Discuss the ways in which Carol Ann Duffy explores the theme of alienation in Stealing, Education for Leisure and Originally

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Discuss the ways in which Carol Ann Duffy explores the theme of alienation in “Stealing”, “Education for Leisure” and “Originally

This essay analyses and evaluates the underlying theme of alienation in these three poems. It compares and contrasts the ways in which the different poems present alienation to the reader and how effectively this has been portrayed. Alienation is when a person is socially withdrawn or isolated from others, causing aggression or loss of friendliness. Duffy attempts to interpret and reveal the thoughts and feelings of those who are alienated. Each poem presents a different interpretation of people in various situations, some more affected by alienation than others. This essay also describes how the language, structure and imagery help to convey the theme of alienation successfully to the reader. Finally this essay suggests other interpretations of the poem and discusses to what extent the speakers in the poems are really alienated.

Stealing is written in five stanzas with use of half and internal rhymes and there is a regularity in the line lengths. The internal rhyme makes phrases such as, “I wanted him, a mate with a mind as cold as the slice of ice within my own brain,” stand out to the reader. This extended metaphor creates a repulsive image of open flesh and blood in the reader’s mind, making the reader push the thought away perhaps, referring to the way in which people pushed the narrator away. The neatness of the presentation of the poem could represent how neatly the thief is organizing his thoughts on the other hand it contrasts with the thoughts of the reader, as we are confused, as we do not understand the idea of stealing a snowman whereas the narrator does. Duffy uses the technique enjambment often, for example, “I joy-ride cars/ to nowhere,” this makes the poem sound more like a speech as it is more fluent, this results in making the situation and the speaker in the poem more realistic and therefore more sinister and disconcerting.   Similarly, Education for Leisure is written in five stanzas, also with use of internal rhymes. The fact that the poem is written in five equal stanzas, with the exception of the one word line could symbolise that the speaker in the poem has planned his life and he wants to do something to feel recognised and noticed for example, “I walk the two miles into ton for signing on.” As both poems are dramatic monologues, enjambment is also used here, as it gives the poem energy and pace making it sound like a conversation. However in Education for Leisure there is a full stop at the end of every stanza, upon reflection this could relate to the full stop of life when someone dies or it could symbolise the full stop at the end of every friendship the speaker has had in the past and lost eventually.

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Alternatively, Originally is written in four stanzas, although there is still a regular use of enjambment: sometimes the enjambment is used between verses as well as between lines. An example of enjambment in this poem is, “my voice/in the classroom...” The word voice fills the gap and bridges the space until it is reduced to “in the classroom,” emphasising the beginning of alienation when a person is forced to recoil into himself or herself. The word “voice,” could be linked to the one word line in Education for Leisure, “language”, as they are both forms of communication. It is interesting to ...

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