Post by The Thought Police (admin) on Feb 21, 2018 4:45:41 GMT -5
Commonality
Duffy often deals with the idea of relationships in her poetry. In Ann Hathaway, The central relationship is one of intense affection and passion of Ann Hathaway and her husband Shakespeare. In Havisham, the relationship is affected and ruined by the person who the title character left at their marriage altar. In Valentine, the relationship is between the giver of the Valentine’s gift and her lover who is receiving the gift.
The Extract
‘The bed we loved in was a spinning world… and seas’
‘Spinning’ is effective word choice because it has the connotations of out of control and swept of her feet, dizzy in love. This shows us that Ann felt their love was so powerful.
‘World’ has the connotations of something that contains all that she wants and needs. What they shared together in their bedroom was enough for her in life.
The list of the fantasy settings from Shakespeare’s writing emphasises that the marriage bed where they had their sexual intercourse was just as magical a place as the ones Shakespeare wrote about.
Other Poems
In Havisham, the relationship has caused Miss Havisham to experience a mental breakdown.
‘It’s not only the heart that b-b-b-breaks’
The stuttering at the end of this line shows her nervousness and overwhelmed by her emotions. Initially, she felt rage and anger towards her lover, but at the end she has broken down in tears, suggesting her mental breakdown as a result. Just as the word is broken, so too is her heart and mind.
‘Beloved sweetheart bastard’
Duffy uses an oxymoronic phrase here to contrast the word beloved with bastard. This emphasises how she is filled with both love and hatred simultaneously. The plosive ‘b’ sounds as though Havisham is spitting these words out in hate.
‘Whole days spent cawing nooooo at the wall.’
‘Cawing’ is a noise made by a crow. This makes Havisham seem no longer seem like a person but an animal. ‘Whole days’ emphasises Havisham is in this state all the time.
‘Some nights better, the lost body over me… down till I suddenly bite awake.’
‘Lost’ suggests she feels loss or grief that he is no longer with her. But she is only able to get him back in dreams. Yet, in her sexual fantasy dream she suddenly realises what he has done to her and she takes her revenge by biting him. She awakes with her teeth clamped together.
In Valentine, we see Duffy use the extended metaphor of an onion to represent what relationships are actually like. The speaker gives the onion as a gift to show her lover what love is truly like.
‘It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light’.
Moonlight has connotations of romance and love. Therefore, the onion represents that love can be romantic and passionate. ‘Light’ is often used to represent hope. Therefore, at the start of relationships, couples are filled with optimism that their relationship will be a success.
‘Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.’
Just as you would chop an onion in half, so too you might break the relationship off. The knife image suggests that relationships can end violently. Just as the smell of the onion sticks to you, so too the scars of the powerful and aggressive breakup will stay in your memory forever.
Duffy often deals with the idea of relationships in her poetry. In Ann Hathaway, The central relationship is one of intense affection and passion of Ann Hathaway and her husband Shakespeare. In Havisham, the relationship is affected and ruined by the person who the title character left at their marriage altar. In Valentine, the relationship is between the giver of the Valentine’s gift and her lover who is receiving the gift.
The Extract
‘The bed we loved in was a spinning world… and seas’
‘Spinning’ is effective word choice because it has the connotations of out of control and swept of her feet, dizzy in love. This shows us that Ann felt their love was so powerful.
‘World’ has the connotations of something that contains all that she wants and needs. What they shared together in their bedroom was enough for her in life.
The list of the fantasy settings from Shakespeare’s writing emphasises that the marriage bed where they had their sexual intercourse was just as magical a place as the ones Shakespeare wrote about.
Other Poems
In Havisham, the relationship has caused Miss Havisham to experience a mental breakdown.
‘It’s not only the heart that b-b-b-breaks’
The stuttering at the end of this line shows her nervousness and overwhelmed by her emotions. Initially, she felt rage and anger towards her lover, but at the end she has broken down in tears, suggesting her mental breakdown as a result. Just as the word is broken, so too is her heart and mind.
‘Beloved sweetheart bastard’
Duffy uses an oxymoronic phrase here to contrast the word beloved with bastard. This emphasises how she is filled with both love and hatred simultaneously. The plosive ‘b’ sounds as though Havisham is spitting these words out in hate.
‘Whole days spent cawing nooooo at the wall.’
‘Cawing’ is a noise made by a crow. This makes Havisham seem no longer seem like a person but an animal. ‘Whole days’ emphasises Havisham is in this state all the time.
‘Some nights better, the lost body over me… down till I suddenly bite awake.’
‘Lost’ suggests she feels loss or grief that he is no longer with her. But she is only able to get him back in dreams. Yet, in her sexual fantasy dream she suddenly realises what he has done to her and she takes her revenge by biting him. She awakes with her teeth clamped together.
In Valentine, we see Duffy use the extended metaphor of an onion to represent what relationships are actually like. The speaker gives the onion as a gift to show her lover what love is truly like.
‘It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light’.
Moonlight has connotations of romance and love. Therefore, the onion represents that love can be romantic and passionate. ‘Light’ is often used to represent hope. Therefore, at the start of relationships, couples are filled with optimism that their relationship will be a success.
‘Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.’
Just as you would chop an onion in half, so too you might break the relationship off. The knife image suggests that relationships can end violently. Just as the smell of the onion sticks to you, so too the scars of the powerful and aggressive breakup will stay in your memory forever.