An Explication of Washing Day

An Explication of Washing Day

One Source Cited The poem Washing Day by Anna Letitia Barbauld illustrates two different points of view of the events that are happening on washing day. The first view is how the people surrounding the author feel towards the chores to be done that day. The second is the view from the author when she was a child, observing all that is happening. The idea of the poem is to bring to the reader's attention the joy and innocence of childhood, while at the same time noting the importance of the events of the day. The author accomplishes this by her choice of words used to describe the various tasks.

As soon as the poem begins, the reader detects a feeling of melancholy. The opening line "The Muses are turned gossips" immediately creates a negative tone. Muses (inspirations) are usually thought of as being good and uplifting, here they are being turned into something that is generally thought of as being bad. As the poem continues, a sense of sarcasm can be detected at the end of the author's reference to this day. She details the way the women ("domestic Muse") come from where they live in a most woeful way "prattling on" and going by mud where there are drowning flies and an old shoe. Then she ends this section by saying, "Come, Muse; and sing the dreaded Washing-Day." If something is dreaded, a person is not going to be singing about it, even though the men would probably like to see that. The description of marriage in the next line is interestingly negative. " Beneath the yoke of wedlock bend,..." a yoke is put on an ox which is a beast of burden! I suppose the women feel exactly this way because they seem to have no choice in the matter.

As the women are getting ready the sky looks as though it is going to rain, which makes the task even worse. Barbauld's description of the attitude at the breakfast table continues the melancholy. She uses the word "silent" and "dispatched" to depict breakfast, words that are not associated with an enjoyable meal (line 19). The next few lines illustrate the effect of the rain on such a day. The sopping wet clothes will cause the drying lines to snap and the clothes will get dirty and stained. She states this as being one of the "petty miseries of life"(line 28). Barbauld is again being sarcastic here because what may seem petty to others, is not to these women. The chores that are being done on this day are hard, tiresome and without thanks. Petty, by definition is of little or no importance; if the clothes and linens cannot get done than it becomes something that is important.

Lines 30 to 50 portray the possibility of a husband coming by to ask for something else to be done, that a sock be mended for example, or to go for a walk with his wife. The importance of this line is to represent how the men do not feel that the tasks of the day are that big of a deal, as if the wife has tons of free time to go about these other things to please him. Line 50 tells exactly how he will be treated if he thinks about trying this, a blank look and a short conversation. The women are so busy that a husband, who actually tries to cheer up his wife, is made to eat dinner alone and then leave when he is through. A generally unhappy theme continues for the first two thirds of the poem, but then once the child begins to describe how she sees things, the mood changes.

The child does not remember this day as dreadful and can not understand why the others do not feel the same way. Even though all of this hard work is going on, the child is looking for some loving attention or a treat. This is where the reader can begin