Carver has been called a "dirty realist". In what way do you think this can be applied to "Neighbors" and "They're not your husband"?
Kat Budd L6 Carver has been called a "dirty realist". In what way do you think this can be applied to "Neighbors" and "They're not your husband"? I don't think Carver's work can really be stereotyped; it is certainly different from other fiction by other American writers, so I don't think it can ever really be given a heading like "dirty realism". Even though the word "dirty" conjures pictures of filth, squalor and generally anything sexually different that people tend to shun, but in fact it almost has a double meaning- it doesn't have to mean sordid- it's almost a term for describing anything sexually explicit which might otherwise be thought unethical or immoral. "Neighbors" is a story which basically is an insight into someone else's life- something that you would never normally know about that could be translated as interfering or an incredible lack of respect for other people and their belongings. "They're not your husband" is a portrayal of male behavior and how controlling it can sometimes be. "Neighbors" is a revealing insight into the life of a couple going through a particularly difficult stage in their relationship. The idea of such a trivial thing like feeding their friends' cat is a particular trait of Carver's- to use something incredibly mundane to blossom something amazing from something pretty boring and routine. The way Bill and Arlene break all
Discussing Death of a Naturalist and At Grass.
Death of a Naturalist is about change of views about certain things, in this case it is about nature. The poem is written in first person. In the first line one can see that the narrator has a fascination with nature, as straight away he talks about flax, which is a plant. Plants are natural however the poet sometimes uses negative language about the plants and language not associated with plants, such as 'festered', so unnatural language is used to describe natural things like plants. However, the negative language being used, such as 'punishing sun' creates a positive scene, which reflects thought of his youth, which is what the first stanza is about. The poet, Seamus Heaney, uses opposites one after another, such as 'townland; green', as one does not usually associate greenery with townland. To exaggerate his love of nature to the reader, the narrator uses sensory imagery, such as 'gargled'. He uses these childish words to try and relive his childhood memories, which is made clear when he says 'I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied specks' when referring to the frogspawn. However. Near the end of the first stanza, the narrator is told what really happens when the frogspawn gets older and is told using childish language, such as 'daddy frog' which confirms that the narrator is talking about his childhood. In the second stanza his view has completely changed. It is a
"Originally" by Carol Ann Duffy - subject, form, tone, imagery, rhythm, rhyme and the poet's intentions
Daniel Atkins 5th February 2003 English poetry commentary Originally Originally was written by a Scottish lady, by the name of Carol Ann Duffy. The following commentary is to be comprised of varying elements, which conclude a decent analysis. These are the subject, form, tone, imagery, rhythm, rhyme and the poet's intentions. The subject in this poem is the discovery of ones past and the process of moving forward in life by emigrating. This is explained through mental reactions or even physically. It seems as if the poet is attempting to convey to the reader that one must never forget the pleasures that one has experienced, and start being aware of life. The following three stanzas are comprised of eight lines each. The first stanza attempts to form a connection with the usage of assonance, rhyme and a half rhyme, which is another term for a consonance. This can be seen in line 7 and line 8. where we didn't live any more. I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw. An alliteration is inserted at the beginning of this stanza, Which fell through the fields, our mother singing This helps the lyrical quality, and provides a description of vast and warm area, a utopia for the child. A contrast is made evident between lines 2-3. Which fell through the fields, our mother singing Our father's name to the turn of the wheels. This only influences the statement
'In Little Red Cap,' Duffy has successfully written about childhood and the loss of innocence. Discuss with detailed references to the poem;
'In Little Red Cap,' Duffy has successfully written about childhood and the loss of innocence. Discuss with detailed references to the poem; I am going to explore more deeply into Carol Anne Duffy's poem, 'little Red Cap.' And discuss the journey from childhood to adulthood, due to 'Little Red Cap's' loss of innocence. 'Little Red Cap' is one of the many poems that have been written by Carol Ann Duffy to portray a feminine side of life. Carol Anne Duffy has managed to do this by enabling each female character to have a voice to speak up against in many cases their husbands or partners. The poem "Little red cap" is based on the fairytale little red riding hood. However, this poem is a lot more mature and advanced in contrast to the original version of the story, which many people know and love. In the first stanza we are immediately introduced to the fact that 'Little Red Cap' is no longer a young child as Carol Anne Duffy uses a metaphor to clearly point out that she is 'At childhood's end,' Which signifies Little Red Cap is at the beginning of her adult life and that she is no longer an innocent child, but she is now a independent young women. However in the second stanza this image is slightly diminished as it states that she is only 'Sweet Sixteen.' this quote warns the reader that she is not as grown up as we were first set out to believe, in fact this makes her seem
Before you were mine by Carol Ann Duffy
Before you were mine 'Before you were mine' is a poem written by Carol Ann Duffy. It's a retrospective poignant dramatic monologue, which tells us about her mother's life ten years before Duffy was born. The title suggests that it's a love poem which shows the strong mother and daughter relationship that they had. The poem starts off with a positive image. "...laugh on with your pals Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff...". This shows us that before her mother had children, she was living a very interesting and cheerful life. Duffy moves on by describing her mother's romantic character. "...the fizzy, movie tomorrows...". The fact that her mother used to go to the movies late at night suggests that she used to go with a lover, which is a very passionate image. However, she also had a disobedient side to her "...your Ma stands at the close with a hiding for the late one...". This shows that Duffy's mother used to come home late at night and used to get beaten by her mother, which portrays her rebellious nature. Duffy says that her mother didn't mind being beaten because she thought that being with the one she loves was 'worth it'. Duffy writes her poem in the past tense, which means that she wasn't there and is analyzing her mother's past only with the use of photos and other people's interpretations of how she was like. Carol Ann Duffy uses many language techniques in order to
Examine Duffys use of the dramatic monologue in The Worlds Wife anthology.
