Jason RousellFeliksAP Literature11/14/19The LandladyIn the poem “The Landlady”, P. K. Page reveals the parasitic nature of the landlady byjuxtaposing the ideas of both an eavesdropping neighbor and an all-knowing power. This isachieved through imagery of the boarders’ lives and the familiar tone of the speaker.The poem begins with describing the boarders, “impersonal as trains.” Like boarders,trains come and go at set times, but the boarders are under the “camera eye” of the landlady; thisis the first glimpse into her controlling behavior. The next stanza continues this theme by statingthe boarders’ lives become “exact” because of her. A landlady can impose whatever rules shepleases; there can be a curfew or a dinnertime. The boarders’ phone calls may be “cryptic,” butthe landlady still listens with “ticklish ears”. The landlady controls their every move at this point,
