Compare and contrast two poems, one by Liz Lochhead and one by Carol Ann Duffy, taking account of the methods (situation, form and structure, and language, including imagery, and tone) which each poet uses to write about relationships between men and women.

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Compare and contrast two poems, one by Liz Lochhead and one by Carol Ann Duffy, taking account of the methods (situation, form and structure, and language, including imagery, and tone) which each poet uses to write about relationships between men and women.

Standing Female Nude by Duffy and The Redneck by Liz Lochhead are two unique poems featuring strong female personas. They focus on the relationships that the speakers have with men: in Standing Female Nude the reader is presented with the relationship between artist and model, whereas in The Redneck the relationship explored is that of a woman and her former husband. In examining how these relationships are conveyed, a good place to start are the titles of the poems.

The title of Standing Female Nude focusses on the woman as an impersonal object, but it also has a certain element of defiance. Duffy uses the active verb, “standing,” suggesting that this woman refuses to be dominated. Contrastingly the title of The Redneck focusses instead on the man of the poem. A redneck is a derogatory American term for a working-class white person from the southern US, especially a politically reactionary one. This captures her disdain for the man. Perhaps Lochhead’s reasoning for using a foreign word could be to emphasise the distant relationship between the man and woman in this poem.

Moving on, both poems use vivid imagery to capture the complex relationships between men and women. As Duffy said herself: "I like to use simple words but in a complicated way." The main contrast between the two poems is the identity of the speaker. Duffy uses a French prostitute that is a life model for an artist, whereas Lochhead writes from the point of view of a Scottish woman after the breakdown of her marriage. What binds these two working class women together is their dysfunctional relationships with men. In Standing Female Nude the reader gets the sense that the woman is being objectified straight away with the triad, “belly nipple arse in the window light.” She is presented like a piece of flesh hung up in a butcher’s window. Similarly, the speaker in The Redneck feels as if she is being objectified based on her appearance: “Six month on the popcorn diet. Starving.” The colloquial language demonstrates that this is an authentic Scottish voice.

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Both speakers are unreserved with their criticisms of men. The speaker of The Redneck calls her husband a, “pig,” and uses dialogue to convey how crass he is: “him shouting ‘Perfect Working Order’ … and flashing the photographer.” This pun on the word, “flashing,” is effective in conveying her husband as misogynist and sexually aggressive. The speaker in Standing Female Nude is also viewed sexually by the artist: “There are times he does not concentrate / and stiffens for my warmth.” She responds inwardly by referring to him as, “Little man,” again making a sexual reference. In both cases the ...

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