Effacé by Paul Maddern is an exploration into a past relationship which ended a long time ago. The speaker is reminded of his past romance in the arrival of a letter, throwing up questions of identity and choices for the speaker.
This study guide is written for students and teachers of English Literature, particularly those studying CCEA’s GCSE English Literature Identity Anthology. For more study guides from this anthology, check out the list of poems in the series at the bottom of this guide.
Effacé
for Nora
Yours was the face I almost lived a lie for,
that might have brought about the 2.4,
not this sterile A4 annual report
about the daughter’s aptitude for sport,
Ted’s reunion and the dress you wore.
I want to know: did the dress allow
seductive développés and port de bras,
did sling-backs reveal triumphant arches,
were accountants left unconscious
and the husband damning Terpsichore?
But should I be content if my Odette
is happy to distract suburban courts?
Nibble canapés my swan, forget
this mincing prince who hoped we might be more.
What is 'Effacé' all about?
Summary of stanza 1
In the opening stanza, the speaker reminisces about a past love, someone to whom he considered committing with a diamond ring (2.4 carats) and raising a family (2.4 children, the stereotypical average number of children in a British family in the 1990s). The memory of her face was sparked by his receipt of a letter from her (we assume she is Nora, to whom the poem is addressed). He is left feeling cold as her ‘sterile’ letter reads more like an ‘annual report’ in which she is keen to inform him of her daughter’s achievements and her husband’s social life.
Summary of stanza 2
In stanza two, the speaker allows himself to be drawn back into a fantasy of this past love. He imagines her at her husband’s reunion party. He images her beauty as so staggering that the accountants faint to the floor and her husband is left shaking his fist at Terpsichore, the Greek muse of poetry and dance!
Summary of stanza 3
In the third, final, stanza, the speaker asks the big question: should he be content that she is happy? Should he be content that she is happy to play the part of ‘wife’ at ‘suburban courts’ when, in his memory, she is as magnificent as Odette, the swan princess? These big questions of identity and choices are left hanging. He answers to an extent by wishing her well in her life of social engagements and in her supporting role of ‘wife’ (‘nibble canapés my swan’). The question lingers as to whether he is happy or not (‘who hoped we might be more’), despite his acknowledgement in stanza one that being with her would have been a ‘lie’.
Context of 'Effacé'
Paul Maddern's life, education and career
Paul Maddern is a poet, writer and owner of a writing retreat in Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
Born in 1962 in Bermuda, Maddern studied Film at Queen’s University, Canada and trained at the Colorado ballet.
After moving to Northern Ireland in 2000, he studied at Queen’s University, Belfast; he was awarded an MA in Creative Writing from the Seamus Heaney Centre as well as a PhD from the School of English.
Maddern’s poetry, particularly evident in Effacé, is influenced by his training as a ballet dancer. His writing is also influenced by research into World War 1 and a long list of contemporary Irish poets, particularly Sinead Morrissey and Ciaran Carson, both of whom feature in the CCEA GCSE English Literature Identity Poetry Anthology alongside Maddern.
This article in the Honest Ulsterman provides insight into the creative influences on Maddern’s life and poetry, as well as his thoughts on the LGBTQ+ writing in Ireland today. Maddern’s most recent publication, Queering the Green, can be bought here.
Context of 'Effacé'
Relationships
Maddern struggled with his sexuality in his youth and university days. His relationship with Nora, which is the main focus of this poem, raises the issue of feeling like you ‘live a lie’. Maddern’s writing now embraces his homosexuality and seeks to expand the ways in which Ireland embraces LGBTQ+ writing.
Ballet
In Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, Swan Lake, Odette is cursed to live as a swan by day and is only able to be a woman by night. She can only be freed from this curse by love. Odette represents grace, beauty and purity. In this story, there are complex ideas of identity and living life trapped in the identity of another. This provides an interesting backdrop for analysis of Effacé by Paul Maddern.
Line-by-line analysis of 'Effacé'
The title, Effacé, is open to several interpretations. The word efface in English means to make oneself appear insignificant, or to erase.
Effacé is also a ballet term, meaning to have one’s legs in an open position to the audience, rather than crossed (croisé). Like all ballet terms, this word is French.
Stanza 1
Yours was the face I almost lived a lie for,
- The speaker addresses someone, suggesting that this person’s face was compelling enough to make the speaker consider living a lie.
- The poet uses alliteration in “lived a lie,” creating a rhythmic effect.
- The enjambment in this line allows the thought to flow seamlessly into the next, mirroring the speaker’s contemplation.
that might have brought about the 2.4,
- The speaker contemplates a potential consequence (2.4, possibly referring to a family size or a specific event) that could have occurred if they had pursued the lie.
