What similarities or differences are there in the way disturbed or disturbing characters are presented in Havisham, Hitcher, and The Laboratory?

        Inversnaid is immediately begun with dark and disturbing imagery “darksome burn” this conjures up gory and gothic thoughts before the poem has properly begun. In contrast Hitcher starts in a completely opposite way “I’d been tired, under the weather” the enjambment on the first line creates suspense, also the spelling of answer phone as  “ansaphone” shows the narrators simplicity, also the erratic punctuation gets across his disturbed state of being. The fact that he has a hired car could also mean that he is a dangerous driver and has caused a road accident. A part in the poem that also suggests that the narrator is crazy is “round the next bend” this indicates that he is round the bend showing he is crazy. Inversnaid also gives this impression through the use of enjambment. This gives the poem a rambling feel as though he is just spouting random words. A disturbing feeling is also created by: “ broth Of a pool sp pitch-black,” this phrase sounds almost apocalyptic, this combined with the rambling could almost be seen as though he is speaking in tongues; prophesising some terrible end to the world.

        In Duffy’s Havisham, the psychotic issues of the narrator can be seen from the start, as is the case in inversnaid. “Green pebbles for eyes” this shows the audience that she has lost all emotion and individuality she ever had. We know this “Havisham” is defiantly crazy when Duffy describes her “cawing Nooooo at the wall;” it shows her loss of self-respect and dignity. In contrast, the woman in the Laboratory chooses to hid her self “tying thy glass mask tightly” she does this in order to hide herself so as to save her self-respect and also to ensure she does not get caught in planning a murder. However, despite the narrators dignity there is a disturbing element about her for example: “keep them one half minuet fixed she would fall” the fact that she believes that she can stare her victim to death, but most of all because she does not care that the man will still not love her after she has killed “Pauline,” this proves that she is just doing it out of jealousy as she cannot have him.

        Carol Ann Duffy’s Havisham is defiantly the most disturbing poem of all as it addresses all the usually psychotic issues that the narrators in each of the poems talk about and goes beyond that by describing Havisham necrophilic fantasies. However it is evident that all of these poems are describing a hate that we have all felt at some point, we are not all necessarily necrophilia’s but we have all hated someone in this way. As for hitcher I believe that this is the same and that Armitage is merely presenting to us a part of ourselves but exemplified in an amplified and literal state.