Compare and contrast ‘My Box’ and ‘Valentine’. Explore the poets’ feelings about love. To conclude, say which you prefer and why.
English Coursework Task:- Compare and contrast 'My Box' and 'Valentine'. Explore the poets' feelings about love. To conclude, say which you prefer and why. 'My Box' and 'Valentine' are both written by two female poets, Gillian Clarke and Carol Ann Duffy, respectively. They are both contemporary poems about love. Clarke has an idealistic perception of love while Duffy writes more metaphorically about and onion. She uses single isolated lines and words; there is no regular rhythm or rhyme scheme. 'My Box' does have a regular 8,6,8,6 rhythm and a rhyme scheme. Duffy portrays her strong feelings against the commercialism of Valentines Day in her poem; Clarke mentions nothing about it. Both of these poems contain effective imagery. Duffy uses an onion as an extended metaphor; she writes 'It is a moon wrapped in brown paper'. As the moon is associated with mystery it may be referring to a mysterious relationship or a mysterious lover. Another example of effective imagery in this poem is 'It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief' which could mean, that because onions make your eyes water every thing will be distorted. Metaphorically this means that the future of a relationship is never clear, you never know what is just around the corner. All of these images near the beginning of the poem are positive but they get more and more negative throughout the poem until 'Its
Compare and contrast 'Anne Hathaway' and 'Frau Freud' in Duffy's collection 'The World's Wife'
Compare and contrast 'Anne Hathaway' and 'Frau Freud' in Duffy's collection 'The World's Wife' There are both similarities and contrasts between 'Anne Hathaway' and 'Frau Freud 'One of the mail similarities between the two poems are the sexual references in both poems , the structure of the poems and that they are both written in a women's voice. One of the main similarities between the poems is that they are both written by wives of two very famous men, William Shakespeare and Sigmund Freud. There are also similarities in the fact that there are sexual references in both of the poems. In 'Anne Hathaway' she uses these sexual connotations as a way of explaining why Shakespeare did leave her the second best bed. "The bed we loved in was a spinning world/of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas/where he would dive for peals." In 'Frau Freud' the poem contains a list of euphemism for penises that men use. Duffy or Frau Freud uses these synonyms to completely debunk Freud theories with this list that brings the readers attention to Freud's theories of the male obsession with the penis. The women in the two poems both enjoy sex, Anne Hathaway comments on how she and her husband shared their love with their actions and words. In 'Frau Freud' she also says that she enjoys sex "I'm as au fait with hunt-the-salami/as Ms M. Lewinsky" Another similarity between the two
Critical Analysis of
Critical Analysis of "War Photographer" by Carol Ann Duffy In his darkroom he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands which did not tremble then though seem to now. Rural England. Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, to fields which don't explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat. Something is happening. A stranger's features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man's wife, how he sought approval without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust. A hundred agonies in black-and-white From which his editor will pick out five or six for Sunday's supplement. The reader's eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers. From the aeroplane he stares impassively where he earns his living and they do not care. Carol Ann Duffy was born in Glasgow in 1955. She grew up in Staffordshire and went to university in Liverpool. Having spent some time in London as a freelance writer, she now lives in Manchester. She has won many prizes and several awards for her poetry. Her
Write about a treasured possession that you own and describe why it is meaningful to you. In the palm of my hands lays my most treasured possession; a gold chain. Its heavy weight is easily
