Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
By Anonymous
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
Summary of Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
- Popularity of “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax”: Written by an anonymous writer about a true incident that took place at the end of the nineteenth century. It is stated that Lizzie Andrews Broden, who killed her stepmother and father, won judicial acquittal later. Although she won judicial acquittal, the locals ostracized her yet she spent her entire life in Fall River, her native town, and died later due to pneumonia. The popularity of this quatrain type of poem lies in its rhyme, notes, and metrical pattern.
- “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax” As a Representative of Notoriety in Crime: The speaker presents the poem with the name of the person, Lizzie Borden, and her weapon ax that she used in killing both her father and mother. The only thing that is good in this quatrain is the rhyme which shows the beauty of the end rhyme. Yet, its major theme of patricide and matricide do not emerge as forcefully as they should have. In other words, it shows the notoriety in crime through poetic rhythm in which this anonymous poetic soul has excelled.
- Major Themes in “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax”: Patricide, matricide, and seduction of crime are three major thematic strands of this short poem. The anonymous poet has created a rhythm that syncs with the crime of Lizzie. The beauty of the poem lies in the fact that when she sees that she has committed an act of matricide and her mother has breathed her last, she adds one more hit to kill her father. The poetic recitation and the seduction of crime have reduced the impact of such a gruesome murder. Therefore, it has become popular as a nursery rhyme. Or it could be that the poet has mocked the very idea to make children aware that nothing has happened as such.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
The anonymous poet of this short nursery rhyme used various literary devices to enhance the impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “And gave her mother forty whacks” and the sound of /o/ in “Lizzie Borden took an ax.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /f/ in “father forty-one.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /s and w/ in “And when she saw what she had done” and the sound of /r/ in “She gave her father forty-one.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. These lines are ironic in that they show the music, melody, and rhyme scheme yet with a gruesome murder mentioned in a lighter tone.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “Lizzie Borden took an ax”, “And gave her mother forty whacks” and “She gave her father forty-one.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as ax and whacks to show the criminality of the action.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: Diction means the type of language, and tone means the voice of the text. The diction in this poem is poetic and formal but the tone is highly exciting and jubilant.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Anonymous poet has used end rhyme in this poem, such as ax/whacks and done/forty-one.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. This short poem is a quatrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: This short poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This entire poem is a quatrain as well as a stanza.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when teaching students melody and rhythm, even in the poems have not had a good idea.
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