- Consonance is used to create a rhythmic effect with the repeated ‘t’ sounds in this line.
not this sterile A4 annual report
- The current situation is described as sterile and mundane, represented by an annual report. This implies a sense of disappointment or unfulfillment.
- The adjective “sterile” conveys a negative and lifeless atmosphere.
- The poet introduces irony by contrasting the exciting potential of the ‘2.4’ with the mundane nature of an “A4 annual report.”
about the daughter’s aptitude for sport,
- The annual report seems to focus on the daughter’s skill in sports, highlighting the trivial nature of their communication.
- The poet creates a pause with the comma at the end of this line, emphasising the daughter’s skill in sports. The mundane subject matter of a parental report on sports contrasts with the earlier anticipation of a more thrilling life.
Ted’s reunion and the dress you wore.
- The report also covers Ted’s reunion and a particular dress. These details further emphasise the mundane nature of the current situation, possibly in contrast to the more exciting, potential lie mentioned earlier.
- The inclusion of specific names like “Ted” and the emphasis on “the dress you wore” introduces concrete details which are carefully balanced across the conjunction ‘and’.
Stanza 2
I want to know: did the dress allow
- The speaker expresses a desire to know more about the dress and its impact.
- The poet uses a colon to introduce a direct question, inviting reader engagement.
- The line is a setup for the imaginative exploration of the dress and its potential effects, suggesting the speaker is still captivated by the woman’s physical appearance.
seductive développés and port de bras,
- The speaker imagines the dress enabling seductive ballet movements (developpés and port de bras), suggesting a connection between the dress and sensuality.
- Ballet terms such as “développés” and “port de bras” create vivid imagery associated with grace and sensuality. The poet uses consonance in these French ballet terms, enhancing the rhythmic quality.
did sling-backs reveal triumphant arches,
- The speaker continues the imaginative description, wondering if the sling-backs of the shoes reveal an alluring arch in the wearer’s feet.
- The poet uses a rhetorical question, drawing the reader into the speaker’s curiosity.
were accountants left unconscious
- The poem takes a humorous turn, suggesting that the allure of the dress and its accompanying details might have had a dramatic effect on seemingly dull professions like accountants.
and the husband damning Terpsichore?
- Terpsichore is the Greek muse of dance and chorus. The speaker wonders if the husband would be upset or condemn dance and artistry due to the seductive effect of the dress on the other men at the party.
- The reference to Terpsichore adds a layer of cultural and mythological depth. The poet plays with words, using “damning Terpsichore” to suggest disapproval of artistic pursuits.
Stanza 3
But should I be content if my Odette
- The speaker shifts to a different image, referring to Odette, a character from the ballet Swan Lake, who is often associated with purity and grace.
- The conjunction “But” signals a shift in tone to introduce the symbolic character Odette.
- The poet uses enjambment to connect this line with the following, maintaining a fluid narrative.
is happy to distract suburban courts?
- The speaker questions whether it is enough for Odette to be content with distracting suburban communities, possibly implying a simpler and less glamorous life.
- The poet employs a metaphor with “distract suburban courts,” likening Odette’s potential actions to a performance in a legal setting. This adds a layer of irony and wit.
Nibble canapés my swan, forget
- The rhetorical question of the previous lines has finished, and the moment of pondering ends with a resolution in this final pair of lines. The speaker encourages Odette to enjoy the finer things in life, symbolised by nibbling on canapés, and forget about the speaker’s earlier aspirations for a more dramatic existence.
- The poet uses imperatives like “Nibble” to directly address Odette, creating a sense of intimacy. The metaphor of nibbling canapés adds a touch of luxury and indulgence, but also a sense of letting go. He wants her to continue to enjoy these parties: this sonnet isn’t a declaration of love but an acceptance of the end of a past relationship.
this mincing prince who hoped we might be more.
- The speaker uses the term ‘mincing prince’ ironically. The term ‘mincing’ implies that the speaker is both indecisive and camp. The irony of referring to himself as a prince is that as a heroic character (such as the prince in Swan Lake), he may not live up to traditional heroic expectations.
- The enjambment here creates a smooth transition to the final line, completing the poem with a reflective tone.
Effacé: language
Semantic fields
In contrast to the ballet imagery, evoking ideas of elegance and beauty, is the cold and ‘sterile’ imagery of school reports in stanza one. His former friend/lover writes on A4 paper, suggesting a corporate letter rather than the more traditional handwritten letter paper or notecard. He summarises the content of her letter in a negative tone, using ‘aptitude’ to describe Nora’s daughter’s sporting prowess. The semantic field of school vocabulary (‘A4’, ‘2.4’, ‘aptitude’, ‘sterile’, ‘reunion’) are usual choices for a sonnet and sit at odds with the romanticised imagery of ballet which develops in the speaker’s fantasy and memory in the second half of the poem.
