#17

The form in "Edward" creates several small conversations between Edward and his mother within one conversation. In each stanza, the first and third and the fifth and seventh lines are identical. In each case, Edward's mother asks why his sword is so bloody, the first and third lines. Edward follows this with an excuse as to why his sword would be covered in blood, the fifth and seventh lines. This continues for the first two stanzas, but after Edward confesses in the third, he becomes the accuser. He accuses his mother of planting the idea of killing his father, and his accusation continues the pattern. His condemnation of his mother, the end of the poem, finishes the pattern with statements from both speakers rather than just from Edward. The repetition of the lines emphasizes the importance each point has to the speaker.