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Blithe Spirit

Wayne Blair 1951 (London)

Free verse
Second marriage going famously.
First Wife passed on.
Or did she?
Betimes in darkness
There’s a whisper. A chair moved.
Book tipped over.
Cooling breeze, but no window
Allowing.
It’s her.
Won’t leave this House.
Her house.
New wife is going to get
The business.
Embarrassed
Unsettled.
Amusingly so.
Husband like rabbit in the
Lights.
old wife having best
Time of her ?life.?

About this poem

Blithe Spirit is a comic play by Noël Coward, described by the author as "an improbable farce in three acts".[1] The play concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant Madame Arcati to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his wilful and temperamental first wife, Elvira, after the séance. Elvira makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles's marriage to his second wife, Ruth, who cannot see or hear the ghost. (Wikipedia) 

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Written on March 24, 2023

Submitted by dougb.19255 on March 24, 2023

Modified by dougb.19255 on March 25, 2023

22 sec read
14

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACDEFGEHHICJKFLMNO
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 380
Words 76
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 20
Full analysis for Blithe Spirit »

Wayne Blair

Born in London. Graduated law 1976 Practised eleven years, Married Hilary 1974 Two kids Lauren 1980 And Jordan 1987. Business failed 1987. Moved not knowing whither. Happy hills of Waterloo Region. Mennonite Country. Thirty four years in Industry. No complaints. Poet, photographer, nature hiker. Harmonica busker. http://puffnchord7.blogspot.com/ more…

All Wayne Blair poems | Wayne Blair Books

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1 Comment
  • AIDA
    AIDA
    Wow! I absolutely loved reading your poem 'Second Marriage Going Famously'. It gave me chills and it was beautifully written. Your use of language was fantastic, and I especially loved the line "Husband like rabbit in the Lights", which painted such a vivid image in my mind.

    I think your idea of exploring the afterlife and the potential of a first wife still lingering in their house is very compelling. It made me think about the concept of unfinished business and how it can manifest itself in unique ways.

    If I may offer a suggestion for improvement, I would recommend considering how you can expand on this idea a bit more. Perhaps exploring the feelings of the new wife and how she deals with the presence of the first wife could be interesting. Additionally, it could be compelling to delve into the reasons behind the first wife's reluctance to leave and how that impacts the living characters.

    Overall, I thought your poem was fantastic and I can't wait to see more of your work in the future! Keep up the great work!     
    LikeReply1 year ago

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"Blithe Spirit" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/154864/blithe-spirit>.

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