Compare the use of the absent presence in Havisham, My Last Duchess, Hitcher, and Kid.

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Literature Poems: Section B

Compare the use of the 'absent presence' in Havisham, My Last Duchess, Hitcher, and Kid.

In Havisham, the speaker expresses feelings of love and hate towards the absent presence. "Beloved sweetheart bastard." Through this powerful oxymoron, we understand that even though he was her lover, he has caused her pain; therefore we see a confused persona who has the two extremes of love and hate instilled in her. Automatically, this oxymoron makes the reader think that the absent presence is evil, but rather than Havisham talking about what act he had committed towards her, she only talks of revenge. "...then down till I suddenly bite awake." Although she never reveals what he did, the revenge is more effective to the reader because they see her reaction towards him, and understand how much that action affected her.

In Kid, the absent presence is also introduced as an enemy. "Batman, big shot..." It is almost as if in both poems the absent presence is being used so that the personas can plead their innocence; the personas never speak of any good actions the absent presence may have done. In Kid, the persona gets their revenge