"Edward" Anonymous

I believe this poem is about a man who killed his father, because his mother wanted him to. In the first stanza his mother asks him why his sword is bloody, and he says it is because he killed his hawk "so good,/ and I had no more but he." This may be referring to how he killed his only father. Then his mother says that his hawk's blood isn't that red, so he tells her that he killed his red-roan steer "that was once so fair and free." This may be referring to the way he felt about his father, that he was fair and free. She responds by saying that the steer was old and he has more, then asks what is his "other grief." He finally says that he killed his father. She acts surprisingly calm and asks him questions, such as what penance he will do, what will he do with his towers and hall, and what he will leave his children and wife. Edward answers these questions saying that he is going to leave on a boat, let them stand until they fall, and let his family beg through life. Finally, she asks what he will leave for she, his mother, and he says "the curse from hell," because of the counsels she gave him. That last stanza is what brought me to truly believe that she was the one who told him to kill her father, because he is saying that she will be the one that pays for it. Her nonchalant attitude after he told he also backs up my theory.