Treasured Possession Coursework Write about a treasured possession that you own and describe why it is meaningful to you. In the palm of my hands lays my most treasured possession; a gold chain. Its heavy weight is easily distinguished, pressing softly at the skin of my palm. It glistens infrequently as the daylight looms past ridges in the chain. Its subtle yet attentive charm is hidden but is unfolded through the feel and look of the gold chain. As fingers are brushed against the silky ridges, a rich and solid texture is revealed. As eyes glance across the chain, a sumptuous and luxurious appearance is given. Lastly, the interwoven segments of gold demonstrate strength equal to the thickest of ropes. The chain was given to me by my grandmother just days before she passed away due to lung cancer. The chain was originally bought by my great grandmother during the first World War. In the early twenty-first century a possession such as this would have been worth a fortune and more. You would expect the chain to have been sold for a fortune but it was something that was always going to be special and it would have been a let down if it were sold. My great grandmother gave it to my grandmother, just days before she passed away. And today, I am privileged enough to have it. You would expect the chain to have been passed on to my mother, but I had a close relationship with my
Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which creates a contradiction by contrasting the romantic poem style of the title,
'Valentine' by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which creates a contradiction by contrasting the romantic poem style of the title, 'Valentine,' with a negative in the opening line, cancelling out any traditional thoughts of valentines, 'Not a red rose or a satin heart.' In this first line Duffy is stating a matter of fact; she also seems to be hinting at a different more tongue in cheek approach to Valentine's Day. Also in this first line she is telling her own valentine not to expect any tradition gifts which are sentimental, romantic or cheesy. She then goes on to offer something out of the ordinary, something very surprising... an onion. She then follows this up with the reasons as to why this vegetable makes the perfect valentines gift, 'It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love.' She possibly chose the moon as her imagery as it's a traditional symbol of love-sickness and strongly influences the moods and emotions of people. Unlike most people Carol Ann Duffys approach to valentines seems to be far from typically love struck and seems to be much more pessimistic. Although she is romanticising the onion, she makes it an everyday item again when she states that it's 'wrapped in brown paper.' She goes onto mentioning another image associated with romantic love - that of promises, 'It promises light.' Duffy is suggesting that although
Explain how Carol Ann Duffy conveys her feelings towards the subjects of the two poems 'War Photographer' and 'Stealing'.
Katy Steer 11c Explain how Carol Ann Duffy conveys her feelings towards the subjects of the two poems 'War Photographer' and 'Stealing'. 'War Photographer' and 'Stealing' by Carol Ann Duffy are both poems about outsiders. She often uses dramatic monologues when writing poems, and 'Stealing' is an effective example. 'War Photographer' was written after Duffy had a conversation with a war photographer named Don McCullin. I believe that he must have inspired her to write this laudable poem. 'Stealing' too is based on a true event. When Duffy lived in Wimbledon her neighbours snowman was stolen. The setting of this poem is established on the first line; this being in a 'dark room' where 'he is finally alone'. Because the setting is away from the action of the war, it describes the results indirectly so that it is less graphic, whereas 'Stealing' explores the psychology of an anonymous outsider with anti-social behaviour and feelings. Like 'War Photographer', 'Stealing' is about someone who is isolated from society and shows evidence of being distressed. However, in this poem, the narrator is the character and he is angry and resentful. In both of the poems she uses the expressions and speech rhythms of an everyday conversation. 'Stealing' starts with a question, 'The most unusual thing I ever stole?', which I think, makes the poem more interesting and intriguing for the
The two poems which I am going to discuss are "Stealing" and "Valentine" both written by Carol Ann Duffy.
