What Has Happened to Lulu? deals with themes of grief and love.

The mother is grieving

over her lost child. The fact that the child has run away does not make the grief less
significant. The confusion of the narrator about his or her parent’s reaction also tells us
something about the nature of grief.

The poem also considers how we deal with children, in dismissing what they have heard
or seen. The child narrator has some valid knowledge of what has happened, but his
mother tells him he dreamed it. The poem raises the question of how the child can react,
when he has been told nothing is the matter, when clearly it is. Ironically the mother
does not know what to do, as the final stanza makes clear.

Subject matter
What Has Happened to Lulu? is a poem told in a child’s voice about his older sister
running away.

A child is asking his mother what has happened to his sister, Lulu. There is nothing in
her room, and her money-box has gone, with only an open window and an old rag-doll
left behind. His mother is crying and burning a note. He thinks he heard voices and a car
in the middle of the night, but his mother tells him he was only dreaming.

Form and structure

The poem is a ballad, written in four line stanzas where the second and fourth lines
rhyme. This regular and simple form seems appropriate for the voice of the narrator,
which is of a young child.

It is a first person dramatic monologue that is addressed to the mother of the narrator.
It is almost entirely written in questions, both reflecting the age of the speaker and his
puzzlement at what has happened to his sister. The form suggests the child’s innocence,
while allowing the reader to read between the lines and understand what has happened.

Language and Imagery

Imagery
The image of the abandoned bed is the main one, described by the child narrator. The
inclusion of childhood objects such as a rag-doll and a money-box emphasise the youth
and innocence of the run-away Lulu. They are contrasted with the roar of the car engine
heard in the night and the grown-up world that the narrator does not understand,
emphasised by the constant questions. The curtain can be seen as a metaphor for Lulu’s
new freedom, contrasted by the dust on the shelf that represents her previous life.

Sound
The doubling of the sound in ‘Lulu’, together with the high level of repetition of both the
name and its shortening in the poem, create a strong echo of the sound – which is also
the rhymed sound in the first and last stanza. This is quite a childish sound, and helps to
create the plaintive note in the child’s questioning.

Attitudes, themes and ideas

The poem takes an approach that makes the reader work to figure out what has
happened. We have to piece together the clues given in the poem. This is in contrast to
the apparent simplicity of the poem provided by the ballad format and the child’s voice.
Doing this also puts the reader in the position of the child, who does not understand
what is going on. We, like the narrator, have more questions than answers. The tone is
one of puzzlement.

What Has Happened to Lulu? deals with themes of grief and love. The mother is grieving
over her lost child. The fact that the child has run away does not make the grief less
significant. The confusion of the narrator about his or her parent’s reaction also tells us
something about the nature of grief.

The poem also considers how we deal with children, in dismissing what they have heard
or seen. The child narrator has some valid knowledge of what has happened, but his
mother tells him he dreamed it. The poem raises the question of how the child can react,
when he has been told nothing is the matter, when clearly it is. Ironically the mother
does not know what to do, as the final stanza makes clear.

Meaning Of Lines

Stanza 1
The persona is questioning her mother about the mysterious and sudden disappearance
of Lulu. Two pieces of Lulu's childhood have been left behind-an old rag-doll and a shoe.
Stanza 2
The persona observes that the windows are open wide and the curtains are 'flapping free'
in the wind. The persona notices the 'dusty shelf' where 'her money-box used to be'
Stanza 3
The persona asks the mother why she is hiding he tears. The mother crumples up a note
(most probably from Lulu) and throws it into the fire. Then, mother tells her child that
'It is nothing at all', but the persona disbelieves her
Stanza 4
The persona tells that she was awakened by 'voices late last night' and heard the sounds
of an 'engine roar', probably a car starting up and being driven away. The mother says
that the child was only dreaming.
Stanza 5
Undaunted, the persona insists that she heard someone cry 'in anger or in pain'. The
mother says it was just 'a gust of rain'
Stanza 6
Puzzled about the mother's distraught behaviour, the child narrator wants to know why
the mother is pacing about, uncertain what to do. The use of 'Lu' in lines 2 and 24 is an
affectionate shortened form of 'Lulu'
Elements of the Poem

Setting
Place: - Probably England as indicated by 'money-box' which is typically Britsh
- Lulu's room, the fireplace
Time: - Some time in the past

Persona
- An observant, inquisitive and precocious child
- Either the younger sister or brother of Lulu, the main subject of the poem

Themes
- The end of childhood and the loss of innocence
- Parent-child relationship
- Grief and love

Messages
- We should seek help in the face of challenges
- Families should be havens of love and understanding
- Be open and honest with children

Moral Values
- Love and appreciation
- Obedience and respect
- Honesty
- Freedom and responsibility

Tone & Mood

Tone: Confusion
Mood: Sadness,irony

Language & Style

- Written in six stanzas of four lines each; second and fourth lines rhyme
- Regular and simple form fits the voices of the narrator/persona, a young child
- Literary devices: Rhetorical questions, imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
contrast, symbolism

Example questions

1. In your opinion, how do you think Lulu escaped from the house? State the evidence for
you answer.
My answer: Lulu escape through the window as can see the line of the window open
widely
2. Based on the poem, do you think the persona and Lulu have a good relationship? Give
a reason for your answer.
My answer: Yes because the persona keep asking about the Lulu

3. 'You say it was a gust of rain'

What has been compared to gust of rain? Do you think the persona accepted the
explanation given by mother? Give a reason for your answer.
i. Comparison: (My answer) Somebody cry in anger or in pain
ii. Reason: (My answer) no because it can be seen from the line