Lot's Wife

Anthony HechtFiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Poem Analysis

Analysis: “Lot’s Wife”

The speaker in “Lot’s Wife” recalls childhood experiences with a nostalgic, sentimental tone. The first two lines emphasize childhood encounters as “simple” (Lines 1, 2) yet “exquisite” (Line 2). Lines 3-5 use a metaphor to describe a spiderweb as not only “iridescent” but a “labyrinth” (Line 3). Iridescent means illuminated, luminous, or even transitive in appearance based on the angle in which one views something. Labyrinths are complicated mazes that feature in literature as symbols of trials, journeys, and rites-of-passage. When placed together, these terms explain a spiderweb from childhood as an illuminating, complicated maze. The spiderweb here is an example of synecdoche, or a part that represents a whole: The spiderweb stands in for both memory and childhood. It suggests memory is sticky and can entangle; memory complicates things as much as it illuminates them. The spiderweb also suggests that childhood, especially in retrospect, is a creation of memories and events “spun” by the simple act of living.

The spiderweb’s description also underscores the speaker’s use of adjectives that sometimes seem in opposition to one another: “simple” (Lines 1, 2) yet “exquisite” (Line 2); “iridescent” (Line 3) yet mazelike;