Language and symbolism

To better understand Roald Dahl’s symbolism and style, as well as the techniques he used to create black humour in “Lamb to the Slaughter”, we advise you to pay close attention to the short story you have to analyse.

Language

The language employed in the short story is very simple and easy to understand so the text can easily be read by a large category of readers. However, the most interesting element of the story’s language is the use of black humour, constructed mainly with the help of irony.

Black humour is supposed to make readers of a text feel both amused and uneasy at the same time, something which Dahl successfully manages to do in “Lamb to the Slaughter”. Irony is employed in a variety of situations. For instance, it is very ironic that Patrick Maloney decides to ask Mary for a divorce just when she is pregnant. It is quite interesting that he chose to do so just when Mary seemed to be the most in love with him and most eager to be with her husband.

Irony is also employed when, after hearing about the impending divorce, Mary decides to prepare dinner: ““I’ll get the supper,” she managed to whisper, and this time he didn’t stop her.”

The situation becomes even more ironic when Mary kills her husband and then casually cooks the leg of lamb, which is the murder weapon. In fact, the most important scene which encompasses the elements of black humour is when Mary feeds the cooked leg of lamb to the policemen, who are blissfully unaware of what takes place right under their eyes:

One of them belched.
“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
“Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”
And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.

Besides the use of black humour and irony, there are several other linguistic and stylistic techniques employed by Dahl in his story.

Imagery

Imagery is defined as the use of descriptive language in literature with the purpose of creating visual or sensory passages that can help readers better visualise the setting, the characters, and the overall atmosphere. In “Lamb to the Slaughter”, visual imagery is noticeable in seve...