Within the poem The Blue Flannel Suit, the poet Ted Hughes creates a personal meaning for the audience to read. Via the use of language techniques, Hughes writes about his wife and how her death affected him.
Within the second stanza of the poem, the narrative voice of the husband is observing his wife teaching for the first time, commenting on her suit. Hughes writes “the misery of your blue flannel suit, its straightjacket”. This quotation suggests that the husband was observing his wife forcing herself to teach and fit into society’s expectation, hence the reference to the suit being a straightjacket. The phrase “its straightjacket” could be a metaphor for how the wife feels restricted and trapped within herself, which the husband has observed yet doesn’t do anything about it, further suggesting that there could be problems within the marriage. This makes the audience wonder why the husband doesn’t help his wife and why the wife is struggling with personal mental issues. It also implies a foreboding sensation that something tragic is to happen within the marriage, as straightjackets are associated with mental institutions.
The form and structure of the poem indicates that the husband had little emotion towards his wife’s death, possibly due to the shock and feeling numb whilst grieving her. Throughout the first and second stanza, the husband also doesn’t show many emotions, rather just observations about his wife and her attitude. This suggests that the husband is saying it in a monotone voice, using blunt expressions to represent what happened leading up to her death. As the poem progresses into the final stanza where the wife has passed away, emotions from the husband are lacking even more so. This suggests to the audience that the husband could be re-telling the final days, therefore bluntly and emotionless as he is grieving and dealing with it his own way, making the audience pity him and feel sympathy towards him.
Kayleigh Jones 