Charlotte Bronte: 'The nurse believed the sick man slept' poem analysis

The Nurse believed: Charlotte Bronte

As the Bronte family were surrounded by illness, throughout their lives, this short poem could express Charlotte’s lack of trust in medical support. Published in 1845, after the deaths of Maria (1821), Maria and Elizabeth (1825), this text is likely to reflect Charlotte’s own experience with illness/ health.

THEMES

·       Life and death

·       Lack of knowledge / uncertainty

·       Appearance versus reality

·       Secrecy

·       Doubt

·       Avoidance

FORM

·       Single quatrain highlights speakers lack of…