1. R a p t u r e
Carol Ann Duffy
Does nature
mirror human
emotion?

2. POEMS OF FOCUS
• Unloving – pg. 61
• Row – pg. 18
• River - pg. 5

3. U N L O V I N G
(Stanza
1,
line
Page
61
4)
‘…turn
to
ice.’
(Stanza
4,
line
1)
‘Learn
from
the
river,
flowing
always
somewhere
else…’
(Stanza
5,
line
2
&
3)
‘Learn
from
the
dumbstruck
gardens,
summer’s
grave,
where
nothing
grows…’

4. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Does
nature
mirror
human
emoDon?
AO1:
In
Duffy’s
poem
Unloving,
she
deploys
a
series
of
images
from
the
natural
world
to
present
the
idea,
that
just
as
in
nature,
the
relaDonship
has
changed,
or
is
changing.

5. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
AO2:
(Stanza
1,
line
4)
‘…turn
to
ice.’
Duffy’s
use
of
the
verb
‘turn’
suggests
that
the
lover
and
the
relaDonship
have
altered
just
as
water
changes
its
physical
state
when
frozen.
AddiDonally,
her
use
of
the
noun
‘ice’
carries
connotaDons
of
a
relaDonship
that
is
becoming
too
cold
to
sustain
life.
This
contrasts
with
Duffy’s
earlier
poem
Absence
(Page
10)
where
Duffy
writes
‘The
sun’s
so=
bite
on
my
face
is
your
mouth.’
Duffy’s
choice
of
the
noun
‘sun’
combined
with
the
adjecDve
‘so=’
suggest
that
the
narrator
sees
the
lover
as
warm
and
life
sustaining
like
the
sun.
This
coincides
with
the
idea
that
just
like
natural
seasons
the
relaDonship
has
altered
as
it
has
gone
from
being
one
that
she
finds
pleasant
and
warm
to
one
that’s
cold
and
inhospitable.

6. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
AO2:
(Stanza
4,
line
1)
‘Learn
from
the
river,
flowing
always
somewhere
else…’
In
nature,
rivers
are
in
a
state
of
constant
moDon
away
from
their
original
sources.
Duffy
uses
this
image
in
her
own
poem
to
describe
the
transformaDons
that
take
place
in
the
relaDonship.
Her
choice
of
the
verb
‘Learn’
suggests
that
the
narrator
is
telling
the
lover
to
move
on,
just
as
a
river
does
‘flowing
always
somewhere
else’
away
from
its
starDng
point.
In
addiDon
to
this,
it
may
be
seen
that
Duffy
is
essenDally
staDng
that
their
relaDonship
isn’t
enDrely
natural
as
the
lover
is
having
to
‘Learn’
from
nature.

7. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
AO2:
(Stanza
5,
line
2
&
3)
‘Learn
from
the
dumbstruck
gardens,
summer’s
grave,
where
nothing
grows…’
As
stated
in
the
previous
slide,
Duffy
uses
natural
imagery
to
convey
the
idea
that
just
as
the
seasons
change,
so
has
the
relaDonship.
This
noDon
is
parDcularly
evident
here
as
when
Duffy
writes
‘summer’s
grave,
where
nothing
grows…’
The
parDcular
usage
of
the
nouns
‘summer’
and
‘grave’
conjure
a
vision
of
a
dead,
withered
garden.
Here,
Duffy
appears
to
be
staDng
that
just
as
the
garden
dies
when
summer
ends,
so
has
the
relaDonship.
No
longer
beauDful
and
bounDful
it
has
become
lifeless
and
beyond
reanimaDon.

8. “And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on
the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar
conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Great Gatsby,1925
AO3:
Just
as
Duffy
uses
imagery
which
is
typically
associated
with
nature
to
express
the
inexorable
way
that
the
lovers’
relaDonship
changes,
so
too
does
Fitzgerald
in
The
Great
Gatsby.
Fitzgerald’s
narrator,
Nick
use
of
imagery
typically
associated
with
seasonal
transiDons
anDcipates
the
ways
in
which
the
lives
of
all
the
characters
will
be
compelled
to
change.

