2. Theme of the female voice
The theme of the female voice throughout the poems could be used to portray the suffocation
or empowerment of these voices
"What I was trying to do was use the idea of the gospel truth: in a sense the gospels are a tall
story told as truth, so these poems were about trying to find truth about particularly female
issues, but doing it within tall stories.“ Carol Ann Duffy
She seeks to give women back the voice they have been denied through retelling of aspects
of the female experience, through a female lens
‘Ecriture feminine’ text – the female now speaks with a borrowed language after centuries of
suppression of the female voice, reaffirming their identities through engaging with their own
‘otherness’, often subverts typical syntax seeking to evade the discourse stemming from the
patriarchal system
The bible, classical mythology and fairy tales all have deeply embedded anti-female
prejudices
There are still barriers for women in the modern world; high levels of violent offences committed
against women by men, ‘glass ceiling’ that women reach in their career, media providing
unrealistic expectations of body image, continuous objectification of women as objects to
gratify male desires
Media influence in its rise since the internet 1990, airbrushing culture, in the last 15 years eating
disorders have doubled, 2000-2010 depression rates of women and girls has doubled
War context, (news in loud), UK sustained a period of peace since WW2, continued
involvement in overseas conflict, criticised on the grounds that participation has interfered
resulting in humanitarian crises.
3. Anon
Returning history’s anonymised women their voice
Explores female subjugation in a typically masculine sphere of literature
‘Anon’ as a title is ambiguous – anonymous? The female voice is reduced, female
writers not recognised, many signed poems as anon
Structurally narrow, decreasing line length
Highlights this woman’s identity has been erased by anonymity, females lacking a
control in their sense of selves
skull metaphor is used to show how the female knowledge is used but not
celebrated – kept on a shelf, enforcing that the skull had something to ‘get off its
chest’ portrays the frustration felt from the female perspective due to a lack of
voice
The pen as a baton – female solidarity in an understanding of their shared
experience
The Elizabethan phrase, “hey nonny”, is used at the end as a nonsensical addition
to mimic the male perspective on the female voice, and perhaps that this is a
continuing issue for centuries past
Finishing the poem with ‘Anon’ creates a cyclical structure, mirroring the ongoing
issue of female writing not being taken seriously
4. Loud
Throughout history women have been expected to be subdued, this poem
depicts the reclamation of this voice in anger at the emotional disconnect
between people in the news and those who watch it, overall ignorance,
subverts the traditional expectation of the sexist notion of female submission
In the context of politics? The female voice largely ignored
No constant rhyme, internal rhyme moments which increase the speed of
reading, acceleration goes alongside the explosive narrative voice, which
comes to an abrupt / jarring close as each 5th line is shorter than the rest, this
line is structurally different, representative of the female voice breaking free?
The cyclical structure, beginning and ending the poem with the news, may
suggest instead that nothing has changed, there is no female voice –
particularly in politics
This poem emphasises the power of the female voice in showing compassion
for an unstable world
5. White Writing
Exploring same sex marriage, autobiographical feel, CAD bisexual herself
Poem is an epithalamium – celebrates marriage
The oppression of the female voice is expanded through both females
collectively being shunned by society
Repeated anaphora of ‘no’, infers an unacceptance of the female voice
‘words on the wind’ – fleeting imagery, comparable to the lack of meaning and
appreciation given to the female voice in society, in addition to the perception
of the same-sex marriage in traditional society
She’s writing from the perspective of marginalisation in both her gender and
sexuality, and the focus around the marriage mirrors the third wave of feminism –
women aware of their use of language and compliance with gender constructs,
leading to centralising of other identities outside of the heterosexual norm, written
before the legalisation of gay marriage in 2015
6. Gambler
Read through the poem
What are some of your first impressions and interpretations?
What imagery stands out to you?
7. Gambler
Link between horse betting and writing, Duffy views words and ideas or poetry as a form of gambling, it may
work or fail, perhaps especially for a woman, its more a gamble of success rather than being measured on
talent
‘Hyperion’s tips’ – reference to the figure of Hyperion in Greek mythology, known for being a governing voice of
reason, in rejecting these tips, the female voice is placed as more important than this figure, importance of
women in society?
