Carol Ann Duffys collection of poems "The Worlds Wife". How does the female dominate over the patriarchy in poems such as Circe, Mrs Beast and Thetis?

The first 200 words of this essay...

End of Term Assessment: The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

Name: Valerie Ng Suying (21)

Class: P1

Subject: Literature SL

Date of submission: 3rd May 2011

Question: How does the female dominate over the patriarchy in poems such as Circe, Mrs Beast and Thetis?

Carol Ann Duffy's collection of poems in The World's Wife is a "series of vignettes on famous men throughout history [and from various myths], told from the female perspective." (rte.ie) Themes such as sexuality, fidelity, domesticity, power relations, personal ambitions and love are explored, often surrounding the broader topic of feminism and female dominance. In poems such as Circe, Mrs Beast and Thetis, Duffy explores these concepts through language, imagery employed, and the reconstruction of gender roles and transformations of female figures.

Female dominance is shown through the usage of authoritative language by female figures. Majority of poems in The World's Wife "maintains a binary structure where the objects of female poetic discourse are men." (Peukert 4) Men are often described from the female perspective, as evil, villainous or "negative" figures. For example, the male figure is characterized as possessive in Thetis - "in the hand/