What Has Happened To Lulu?

What has happened to Lulu, mother?

What has happened to Lu?
There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll
And by its side a shoe.

Why is her window wide, mother,

The curtain flapping free,
And only a circle on the dusty shelf
Where her money-box used to be?

Why do you turn your head, mother,

And why do tear drops fall?
And why do you crumple that note on the fire
And say it is nothing at all?

I woke to voices late last night,

I heard an engine roar.
Why do you tell me the things I heard
Were a dream and nothing more?

I heard somebody cry, mother,

In anger or in pain,
But now I ask you why, mother,
You say it was a gust of rain.

Why do you wander about as though ?

You don't know what to do?
What has happened to Lulu, mother?
What has happened to Lu?

Charles Causley
What Has Happened To Lulu?

1.What has happened to Lulu, mother?

(To whom is the persona/speaker asking the question?)
To his mother
2.What has happened to Lu? (Why is he repeating his
question?) The persona is worried about her sister.

3.There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll (Why

does he think(suspect) something had happened to
Lulu?) Lulu was not in the room as she should have
been. Also most probably all of Lulus things were not
there except for an old rag doll.
4.And by its side a shoe. (In what manner did Lulu leave
the room?)How do you think Lulu left the room?)(Was it
in a leisurely manner?)
She most probably left in a rush.
5.Why is her window wide, mother, (How did Lulu leave
the room?) (Did she use the front door?)
Lulu left through the window.
She climbed out of her room through the window.

6. The curtain flapping free, (What does this line

signify? What can we imply from this line? What does
this line say about Lulu?)
This line shows that Lulu is free from her parents
control.
She has found freedom.

7.And only a circle on the dusty shelf (How does the

persona know something was missing?)
Something had been on the shelf for a long time and has
been removed. The area from where it was removed had
a clean patch leaving only dust.

8.Where her money-box used to be? (What did Lulu

take with her?)
Her savings.
She took her money with her.

9.Why do you turn your head, mother, (Why does the

mother turn her head away?/How is the mother
feeling?)
The Mother turns her head away because she was
crying.
Mother did not want the persona to know she was
crying.

10. And why do you crumple that note on the fire (Why
does the mother throw the note into the fire?)
She did not want the persona to know what was in the
note left by Lulu.
11.(What do you think is written in the note?)
It was a note from Lulu explaining why she was running
away.
12.And say it is nothing at all? (Why is the mother
hiding everything from the persona?)
Because the persona is still a child. He might not
understand the situation.

13. I woke to voices late last night, (When did the

persona hear voices?)
It was late at night.
14.(Whose voices do you think they were?)
Lulu and her mother

15.I heard an engine roar. (What can we assume/say

from this line?)
Lulu left in a hurry.

16. Why do you tell me the things I heard (Who is you

and me here?)
you refers to the personas mother.
17.Were a dream and nothing more? (Why does the
mother keep saying nothing is wrong?)
She feels the person is too young to understand.

18.I heard somebody cry, mother, (The persona keeps

wanting to find out what had happened to Lulu- how is
he feeling?)
He is worried about his sister.

19.In anger or in pain, (Who do you think were arguing

in the night?)
Lulu and her mother
20.(What do you think they were arguing
about?)
Most probably Lulu was arguing about her boyfriend.
21. But now I ask you why, mother, (What is the mother
trying to do?)
22. Avoid answering the personas questions because she
feels he is too young to understand.

You say it was a gust of rain. (How does the mother

avoid answering the persona?)
By giving excuses.

Why do you wander about as though (What is the

mother doing?)
She is pacing the floor.
She is walking to and fro.
She is walking up and down.

You don't know what to do? (How is she feeling?)

She is feeling lost and devastated.
What has happened to Lulu, mother? (The questions are
repeated...So do you think the persona has found out
what has happened to Lulu?)
No, the mother did not answer any of his questions
regarding Lulu.
What has happened to Lu? ***(Now....who do you think
is Lulu to the persona?)
The persona is a sibling.
The persona is Lulus brother/ sister.
For average to weak students.

What Has Happended To Lulu?

This happened one windy (curtain flapping free)night. A

young boy goes into his sisters room. He finds it empty
(There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll). His
sister seemed to have left in a hurry(And by its side a
shoe). The sister seemed to have left the room through the
window (Why is her window wide, mother). The young
boys sister seemed to have wanted her freedom. (The
curtain flapping free). She seemed to have taken her
savings with her (And only a circle on the dusty
shelf :Where her money-box used to be?) It is apt to
assume Lulu has run away from home.

The young boy asks his mother what has happened to his
sister. (What has happened to Lulu, mother? What has
happened to Lu?) He seems to be very close to his sister.
He refers to her as Lu. He is very worried about her. He
wants to know why his mother turns away to hide her tears.
(Why do you turn your head, mother, And why do tear
drops fall?) There is a note. The mother reads it. She
throws it into the fire. The young boy sees this and asks
about it. And why do you crumple that note on the fire).
The mother again does not want to say anything about Lulu
(And say it is nothing at all?)

The young boy recalls what he heard the previous night. He

heard people talking, he heard a car being driven away
speedily. (I woke to voices late last night, I heard an
engine roar.) He asks his mother why she wants him to
think the voices and the sound of the car were all a dream.
(Why do you tell me the things I heard; Were a dream
and nothing more?)

