How is the story told in Victor?

The poem is in ballad form so it is songlike, therefore reinforcing the idea that it may be a rhyme told to children as a cautionary tale or story like other Auden poems. It is in quatrain form which allows the poem to read almost like a story, in distinctive events. This adds to the idea of a cautionary tale. The use of an omniscient narrator makes it seem like it is a parent reciting the tale of Victor to their children to show them never to go against God. Linear chronology is used and this is shown through the use of the months in consecutive order to follow Victor growing up, for example, 'It was a frosty December', 'It was the First of April', and 'It was the middle of September'. This allows the reader to become familiar with Victor and his religious upbringing.

Religion is a prominent theme in the poem and the story is told through excessive reference to it, 'His father took a Bible from his pocket and read: 'Blessed are the pure at heart.'' This makes it all the more shocking when Victor disregards all this through the murder of his wife. The tone and mood changes toward the ninteenth stanza when Victor learns his wife is unchaste as his feelings toward religion begin to change, 'I am the Alpha and Omega, I shall come to judge the earth one day,' which suggests he is God himself, but also the be all and end all as alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This again makes it more shocking considering how his father raised him.

The voice is very objective and unbiased, factual, 'Victor stood as still as a statue', 'Victor walked out into the High street', showing no resent toward Victor for his actions or Anna for her ways and this may be representative of God, ironic when considering how Victor is punishing his wife whilst he believes that he is the Holy Father. This is effective as it so hugely contrasting and makes the reader wonder whether Victor is actually being punished by his faith.

The wind and the river is personified, 'the wind said: 'She must die', 'the river answered: 'Kill'. This shows Victor's state of mind, which is unstable and is greatly contrasting from the beginning of the play when he was a normal boy, if quiet. This almost raises empathy within the reader for a character that has lost his mind. The pace slows in stanza twenty eight, when Auden writes, 'It wasn't the King or Queen of Hearts but the Ace of Spades reversed'. This is because the Ace of Spades symbolises ill fate and death - foreshadowing Anna's future - and therefore makes everything feel very real and dark, reading almost like a horror story.