9. My own personal treasures include Pablo Neruda’s Twenty Love
Poems and a Song of Despair, in the 1966 translation by Nathaniel
Tarn – one of the first poetry collections I bought as a student. “I
want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees,” wrote
the 20-year-old Neruda in 1924. The poems today remain as
urgently gorgeous as freshly picked flowers. Another favourite is
E Powys Mathers’ extraordinarily beautiful translation “Black
Marigolds”
“
“
Carol Ann Duffy on her favourite love poems.
Telegraph, February 13th 2010
AO4:
When
asked
to
write
an
arDcle
about
her
favourite
poems
for
the
Telegraph
back
in
2010,
Duffy
expressed
her
love
for
two
poems
by
Pablo
Neruda
and
Billhana
Kavi
(translated
by
Edward
Powys
Mathers).
Both
poems
use
aspects
of
nature
to
express
sensuality,
which
suggests
that
Duffy
has
always
found
images
from
nature
parDcularly
resonant
and
potent
when
describing
love
and
life.

10. R O W
(Stanza
1,
line
4)
‘The
sun
banged
the
gate
in
the
sky
and
fled.’
(Stanza
2,
line
2)
‘The
trees
wept
and
threw
away
their
leaves…’
Page
18

11. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Does
nature
mirror
human
emoDon?
AO1:
Previously,
Duffy
explored
the
idea
of
relaDonships
changing
as
nature
does.
However,
this
Dme
Duffy
is
presenDng
the
theme
of
just
as
nature
conflicts
with
itself,
so
does
the
relaDonship
.

12. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
(Stanza
1,
line
4)
‘The
sun
banged
the
gate
in
the
sky
and
fled.’
Duffy’s
use
of
the
noun
‘banged’
is
a
loud
and
violent.
When
paired
with
the
nouns
‘sun’
and
‘sky’
Duffy
is
suggesDng
that
the
lovers
argument
is
so
strong
that
it
has
split
even
the
most
natural
of
pairings.
In
addiDon
to
this,
the
image
of
the
sun
leaving
the
sky,
paints
a
very
dark,
forbidding
atmosphere,
since
without
light,
there
can
be
no
life.
In
doing
this,
Duffy
suggests
that
there
is
no
longer
any
light
le
in
the
lovers’
relaDonship
and
therefore
it
is
dying.

13. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
(Stanza
2,
line
2)
‘The
trees
wept
and
threw
away
their
leaves…’
InteresDngly,
Duffy
is
taking
a
very
normal
image
of
trees
losing
their
leaves
(as
they
do
in
autumn)
and
turning
it
into
a
very
unnerving
image.
In
doing
this,
Duffy
suggests
that
the
lovers
are
constantly
going
through
a
destrucDve
cycle
just
as
nature
goes
through
its
cycle
of
growth
and
decay.
Yet,
the
most
interesDng
factor
here
is
that
Duffy
does
not
use
language
that
carries
a
sense
of
recovery.
Instead,
Duffy
uses
the
verbs
‘wept’
and
‘threw’.
This
suggests
that
narrator
is
purposely
ending
the
relaDonship
as
the
verb
‘threw’
is
very
firm
and
final
and
it
contrasts
with
the
more
convenDonal
used
verb
‘fall’
which
generally
suggests
a
natural
release
.

14. Darkness and silence ruled everywhere around. Above them rose
the primeval yews and oaks of The Chase, in which were poised
gentle roosting birds in their last nap; and around them the
hopping rabbits and hares. “
“
Thomas Hardy.
Tess of the d’Urbervilles,1891
AO3:
Thomas
Hardy
is
renowned
for
his
ability
to
set
the
scene.
This
passage
in
parDcular
is
the
point
just
before
Tess’s
rape.
Hardy’s
descripDon
of
the,
ancient
sombre
surroundings
with
the
inclusion
of
animals
associated
with
ferDlity,
presage
Alec’s
lascivious
intenDons
and
suggests
that
some
base
act
is
about
to
occur
which
is
outside
what
is
accepted
in
civilised
society
and
from
which
there
is
no
escape.
This
coincides
with
Duffy,
as
she
too
uses
nature
to
mirror
human
emoDons
as
well
as,
foreshadowing
events.

15. R I V E R
Page
4
(Stanza
1,
line
3)
‘I
part
the
leaves
and
they
toss
me
a
blessing
of
rain.’
(Stanza
2,
line
1)
‘The
river
sDrs
and
turns,
consoling
and
fondling
itself’
(Stanza
2,
line
3)
‘The
heron
bows
its
head’
(Stanza
3,
line
1
&
2)
‘My
arms
ache
as
though
they
held
up
the
heavy
sky…’
(Stanza
3,
line
3)
'My
eyes
sieve
the
sky…’
(Stanza
4,
line
1
&
2)
‘Dry
from
travelling
from
so
long’
(Stanza
4
&
5)
‘feel
my
soul
swoop
and
ease
itself
into
my
skin,
like
a
bird
threading
a
river…’

16. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
AO1:
Duffy
uses
nature
to
mirror
human
emoDons
by
linking
the
natural
surroundings
to
her
feelings
of
the
relaDonship
she
is
having
with
her
lover.

17. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Stanza
1,
line
3,
“I
part
the
leaves
and
they
toss
me
a
blessing
of
rain”
Duffy
uses
nature
to
mirror
a
love
ritual
such
as
marriage
or
bapDsm
in
this
parDcular
stanza.
This
is
parDcularly
evident
when
she
writes
‘blessing
of
rain.’
Duffy’s
use
of
the
noun
‘blessing’
here
not
only
personifies
nature
but
it
also
suggests
that
nature
is
accepDng
what
is
happening
between
the
lovers

18. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Stanza
2,
line
1
‘The
river
sDrs
and
turns,
consoling
and
fondling
itself’
Duffy
uses
nature
to
mirror
human
emoDon
again,
using
the
acts
of
the
river
to
portray
what
her
and
her
partner
are
doing.
The
personificaDon
of
the
river
can
also
be
seen
as
refreshing
the
relaDonship,
making
it
new
again.
‘Consoling’
suggests
that
someone
had
been
hurt
or
upset
in
some
way.
Stanza
2,
line
3
‘The
heron
bows
its
head’
This
parDcular
line
could
be
interpreted
in
two
ways,
either
as
a
sign
of
shame
which
aptly
links
with
'consoling'
however
it
may
also
link
with
the
earlier
point
suggesDng
that
nature
accepts
the
lovers.

19. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Stanza
3,
line
1
and
2
‘My
arms
ache
as
though
they
held
up
the
heavy
sky,’
Here
Duffy
is
referencing
the
myth
of
Atlas
in
Greek
mythology,
who
was
tricked
into
holding
up
the
sky.
This
may
suggest
that
the
relaDonship
was
based
on
lies,
or
she
feels
guilty
about
being
in
the
relaDonship.
Stanza
3,
line
3
'My
eyes
sieve
the
sky,’
metaphor
suggests
she
is
lonely
and
constantly
looking
for
comfort.
Also,
it
creates
a
quite
lonely
atmosphere.
However
this
also
links
with
the
previous
line,
as
it’s
possible
that
the
narrator
is
viewing
the
lover
as
their
world
therefore
by
sieving
‘the
sky’
she
is
admiring
the
beauty
of
her
lover.

20. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Stanza
4,
line
1
and
2
‘Dry
from
travelling
from
so
long’
Dry
is
a
contrast
to
the
river
sedng,
which
is
very
sensuous,
animated
and
obviously
full
of
water.
This
represents
the
fact
she’s
being
waiDng
for
a
long
Dme,
and
her
life
has
been
barren
and
boring
while
she’s
been
waiDng
for
love.
Stanza
4
and
5
‘feel
my
soul
swoop
and
ease
itself
into
my
skin,
like
a
bird
threading
a
river.’
Simile
used
to
emphasize
she
knows
feels
comfortable
in
her
skin,
that
now
she’s
found
love
everything
is
complete.

21. “Rapture is that rare thing a poetry book that can (and should) be read from
start to finish ...As the latest Carol Ann Duffy collection it is magnificent; as
an examination of modern love and how it shapes us as human beings, it is
unparalleled.”
Scotsman
'A passionate and beautiful new book length love affair in verse ...Ruthless,
sensuous, tender; utterly modern, utterly classical, it's fantastic to see one
of our best and most popular poets going from strength to strength in subtle
literary originality, while making poems that will sound sweetly to all’
Ruth Padel,
Independent

22. A C T I V I T Y
1) In
pairs,
fill
in
the
final
column
of
the
moDvaDonal
grid,
using
the
informaDon
learnt
from
the
presentaDon.
(5
minutes)

23. A C T I V I T Y
‘Only
the
scenery
endures:
stars,
moon,
roses,
graves
[…]
This
is
an
elemental
love
–
it
could
belong
to
any
Dme
were
it
not
for
the
occasional
contemporary
accessories’
-­‐
Kate
Kellaway,
2005
2)
In
groups
of
4
discuss
whether
you
are
for
or
against
the
Kate
Kellaway’s
statement,
using
the
AO’s
and
Pathos,
Logos
and
Ethos
to
argue
your
point,
ready
to
be
fed
back
to
the
class.
(5
minutes)