Diction
Another aspect of language is the vocabulary of doubt and questioning which is present throughout the poem. From the opening line we read of the speaker’s search for identity in his life choices (‘lived a lie for’) along with the doubt implied through diction like ‘almost’ and ‘might’. Add to this the questions: ‘I want to know…?’ and ‘should I be content…?’. We see that despite the confidence of the final line, ‘forget this mincing prince’, we can hear regret at the thought of what might have been.
The vocabulary choice in the final line is interesting: the adjective ‘mincing’ describes him as effeminate. His use of ‘prince’ pairs him with her, swan princess with her prince. The contrast of the self-depreciating term ‘mincing’ beside the grandeur of ‘prince’ shows perceptive self understanding as well as the longing of his younger self to be with her. In his memory, she is always Odette and he is still her Siegfried.
Analysis of form and structure
Sonnet
The sonnet structure of the poem is evident in its 14 lines, the theme of love, the volta and the loose iambic pentameter, but many of the sonnet’s strict rules are broken in this poem.
Is Effacé a traditional sonnet?
No! There are elements which are certainly not traditional of a sonnet: three verses of uneven length (five lines, five lines, then four lines), and the rhyme scheme, made up of some full and some half rhymes (loosely AABBC DEFFC GBGC). The late volta, at line 11, indicates the change in thinking, from the tone of regret and wistful fantasising of what might have been, to a resigned acceptance of their different paths in life. The volta, signified by the word ‘But’, is accompanied by the question ‘should I be content…?’ showing the speaker’s search for identity within his own past choices and present reality.
Maddern’s choice of the sonnet form indicates the grace and beauty of dance, love and the search for meaning and identity, themes and ideas all very well suited to the form. However, his choice to break up the sonnet into shorter stanzas and to disrupt and deflate the more traditional sonnet rhyme scheme indicate his movement away from the life choice of the ‘traditional’ 2.4 children nuclear family. Effacé’s reinvention of the sonnet perhaps reflects the speaker’s reinvention of himself, or acceptance of a new way. Indeed, the volta describes his realisation that a relationship with Nora would have been a lie.
Rhyme
Traditionally, sonnets end with a rhyming, heroic couplet: a rhetorical high to give auditory closure to the poem. In this case, Maddern makes another bold change, to end the sonnet with two unrhymed lines. The final word, ‘more’ echoes back to ‘Terpsichore’ and ‘wore’ at the end of the previous two verses. But this faint and distant rhyme is not the strong sound we are familiar with in a more traditional Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet. Along with the faint rhyme sound, the instruction for her to ‘forget this mincing prince’ creates a sense of the fading of this memory of an unrequited, unfulfilled love than lives only in the fantasy of what might have been, had the speaker’s sexual identity been different.
Themes in 'Effacé'
Love
As you would expect in a sonnet, the theme of love is prevalent: the memory of past love, and what remains of love long after the relationship has ended.
In this poem, what is left is a gloating yearly letter, a sense of regret but ultimately, a sense that the right choice was made.
Ballet
The theme of dance and its beauty is another major theme. Paul Maddern trained as a ballet dancer and the influences of this training are clear in this poem, as the speaker imagines Nora’s life in terms of ballet terms and movements.
Memory and remembering the past
Effacé quiz: test your knowledge!
Effacé by Paul Maddern
Check your knowledge using the short quiz below!
Comprehension Questions:
- What is the significance of the title ‘Effacé’ on the content of the poem?
- What event prompts the speaker’s reflection on his past relationship with ‘Nora’?
- Identity one image in ‘Effacé’ and explain its impact on the overall meaning of the poem.
- What the mood of the speaker at the start of the poem, and how does this change or develop by the end?
- Why does Maddern choose the form of the sonnet for this poem? Explain the impact of the sonnet on the content of ‘Effacé’.
- How does Maddern adapt and subvert the traditional sonnet structure for deliberate effect in ‘Effacé’?
- How does this poem reflect on the theme of identity, or the identity of the speaker?
- How do the reference to ‘Odette’, ‘Terpsichore’ and ballet terms contribute to the poem’s context?
- What other poem would you choose from the identity anthology for a compare and contrast essay? Create a mind map to show the similarities and differences between these two poems.
The sonnet form invites comparison and contrast. In addition, the themes of love, acceptance of your place in the world/choices provides sources of comparison. The contrast of time period is also worth exploring.
The theme of memories of the past is a clear comparison with Effacé, as well as choices which lead to present realities. Acceptance of love in relation to identity is another common theme. Lastly, the impact of music (Piano) and dance (Effacé) might open up a way of comparing imagery.
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