Duffy's message in the 'Worlds Wife,' seems to be that ultimately the 'World's Wife,' wants a divorce. How far do I agree with this assessment of the anthology?
Duffy's message in the 'Worlds Wife,' seems to be that ultimately the 'World 's Wife,' wants a divorce. How far do I agree with this assessment of the anthology? Duffy explores dislocated or dissonant relationships in her anthology 'The World's Wife.' She mostly writes about the relationships between famous or mythical men and their wives. In her dramatic monologues she shows how behind every man is a strong woman. Duffy shows her dissatisfaction with the world of men, through the use of her negative sexual imagery and tone, which she uses in the majority of her poems throughout the anthology. This quote is an example of how Duffy uses sexual imagery to make fun of males, 'Ladies, dear ladies, the average penis - not pretty...,' This is a blunt quote from 'Frau Freud.' It makes fun of the male anatomy, and the quote sounds very much like it comes from Duffy's point of view. This negative attitude to men is also shown in 'Mrs Aesop.' Phrases like 'he could bore for purgatory,' clearly shows Duffy's negative attitude towards men, but the phrase 'slow as marriage,' also gives us an insight into Duffy's opinion of marriage, and as this poem comes very early on in the anthology it gives the reader a taste of what is to come Duffy explores many issues through the anthology, for example, infidelity in 'Medusa,' selfishness in 'Mrs Midas', and wanting a change for something new
'Carol Ann Duffy's poetry is mainly concerned with the politics of sex'
'Carol Ann Duffy's poetry is mainly concerned with the politics of sex.' How far do you agree with this statement? 'Delilah' by Carol Ann Duffy has an undeniably sexual element running throughout - an element which is highlighted by its suggestive language and presentation of gender roles between the characters 'Samson' and 'Delilah'. Many of Duffy's poems have a similar element running through them such as in 'Salome', 'Little Red Riding Cap' and 'Pygmalion's Bride' therefore it can be said that her poetry is mainly concerned with the politics of sex. However, Carol Ann Duffy states in an interview in 2005 that 'Delilah' is not about sex but is a love poem exploring the nature of Samson's wish to become 'gentle', 'loving' and 'tender'. This would therefore suggest that the main concern of the poem is more to do with love, power and gender. There are several references to sex throughout the poem, however the most direct reference comes in the fourth stanza where Samson 'fucks' Delilah. This is in stark contrast to his request in the third stanza only three lines above of wanting to learn how to 'care', or 'be gentle or loving or tender''. Despite wanting to become gentle, Samson 'fucks' Delilah rather than 'makes love' to her, implying that his wish was only a half-hearted one i.e. a wish he only makes but not something he would act upon. 'He fuck(s her) again' further
