The Speaker

The speaker in this poem is helping with the preparations for some type of event. Based on the imagery, it can be assumed that it is a funeral or wake for a dead woman. It may be clear what the speaker is doing, but there are very few clues as to who the anonymous speaker is or what their relationship is to the dead woman. By using many imperative verbs, “Call,” “Bid,” “Let” etc., the speaker takes on the appearance of someone with authority over the situation – someone who is particularly concerned not only with the physical preparations for the event but also the philosophical way they think mourners should approach the arrangements.

The Dead Woman

The presence of a body in the second stanza being covered by a “sheet on which she embroidered fantails once” (11) is the clearest image that suggests the speaker is making preparations...