Rosemary Dobson’s “The Three Fates” references the Moirai, or Fates, of classical Greek mythology—three sister goddesses who determine people’s destinies by spinning, measuring, and cutting the threads of life. In the poem, a drowning man pleads with the Fates for eternal life. Having been granted his wish, he is forced to relive his past over and over again—but in reverse order. The man suffers greatly, prompting the reader to consider the harm that might come from refusing to accept one’s lot in life. The poem’s narrative structure reflects the man’s destiny, as the audience learns the events of his life from death to birth. “The Three Fates” serves as the title poem and opening work of Dobson’s 1984 collection of poetry, introducing key themes such as art, nature, and mortality.

• Read the full text of “The Three Fates”

• “The Three Fates” Summary

• “The Three Fates” Themes

  • 

    The Permanence of the Past

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-15

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Three Fates”

  • Lines 1-3

    At the instant ...
    ... Life everlasting.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-6

    He came up ...
    ... to the house.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-9

    He suffered the ...
    ... not yet fallen.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-12

    Loving her wildly ...
    ... Bare-foot, straw-hatted.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-14

    And when she ...
    ... began all over,

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 15

    The reel unrolling towards the river.

    

    

    

    

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• “The Three Fates” Symbols

  • 

    The House

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “Returned to the house.”
    • Line 13: “And when she was gone and the house and the swing and daylight”
  • 

    Times of Day

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 10: “Loving her wildly as the day regressed towards morning”
    • Line 13: “And when she was gone and the house and the swing and daylight”
  • 

    The Swing

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 11-12: “He watched her swinging in the garden, growing younger, / Bare-foot, straw-hatted.”
    • Line 13: “And when she was gone and the house and the swing and daylight”

• “The Three Fates” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “the three sisters”
    • Lines 14-15: “it began all over, / The reel unrolling towards the river”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “instant,” “invoked,” “sisters”
    • Line 2: “It,” “mistake,” “aberration,” “cry”
    • Line 3: “Life”
    • Line 5: “reverse,” “order”
    • Line 6: “Returned”
    • Line 7: “agonies,” “passion”
    • Line 8: “backwards”
    • Line 9: “that,” “had,” “not,” “fallen”
    • Line 10: “towards,” “morning”
    • Line 11: “swinging,” “in”
    • Line 14: “an,” “instant’s,” “began,” “over”
    • Line 15: “unrolling”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-6: “back to the river-bank, / Put on his clothes in reverse order, / Returned to the house.”
    • Lines 8-9: “Writing poems from the end backwards, / Brushing away tears”
    • Lines 11-12: “swinging in the garden, growing younger, / Bare-foot, straw-hatted”
    • Lines 14-15: “it began all over, / The reel unrolling”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “instant,” “drowning,” “invoked,” “sisters”
    • Line 2: “It,” “mistake”
    • Line 3: “Life everlasting”
    • Line 4: “came,” “like,” “cork,” “back,” “bank”
    • Line 5: “clothes,” “reverse order”
    • Line 6: “Returned”
    • Line 7: “enormous agonies,” “passion”
    • Line 8: “poems,” “backwards”
    • Line 9: “Brushing”
    • Line 10: “Loving,” “wildly,” “day regressed towards morning”
    • Line 11: “He watched her swinging,” “garden, growing younger”
    • Line 12: “Bare-foot, straw-hatted”
    • Line 13: “when,” “was,” “swing”
    • Line 14: “an instant’s,” “before,” “began all over”
    • Line 15: “reel unrolling towards,” “river”

  • End-Stopped Line

    

    

    

    

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    Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sisters.”
    • Line 3: “everlasting.”
    • Line 4: “river-bank,”
    • Line 5: “order,”
    • Line 6: “house.”
    • Line 7: “passion”
    • Line 8: “backwards,”
    • Line 9: “fallen.”
    • Line 10: “morning”
    • Line 11: “younger,”
    • Line 12: “straw-hatted.”
    • Line 13: “daylight”
    • Line 14: “over,”
    • Line 15: “river.”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 14-15: “There was an instant’s pause before it began all over, / The reel unrolling towards the river.”

  • Parataxis

    

    

    

    

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    Where parataxis appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-6: “He came up like a cork and back to the river-bank, / Put on his clothes in reverse order, / Returned to the house.”
    • Lines 8-9: “Writing poems from the end backwards, / Brushing away tears that had not yet fallen”
    • Lines 11-12: “swinging in the garden, growing younger, / Bare-foot, straw-hatted”

  • Polysyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where polysyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Line 13: “And when she was gone and the house and the swing and daylight”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “He came up like a cork”

• “The Three Fates” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Invoke
  • The three sisters
  • Aberration
  • Agonies
  • Regressed
  • Reel
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “he invoked the three sisters”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Three Fates”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “The Three Fates” Speaker

• “The Three Fates” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “The Three Fates”

• More “The Three Fates” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Biography of the Poet — An overview of Dobson's life, with a bibliography and recordings of the poet reading her works aloud.

    • Sisyphus’s Punishment — Read up on the crafty king who cheated Death and was punished for all eternity.

    • Dobson's Creative Influences — Learn more about Dobson's engagement with other writers and visual artists, including their impact on her poetry.

    • Who Are the Three Sisters? — Familiarize yourself with the Moirai (or Fates), the Greek sister goddesses who inspired Dobson's poem. This brief article includes a discussion of their role in Greek mythology as well as examples of their depiction in art.

    • Read the Collection Online — Access Dobson’s full 1984 poetry collection that is titled after “The Three Fates” and opens with the poem.

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