'street lamp glimmers cold'


  lamp going out paired with end stop symbolic of death
• 'flashed news is in her hand'


  had to be said with no emotion as many people received the same news
• 'dazes to understand'


  she is in a state of shock
• 'he has fallen'


  somewhat graceful, shows how war is presented
• 'in the south land...'


  ellipsis highlights that more was said. she just can't listen
• 'fog hangs thicker'


  grief is setting in
• 'his hand whom the worm now knows'


  graphic imagery, shows the true horrors of war and its effects
• 'his hoped return'


  he was looking forward to their life together, reinforces the tragedy of his death