Each stanza of the poem often ends with enjambment, this overrunning of the lines opposes the precarious
nature of gambling, could be a reflection of the certainty of the woman deciding her own bets, disregarding
the advice od men and relying on her own strategies
Including horse racing continues the theme of restructuring the male sphere to the female perspective,
predominantly male sport, the prism of the female voice is used to rephrase this typically male environment as a
metaphoric reflection of writing poetry – the literary field is dominated by males, the bets – picking the right form
of words.
The enjambment also quickens the pace of the poem, mirroring the fast-passed atmosphere of the races,
slowing only in the final stanza – internal rhyming achieves the same, and also draws emphasis to the
importance of meter and syllable within poetry
Stanza 4 – in a trance = restrictions in what she can do, only sit and hope, male oppression? Repeatedly trying
the same things over and over again?
Language is suggested to be important to the woman, who chooses the horses based on the names she likes,
disregarding gambling strategies e.g the syllable balance of ‘Indian Nectar’ is more pleasing than the 7-2 odds
on the horse
‘Sits with her stump of a pen’ – emblematic of the voices of women being underrepresented in literature? Their
abilities stumped by a society that does not value them?
‘how can she lose?’, by creating poetry that is important to her, reflecting her own experience and opinions is
important regardless of how it is received
A lot of the names she didn’t choose have female connotations, ‘Heiress’, ‘Shush’- expectations, ‘Birth’ =
demonstrating her belief in their futility and inevitable failure of the female names – especially in literature?
8. Light gatherer
Read through the poem
What are some of your first impressions and interpretations?
What imagery stands out to you?
9. Light Gatherer
This poem is a celebration of motherhood, the happiness the child brings through light, consistent
semantic pattern throughout, luxurious beautiful imagery attributed to her daughter, (context, this is
about the birth of her daughter)
No regular rhyme scheme, internal rhyme used linking together different elements of the poem,
bringing cohesion and creating a joyful, light hearted flow
Semantic field of light – connotations of happiness, lighting up her life gathering light brining into the
world, metaphorically lighting up Duffy’s life
Enjambment- gives the poem a ‘free-flowing’ feel, reflects the personal joy of watching her
daughter grow / coming into the world
The light ‘under your skin’, emphasises the sense that her daughter is the source of this light / joy, the
growth imagery surrounding her daughter is representative of her physical growth and that of the
light within her, it is only the beginning of this journey
Luxurious imagery used without – ‘when language came, it glittered like a rive’, as her daughter
learned to speak her words exuded light as well, ‘silver, clever with fish’, the harmonious sounds of
her daughters words
The importance of her daughter is paramount, every imagery returns to her daughters presence, the
poem idolizes her, presenting the beauty of motherhood, the child ‘fell from a star’, almost angelic
quality, religious connotations – links to the kissing of her feet, also religious imagery, holy, pure, to be
worshipped
She returns to the image of age at the end of the poem which presents the growth of the child
10. The Cord
Read through the poem
What are some of your first impressions and interpretations?
What imagery stands out to you?
11. The Cord
This poem can be said to be a message from Duffy to her daughter as she grows older of
their eternal connection, despite physical distances
The imagery of the cord itself represents the umbilical cord which ‘they’, the unfamiliar
doctors, severed. In reality once the physical cord is cut it is gone, but the imagery of this
being buried and kept safe is representative of the mental connection they will always
share
This poem drawn upon the semantics of myth, between realism and fantasy, a nod to the
age of her child? Their separation could be through age and moving away in the near
future
Brutality in the first image through consonance of ‘c’, “cut the cord”, harsh penetrative
sound, but the cord is buried somewhere of importance and mythical significance ‘the
Great Forest’, deep care for her daughter
Ella’s changing perception of the cord herself as the poem progresses, first unsure if it is
‘real’, to deciding it is tangible and made of rope, deciding to go and find it, the moment
the daughter is leaving home, caesura for significance ‘She went deeper.’
Following the bird – connotations of freedom, moving out into the world for her own
experience, but the world is represented as dark and unfriendly, ‘one huge darkness’,
despite this Duffy has to let her daughter go, but their connection and her mother’s
guidance is clear to Ella, the stars were “her mother’s eyes”
Perhaps the ending referring to ‘a babies cry’ could suggest that this search for the cord
was Ella’s progressing age, leading to discovering motherhood herself? Rather than finding
and revealing this tangible cord in the forest she is seeking a mother connection to
experience for herself, which she finds at the end?
