Slim Cunning Hands - Walter de la Mare

"Slim Cunning Hands" by Walter de la Mare

Walter de la Mare was a British short story writer and poet. He is best known for his children's stories, but has also written some psychological horror stories.

Slim Cunning Hands - Walter de la Mare

Slim cunning hands at rest, and cozening eyes-
Under this stone one loved too wildly lies;
How false she was, no granite could declare;
Nor all earth's flowers, how fair.

 In this poem, de la Mare writes about a man thinking back on a woman he loved while he stands over her grave. He recalls her "slim cunning hands" and "cozening eyes" specifically and then goes on to use metaphors to describe her beauty. The obscurity of the second half of the poem creates a sense that the speaker is unable to describe what made the woman as beautiful as she was, but is able to quickly and distinctly recall her hands and eyes. Additionally, diction such as "fair" and "lies" are vague and can be taken in either a positive or negative way based on how the poem is read. This obscurity is continued in the first three lines as it is clear that the man loved her, but all of the characteristics described are ambiguous. 

In the fourth line, however, the speaker states that the woman is fairer than "all earth's flowers," and this creates a definite sense of beauty. This last line gives the previous three context as to how the vague words are meant to be taken. The delay could be to create a sense that the speaker is still unsure and confused about what the woman's death will mean for his life, but by the end he comes to the realization that she was his true love and he will love her even while she is gone. This is reflected in the way that the speaker refers to how not even the "granite could declare" that she told lies because the rest of her is so perfect that it does not make sense. Overall, the shift from ambiguous to specific helps to create a sense of epiphany within the speaker that happens in unison with the audience.