The title of the poem tells readers that the speaker is Mrs. Aesop, the wife of the ancient Greek storyteller famous for his fables. Aesop, a legendary figure who supposedly lived over 2,500 years ago, is one of the most influential and loved storytellers in history. However, Mrs. Aesop quickly makes clear that she has some major problems with her husband, and her use of contemporary and conversational language provides the first clue that Duffy is using these characters to explore modern themes of marriage, morality, and storytelling.

The poem itself begins in media res, Latin for "in the middle of things," as it expects the reader to understand through context who the "he" in the first line is. This makes it feel almost as if the reader is stepping into the middle of a conversation, with Mrs. Aesop describing to an unknown but trusted listener how her highly-respected husband is actually a total bore. By delivering an unexpected opinion in such an inviting way, the poem beckons the reader to lean in closer, to read on as if a friend is telling them a secret.

The poem opens with Mrs. Aesop making fun of her husband, using colloquial, everyday language to describe how she finds Aesop to be extremely boring. "By Christ," she says, using lightly blasphemous language that establishes her as a cheeky, funny character who is unafraid to speak her mind.

She continues by saying, "he could bore for Purgatory," invoking the notorious place in the Catholic tradition where the souls of the dead go to make up for their sins. By mentioning Purgatory, Mrs. Aesop uses hyperbole to stress how their marriage seems like an endlessly boring place with no end in sight.

While the poem is written in free verse, without a regular meter or rhyme scheme, the first sentence creatively plays with rhythm and sound, using stresses and assonance to show how Mrs. Aesop will continue to use sonic devices to make fun of her husband.

The poem begins with a foot called a spondee, the two stressed syllables in "By Christ," which also share the same long /i/ sound, immediately communicating the sharp, frustrated tone Mrs. Aesop takes when describing Aesop. By repeating the long /or/ sounds in "bore" and "Purgatory," the poem stresses the sound of "boring," cementing for the reader exactly the problem that has come between Mrs. Aesop and her husband.