Comment on the poem Charlotte O’Neil’s Song from Passengers by Fiona Farrell Essay Example

a symbolism of wealth "You lay on your silken pillow" which illustrates elegancy and extravagance and is part of an antithesis "I lay on an attic cot". A cot would have been very hard, uncomfortable and narrow, which is a symbol of poverty and hints at how the servants were treated. This is backed up by "that's the way it should be, you said/ That's the poor girl's lot".

Here O'Neil is reporting what her master has said and has a tone of disgust in the way O'Neil has reported it."You dined at eight/ and slept till late" symbolises that the wealthy were lazy and lead an idol and luxurious lives compared to the lower social classes. It is almost envious as O'Neil is still working whilst her master has long gone to bed.The third verse is the most unpleasant in tone and jobs "I emptied your chamber pot".

This was probably the most degrading task in the household. "The rich man earns his castle, you said/ The poor deserve the gate" is said in the masters narrow-minded, insensitive and superiority voice. It touches on the masters' view of social classes. It is also a metaphor these lines also refer to the story of Lazarus in the Bible. He spent his life begging at a rich mans gate and went to heaven but the rich man who gave Lazarus nothing went to hell!After this point in the poem she turns the table on her master and reveals that she will "never say 'sir` / or thank you ma'am" and that she "will never curtsey no more". This tense has now changed to the present tense

and talks about what she will 'never` do and what her master will do "you can bake your own bread/ and make your bed/ and answer your own front door".

This is revenge for all tasks that she has had to put up with; although this wouldn't really happen as O'Neil's master would have merely employed another girl.The repetition and tripling of "I've cleaned your" in the last emphasises that O'Neil is clearly growing restless of doing another woman's house work and is lacking respect for her masters. The next line "but now you're on your own dear/ I wont be there any more" is clearly stating that she is leaving her job.The next two lines are in the future tense using first person 'I`. "And I'll eat when I please/ and I'll sleep where I please" is a clear emphasise of freedom as all through out the poem O'Neil has been talking about her master but now she talks about herself.

The last line "and you can open your own front door" is an antithesis for the first line "you rang your bell and I answered" as in the first line O'Neil is opening her masters own front door but in the last line O'Neil is telling her master to shut her own front door. This is also the final note to say that O'Neil is leaving her job. It gives the image of O'Neil leaving the house out of her master's front door but just before she closes the door she says the line.