The boy goes on to say that he had heard the sound of

someone crying. But he could not say if the person was
crying because she was angry or if she was in pain.(I heard
somebody cry, mother,In anger or in pain). The mother
explains it away saying the boy had heard sounds of sudden
rain. (But now I ask you why, mother, You say it was a
gust of rain).
The boy loves his mother very much. He is worried about
why she is pacing(walking to and fro) up and down. She
seems not to know what to do about Lulu, his sister. (Why
do you wander about as though? You don't know what
to do?) He is even more worried when his mother refuses to
tell him what is going on with Lulu. (What has happened
to Lulu, mother? What has happened to Lu?)
Themes
Grief n love
Feeling of helplessness
Confusion over family situation
Moral Values
We should not cause grief to others.
Running away will never solve any problems.
We must learn to settle our problems instead of running
away from them.

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 important. The confusion of the
persona about his or her parents 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 persona 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.
For better students...
(http://www.answers.com/Q/An_analysis_of_the_poem_
what_has_happened_to_Lulu)

An analysis of the poem what has

happened to Lulu?

This poem is about a girl called lulu who is the older sister
if the writer who has run away. The poem is sad and it uses
various ways of showing how the writer is feeling, by using
rhetorical (repeated) questions quite a lot in the poem 'what
has happened to lulu mother'. This rhetorical question
shows you that he must be really missing his sister or he
must be getting worried if he had used it a lot.

In the first verse of the poem, the poet starts with a

rhetorical question which is 'what has happened to lulu
mother?' This is an effective way of starting the poem
because you know that the poem is going to be about a girl
called Lulu. The writer follows this question with another
question, 'what has happened to lulu?' This creates a sense
of affection because, by repeating the question it tells you
that the writer is missing his sister and cares for her and he
also sounds desperate so he must be really missing his
sister.
In the next verse you can tell that the girl Lulu has runaway
and that is why the poet is asking about her. The use of
rhetorical questions and alliteration like 'why is her window
wide open mother?' and, 'the curtains flapping free, 'and
only a dusty shelf where her money box used to be?' her
window being wide open could mean that when she ran
away she went out from her window instead of the front
door. The writer saying only a circle on a dusty shelf,
where her money box used to be was the most striking
sentence it says that when she ran away she must have taken
money with her meaning that she might not be coming back
home.
The following verse also starts with a rhetorical question
and ends with a rhetorical question, 'why do you turn your
head mother, and why do teardrops fall? And why do you
crumble that note on the fire mother and say it is nothing at
all? The sentence 'why do you crumble that note on the fire
and say it is nothing at all,' is another idea that she has
runaway because, it could be a note that she has wrote
saying why she has runaway what had caused her to
runaway. But Lulu could have been kidnapped because it
could have been a ransom letter saying that we have Lulu
give us money and we will give her back. The mother might
be crumbling it because she hasn't got what they were
asking for or she cant afford it, or she is crumbling it out of
anger or sadness.
In the proceeding verse It uses a lot personal pronouns and
also at the end of the verse there is a rhetorical question, this
verse is another thought that she has been kidnapped
because, it say 'I woke to voices late last night and I heard
and engine roar'. These voices could have been the voices of
the kidnappers talking or commanding her to go to their car
and they had a car because he heard an engine roar and that
could be the car starting. Also the mother doesn't want to
believe that anything has happened to lulu even though she
knows that something has because, she has told the writer it
was only a dream, 'why do tell me the things I heard where
a dream and nothing more'. She doesn't want her son who is
writing the poem to worry about Lulu so she is lying to him
that it was only a dream. However she could have runaway
because, the engine roaring could have been a taxi that she
had called late in the night and the voices could have been
hers and the taxi man talking.

After this verse it shows how the mother is feeling and that
Lulu being missing is having an effect on her. It says in the
poem 'I heard someone cry mother, in anger or in pain, but
why did the mother you say it was a gust of rain.' This
shows that mother is upset and it was her who was crying
because she is still making up lies by saying it was a gust of
rain, so maybe the writer doesn't become worried or wonder
why his mother is crying. Also the line I heard someone cry
mother in anger or in pain is an affective line because, it
tells you that Lulu could have been kidnapped because why
else would the mother cry in anger unless someone hasn't
taken her daughter and she is angry with that person.

Transcript of What Has Happened to

Lulu?

What Has Happened to ....?

Looking more closely...
What ideas do we have about the mother?
Using the evidence
What do you think has happened to Lulu?

Write down your response to this question.

Support your ideas with short quotations from

the text.
What does this clue tell us about the missing
person?
What does this clue tell us about the missing
person? What about their age?
Conclusion
First thoughts
The poem is about a mystery.

Write down three things you would like to ask

about the situation.

Compare your question with a partner's. What

seems to have happened?
Developing a personal response
Only two people are mentioned directly in the
poem: Lulu and her mother. The narrator
appears to be a young child.

Structure
The poem is a
ballad
. This is a type of poem that tells a story,
using a particular form. It often repeats
phrases, or whole stanzas.

What do you notice about the

structure
of the poem?

Why
do you think Causley decided that the ballad
form was the best for presenting his ideas?
Read the poem aloud.
Are there any particular words that would
benefit from being emphasised?

Highlight these on your copy of the poem.

The writer has selected various techniques to
put his ideas across. Match the writer's
choices below to the intended effect.
Who do you think the narrator is?
What clues can you find to support your
ideas?
Look at the words written below and on your
sheet and pick out two that seem most
appropriate.

sympathetic fearful lonely concerned

determined spiteful deceitiful remorseful

cold-hearted proud uncaring melodramatic

guilty secretive truthful distressed

caring worried thoughtful heartless

callous kind confused

Rememeber to support your ideas with
evidence from the text.
Why do you think the poem considers only
these two characters?

Are there any questions you would like to ask

about the wider family relationships?
Imagine you were asked to describe this
poem and its effect on you in ten words. What
would you say?

Can you summarise the plot so easily?

What effect does it have on you?
Do you think this is what the writer intends?
What does this clue tell us about the
circumstances in which the missing person
left?