Sunday, September 15, 2019
Duffys poetry Essay
A critic has writ7ten that ââ¬Å"Duffyââ¬â¢s poetry is primarily concerned with human failingsâ⬠. To what extent do you feel this is true of ââ¬ËThe Worlds Wifeââ¬â¢? Refer to two or three poems in detail or range more widely through the whole collection. Carol Ann Duffyââ¬â¢s collection of ââ¬ËThe Worlds Wifeââ¬â¢ revolves a lot around the subject of human failings. Duffyââ¬â¢s use of everyday language allows her poems to be interpreted by everyone. In the collection of ââ¬ËThe Worlds Wifeââ¬â¢ she tackles serious issues such as gender, contemporary culture, alienation and social inequality. These themes allow her to writing to appeal to a contemporary audience and delivers key messages. The theme of arrogance is seen in several poems, in Mrs Icarus we see that she finds his arrogance unappealing and that she feels as if men feel they can defy the acts of God ââ¬Å"heââ¬â¢s a total, utter absolute, Grade A pillock. â⬠This is similar to Faust, who sold his sole to the devil in return for twenty-four years of unlimited pleasure, knowledge and power; he boasts ââ¬Å"I spent the night being pleasured by a virtual Helen of Troy. â⬠Dr Faustusââ¬â¢ lack of self control, ignorance and plain arrogance could be assumed to be a failing, although he lived a happy life his inhibitions to be successful he needed the aid of the devil therefore he was doomed from the beginning. Here we can see the obvious links between the two poems and how the two characters egotistical ways led to their failure. One interesting failure Duffy uses is seen in the poem ââ¬ËThe Devils Wifeââ¬â¢, Duffy interestingly splits this poem into six sections which all relate back to different themes, we see the value of a relationships, motherhood and repentance. The poem is written based on the background history of the Moors Murders, with the protagonist Myra Hindley and how she became besotted with sociopath Ian Brady. In the first part of the poem we as the readers see how Duffy, displays Hindley as being the ordinary office worker with a crush ââ¬Å"I scowled and poured and sneered. I gave as good as good as I got till he asked me outâ⬠we can see that she was the one who initiated the whole relationship. The story changes ââ¬Å"He entered me. â⬠From this moment she was now his, this could be another failing that men have more control than women and she was just his puppet ââ¬Å"he made me bury a doll. â⬠Duffy uses an interesting metaphor here, she say ââ¬Å"dollâ⬠instead of a child as a doll is thought to be a childââ¬â¢s toy and just a possession which they eventually no longer require. It ends with ââ¬Å"I felt like this: Tongue of stone. Two black slates for eyes. Thumped wound of a mouth. Nobodyââ¬â¢s Mam. â⬠We can see that she has become so obsessed with him, her life has changed forever. Also we are able to identify another theme of motherhood, people were unable to understand how Hindley was able to commit the most abhorrent, sadistic and unforgivable crimes against children as women are associated with protective mother love. We then see that in the third part of the poem, Duffy uses a sonnet in an untraditional form; instead of it being the ordinary love poem, the lack of punctuation shows Hindleyââ¬â¢s state of mind and sheââ¬â¢s finally repenting and blaming Brady for all of the murders. The final part of the poem gives different forms of execution and she finally admits she was in fact the Devilââ¬â¢ wife. Although this poem is lengthy, the key themes all relate to the main subject of ââ¬Å"human failingsâ⬠, love is a key importance in this poem ââ¬Å"He held my heart in his fist and squeezed it dry. â⬠Here we can see that men are dominant in relationships and Brady was in control of Hindley, which could be deemed a failing. Also motherhood is a joyous gift in life and could be one of the most important things in life but Hindley displays apathy towards children and lets Brady control her life ââ¬Å"I flew in my chainsâ⬠¦where weââ¬â¢d buried the doll. â⬠Finally we see another theme of repentance ââ¬Å"Get me a Bible honestly promise you swearâ⬠but by the time she finally realised her mistakes it was too late. Another them used is Power, this could also be assumed as a failing. In Mrs Midas, in which she finds that everything her husband touches turns to gold; soon after she realises the marriage will not work because of her husbandââ¬â¢s selfishness. ââ¬Å"I thought of the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready. â⬠Here we can see that her husband valued wealth above everything else, but it wasnââ¬â¢t until he accidently touched his daughter he realised the mistake of his greed that was his failing. In The Kray Sisters, Duffy subverts the original story by using female portrayals instead of men; the poem uses cockney slang which allows us as readers to interact more with the poem and makes it more believable. The Kray Twins ran a protective racket, and were well known ââ¬ËWest End gangstersââ¬â¢. The poem actually displays the success of the twins and how they were feared among the streets. However interestingly this so-called respect may have given the Krayââ¬â¢s the authority they wanted ââ¬Å"We wanted respect for the way we entered a bar, or handled a car, or shrivelled a hard-on with simply a menacing lookâ⬠However ultimately this respect led to the demise of the twins and they may have ruled the west end during their time but landed themselves a life-sentence in prison. Was it really worth it? Respect and honour are meant to be earned with dignity not by threatening and violating people; therefore I think that although this poem contains positive connotations it ultimately displays a failing. Duffyââ¬â¢s collection of the Worlds Wife is an interesting selection of poems and it is clear that one of the major themes associated with the collection is Human Failings, although these are not seen clearly and not every persona fails the actions they carry out could be assumed as a failing. The ironical and satirical way Duffy writes displays the dark humour of The Worlds Wife we can see that Duffy tries to impersonate the wives of famous characters both factious and fictions.
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