English Literature Project: Examine Duffy's use of the dramatic monologue in The World's Wife Name: Matthew Joseph Addai Date: 8th November 2010 The dramatic monologue is a poetic technique which allows poets to create and develop a persona, who addresses the reader through the telling of a story through their perspective, portraying their inner thoughts and feelings in the process. This poetic technique is used by many well respected poets, including Carol Ann Duffy, a feminist poet whose "World's Wife" anthology consists of poems in which this technique can be found. The aim of this essay therefore, is to look at how effectively Duffy makes use of the dramatic monologue in this collection, taking the poems "Mrs Midas" and "Frau Freud" as examples. Upon glancing upon the names of these poems and the content within them, one picks up on two things. Firstly, both poems make reference to the names of male figures that are historically famous, with the first making reference to the famous Greek myth of King Midas, whilst the second makes reference to the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Another similarity that can be picked up on between all both poems (through their respective titles), is the fact that Duffy has used the dramatic monologue to create female partners for the male figures mentioned above. Each wife's purpose is to re-tell the individual stories, ideals and
Blackberry Picking.
Hasan Abdullah English Blackberry Picking The poem Blackberry Picking is basically based on childhood memories of the summer days spent blackberry picking. This poem is set in late August when the sunshine and rain of July have gone by and it going to soon approach fall, so it describes it as the right time. The first stanza sets the scene of the poet's childhood experience and the cheerfulness that the child feels in particular. The word choice "glossy purple," "its flesh was so sweet," emphasises the child's desire for these long awaited treasures. The first stanza is in a relaxed tone detailing the initial build up of the ripening berries and the pleasure received once their taste was "leaving stains on their tongues." The word hunger in the end of the first stanza tells us that they were very anxious and just too happy, like they were dieing for it. The gradual loss of excitement experienced in the second stanza is the continuation of the metaphor for the life and disappointments experienced. The child tries to preserve the berries as "the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour" is an expression of the loss of innocence that the poet has as a child he experienced. The theme of this poem is basically the idea of life as it grows and then eventually decays. It's the idea of the blackberry's ripe, you eat them enjoy it, and they just decay away if you
DUFFY - MRS.MIDAS
MRS. MIDAS Subject: the poem is a Greek mythological poem about King Midas of Phrygia who had his wish granted everything he touches turns into gold. The poem is about the consequences of choosing money and greed which is presented to the readers through the wife's perspective. Duffy presents a wide range of emotions through Mrs. Midas's persona. Mrs. Midas complains about his husband's selfishness and greed. Duffy gives a voice to women unheard in history. Duffy takes a historical character and translates them into present day. "Mrs. Midas" turns the noble king Phrygia into a pathetic greed middle-aged man. The mood changes as the poem proceeds, reaching its peak of fear in the fifth to eleventh stanza then calmly comes down as Midas draws close to death. The language the character uses informs the reader about the mood of the poem. In the second and third of the first stanza Midas uses personified the kitchen as "its steamy breath gently blanching the windows". This sets the calm relaxing atmosphere of the poem before the crisis. The poem is calm because Mrs. Midas uses smoothly and well-skilled sentences. The intonation changes suddenly, the sentences become short and factual lexis is used. For example in the fifth stanza Mr. Midas said "I moved the phone". Mrs. Midas does this to make the situation seem more urgent chaotic and panicky. Short sentences are used
Critical Analysis of "Before You Were Mine" by Carol Ann Duffy.
Critical Analysis of "Before You Were Mine" by Carol Ann Duffy This poem is a series of reflections by a child on what her mother was like before she was born. The poet is writing to her mother, maybe possibly having seen a photo of her as a teenager. The voice is the first person; "I" and "You" tell us this, and also the poem is written to sound as if the person being addressed is the child's mother. Another thing to note is that the poet wants to state that she's present, even before she was present, "I'm ten years away" and "I knew you would dance like that" tells us exactly this. The poet describes the photo of her mother standing up laughing with two of her friends. She knows that the thought of having a child when young 'doesn't occur' to her mother, when she was wrapped up in a world of dances and teenage dreams. Now remembering her own childhood, the poet thinks of how she used to play with her mother's red shoes and imagines when her mother might have worn them to meet a boyfriend in 'George Square', "I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics, and now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square". The poet also remembers how her mother used to teach her dance steps when she was a child - yet even back then, the poet wished she could have known her mother when still young. The poem doesn't give any clues to the sex of the child, but when
Exploring Duffy's theme in the poems Education for Leisure and In Mrs. Tilchers class.
Exploring Duffy's theme in the poems Education for Leisure and In Mrs. Tilchers class. Education for leisure is a powerful poem, which explores the mind of a disturbed person, who is planning murder. We are not told if the speaker is male or female, though this barely seems to matter. What we do know is that they have a powerful sense of their own importance, and a greater sense of grievance that no one else notices him. 'In Mrs. Tilcher's class' Duffy discusses the transition from childhood to the adult world, from security of childhood to dangers outside school gates, symbolized by sexual knowledge. This is what perhaps connects the two poems. 'In Mrs. Tilcher's class' Duffy shows how little knowledge a young innocent child perceives, and the dangers that a child grows up to belong to. This danger is very much like the one described in 'Education for Leisure'. To start with the speaker informs us he I going to kill "something. Anything". Anything- who or what seems to be irrelevant, so long as the gesture is dramatic enough and gains the whole world's attention, because the speaker wishes not to be 'ignored' any longer, and would like to "play God" As he kills a fly casually, he recalls doing "that at school. Shakespeare" He thinks shake spear's play is not in the language he speaks, and notes that the fly is now in "another language"-at least no longer in the world of
