Lady
By Amy Lowell
You are beautiful and faded
Like an old opera tune
Played upon a harpsichord;
Or like the sun-flooded silks
Of an eighteenth-century boudoir1.
In your eyes
Smoulder the fallen roses of
outlived minutes,
And the perfume of your soul
Is vague and suffusing2,
With the pungence of sealed spicejars.
Your half-tones delight me,
And I grow mad with gazing
At your blent colors.
My vigor3 is a new-minted penny,
Which I cast at your feet.
Gather it up from the dust,
That its sparkle may amuse you.
Review Questions
1. A woman's bedroom or
private room (boudoir)
2. Gradually spread
through or over
(suffusing)
3. Physical strength and
good health.(vigor)
Directions: Respond to these questions to the best of your
ability. Answer the questions completely. If you need more
space, use the back or a separate sheet.
1. Identify two examples of simile: explain which two things
are being compared in each simile.
You are beautiful and faded
Like an old opera tune
Played upon a harpsichord;
Or like the sun-flooded silks
Of an eighteenth-century boudoir.
In these two similes, the lady is compared to an old opera tune
played on a harpsichord and the lady is also compared to sunflooded silks or an eighteenth century boudoir.
2. Identify two examples of metaphor: explain which two
things are being compared in each metaphor.
In your eyes / Smoulder the fallen roses of outlived minutes: in
this example, time passed is compared to fallen roses.
My vigor is a new-minted penny: compares the speaker's vigor
to a penny.
And the perfume of your soul / Is vague and suffusing / With the
pungence of sealed spice-jars: students may interpret the
perfume of the soul line to be a metaphor. I believe that it is an
example of personification, but I would give them credit for it. In
both cases, when she compares it to the pungence of sealed
spice-jars, that is a metaphor.
3. Identify one example of personification: explain what is
being personified and how.
the perfume of your soul Is vague and suffusing: the soul is
being personified, as it cannot wear perfume.
Students may also interpret the phrase "outlived minutes" to be
an example of personification.
4. Identify one example of hyperbole: explain what is being
exaggerated.
And I grow mad with gazing / at your blent colors::the speaker
is exaggerating the effect of gazing at the lady. The speaker is
not literally going mad.
5. What is the subject of this poem? What is this poem
about? Explain your response.
This poem is about a vigorous young woman staring at an old
lady. The speaker is quite intrigued by the appearance of the old
lady, and she hope that the old woman is amused by her as well.
6. What is the tone of this poem? How does the speaker treat
the subject of the poem? Refer to text.
The speaker is intrigued by the old woman and does not hesitate
to compliment her. She is mainly respectful, but perhaps a bit
untactfully honest. This is shown in lines like: "You are beautiful
and faded." It is nice to call her beautiful, but I don't think
anyone would like to be called faded, even if it is an acurate
statement.
7. What is the mood of this poem? How does this poem make
you feel? Refer to text in your response.
The mood of the poem is still and calm. It feels as though I am
waiting. Like the speaker, the old woman and I are all waiting
around at a retirement home or something. Phrases like this:
"And I grow mad with gazing," make me feel like we have all
been waiting around for a while.