POETRY ASSIGNMENT STEALING AND VALENTINE'S ESSAY. Choose two of Carol Ann Duffy's poems and discuss how she has used these poems to communicate her ideas and to influence the reader's thoughts and feelings. The two poems which I am going to discuss are "Stealing" and "Valentine" both written by Carol Ann Duffy. "Stealing" by Ann is written in the first person narration. The speaker indicates directly to the reader that the most unusual thing was a snowman. Many of these, we are told by the thief are 'things which I don't need', which is why we can question what exactly the thief is trying to steal and why. After all what exactly is the thief trying to achieve by stealing the snowman? We are told that 'part of the thrill was knowing that the children would cry in the morning', so perhaps metaphorically the thief sees the snowman as someone's happiness and is in fact trying to steal someone else's happiness for himself. Furthermore, the speaker is also a loner and yearns for companionship. He claims "I wanted him, a mate withy a mind as cold as the slice of the ice within my own brain". No matter how miserable the children will be because of his inconsiderate action, he doesn't care, for he is in need of a mate. The phrase 'slice of ice' seems very cold and heartless in itself, using it to describe a part of someone's brain seems to me to be a very negative personality
Duffy's poem Havisham is based on the character Miss Havisham from the famous novel "Great expectations
Discuss how Duffy communicates this to the reader. Duffy's poem Havisham is based on the character Miss Havisham from the famous novel "Great expectations" by Charles dickens. Miss Havisham was stood up at the alter by her fiancée, since then she has not changed out of her wedding dress and her house remains decorated ready for the wedding which never happened. "Beloved Sweetheart Bastard" In this quote, we can clearly see that Miss Havisham is angry and living in hate about her fiancée whishing him dead. Miss Havisham is a lonely woman who now lives a life of hate towards men as one broke her heart and she cannot get over this. "Not a day since then I haven't wished him dead." This quote clearly shows Miss Havisham's hate towards this man. She wants him dead for what he did. In this poem, Duffy creates images in the readers mind as well as feelings. "I've dark green pebbles for eyes." This is creating an image of darkness and hate; "Dark Green pebbles" Dark colours are associated with hate. This quote also creates a feeling of fear, because somebody with dark green pebbles as eyes would be classed as scary and harmful. This poem is full of different feelings and emotions, which Duffy is trying to get across to the reader. Most of the feelings in this poem are to do with Death, anger and destruction. Examples of Miss Havisham's hate and anger are evident throughout
War Photographer - This poem is the only one by Ms. Duffy.
War Photographer This poem is the only one by Ms. Duffy (in this selection) which is written in the third person. It is about a person who is clearly not the poet. The surface subject of the poem is the war photographer of the title but at a deeper level the poem explores the difference between "Rural England" and places where wars are fought (Northern Ireland, the Lebanon and Cambodia), between the comfort or indifference of the newspaper editor and its readers and the suffering of the people in the photographs. War Photographer (from Standing Female Nude, 1985) comes from Duffy's friendship with Don McCullin and Philip Jones Griffiths, two very well-respected stills photographers who specialised in war photography. But the photographer in the poem is anonymous: he could be any of those who record scenes of war. He is not so much a particular individual as, like the poet, an observer and recorder of others' lives. He is an outsider ("alone/With spools of suffering") who moves between two worlds but is comfortable in neither. The "ordered rows" of film spools may suggest how the photographer tries to bring order to what he records, to interpret or make sense of it. The simile which compares him to a priest shows how seriously he takes his job, and how (by photographing them) he stands up for those who cannot help themselves. His darkroom resembles a church in which his red
Explain how Ann Duffy uses Metaphors in at least 2 of her poems and comment on their effectiveness.
Tuesday, 01 May 2007 By Ryan Heath Explain how Ann Duffy uses Metaphors in at least 2 of her poems and comment on their effectiveness. A metaphor is a likening of one thing to another without using 'like' or 'as'. Valentine begins in a very negative way by saying 'not a red rose or a satin heart', perhaps she is saying that love is neither a red rose nor a satin heart - both create an image of warmth, softness and a possibility of passion. Her opening statement uses a metaphor to make the usual idea of love negative. 'It is a moon wrapped in dark paper' uses a metaphor to describe the many levels of emotion associated with a relationship. It could also mean that there is a level of mystery, possibly deceit when a relationship begins. What you see is the dark paper, but that is not what you ultimately get, i.e. the moon. It could also indicate that she feels that the image of the onion as 'a moon wrapped in dark paper' shows that a relationship unfolds, different aspects of a person are revealed, leading back to the idea of what you may see initially is not what you will get ultimately. 'It will blind you with tears'. Onions are well known for making people cry - is she illustrating her discontent with the relationship or possibly reflecting how the relationship makes her feel, i.e. like crying? It seems the onion as a gift is symbolising an unhappy relationship. 'Its