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Introduction

A Critical Analysis Of A Satirical Piece The piece of satirical work that I've chosen to analyse is a poem written by Carol Ann Duffy, a very successful female poet. The poem itself is called "Poet For Our Times", it was written approximately ten to fifteen years ago, at the time she was working in a comprehensive school running workshops. This poem bore some personal significance to Duffy because her brother was working as the news editor for the "Daily Mirror". The poem is written in the first person, told from the point of view of a newspaper headline writer. The poem attempts to satirize the culture of the time and there is an underlying political and social contemporary context. ...read more.

Middle

The derogatory term is satirizing the racist nature of many English men during the time the poem was written, I think that this is an attempt to satirize this feature of the late nineteen eighties English man and his folly into racial slur. The narrator thinks very highly of himself and he even goes as far as to say that he thinks he is a, "Poet for our times." Whereas in actual fact he isn't and this is what Duffy is satirizing, his high opinion of himself which is unjustified, as in fact he merely writes punchy lines in order to try and sell more papers for the daily paper that he works for. I think that another aspect of the headline writer's life that Duffy is satirizing is the pub culture of him and of his working class friends and peers. ...read more.

Conclusion

This implies that he isn't merely in the pub for a quick drink, but that he is a heavy drinker as he is changing his drink to a spirit. I think that this satirization is in order to depict the weakness of the narrator to alcohol and the unhealthy lifestyle. I think that she is trying to make the point that working class men should spend less time in the pub, and possibly more with their family if they're married or partaking in some kind of recreational activity, such as using a local health club or playing five a side football. In conclusion to the points I have made I think that Duffy's poem is very successful in exposing human follies and weaknesses and trying toi change the cultural approach of working class men of the time. Paul Barker 12c ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Carol Ann Duffy section.