Compare the ways in which Duffy and Pugh write about violence. In your response, you must include detailed reference to at least two of Duffys poems.

Authors Avatar

By James Day

Compare the ways in which Duffy and Pugh write about violence. In your response, you must include detailed reference to at least two of Duffy’s poems.’

Both Carol Ann Duffy’s and Sheenagh Pugh’s poetry feature references to the theme of violence, however this concept is conveyed in a multitude of ways by each poet.

        In ‘Education for Leisure’ by Duffy, the narrating protagonist is portrayed as having multiple grandiose delusions which she uses to sanction violence. For example, the very first line of the poem, “I am going to kill something,” features the first-person pronoun, ‘I’, which is repeated throughout the poem, hence the reader perceives that the protagonist is self-obsessed, a personality trait which is the first indicator of her ‘God complex’. In addition, the verb ‘kill’ is a simple word known to all readers, even those of a young age, thus Duffy is utilising simple language to enable her to access all readers, of erudite or sparsely-read level, and reflect the mono-faceted, simplistic nature of the narrator’s violent desires. The aforementioned ‘God complex’ is augmented later in the stanza by the verb phrase, “I am going to play God” which directly references the omnipotent supernatural deity as though the narrator has the power to wreak endless havoc, and thus use any conceivable level of violence, as she wishes. This is furthered by the use of Biblical language, such as, “I see that it is good.” Consequently, the reader realises that the narrator’s violence stems from her deluded state of mind; a potential interpretation of this is that Duffy’s dissatisfaction with the Thatcher-run government of the 1980’s inspired her to write about a disgruntled citizen in order to raise the issue that Thatcher paid inadequate attention to mental health policies whilst Prime Minister. Alternatively, some readers may simply perceive Duffy as making a point about the violent feelings arising from the political turmoil of Thatcher’s premiership, which incited much disdain – particularly amongst left-wingers – for example via references to education – in the poem’s title – and unemployment, through use of the phrase “signing on.” This can be interpreted as a rather Marxist point of view since it involves the unemployment proletariat, that is, the lower class, suffering from mental illness due to lack of intervention or treatment from the relatively bourgeoisie Margaret Thatcher.

Join now!

        The concept of delusions of grandeur is one present in multiple Duffy poems. For instance, the narrating characters refer to eminent figures to elevate their own statuses in ‘Standing Female Nude’ – “Queen of England gazing on my shape” – and ‘Poet for Our Times’ – “punchy haikus featuring the Queen.” As a result, frequent readers of Duffy’s work appreciate this technique and accordingly notice mental instability and insecurity as being common, indicative of its important as a symbol of civil conflict during the 1980’s.

        Pugh seldom relies on the form of first-person monologue to convey the concept of violence, ...

This is a preview of the whole essay