MORE REVISION
SALOME SOME HELPFUL NOTES: Salome is a biblical character and is one of five in the collection The World’s Wife. It is worth considering considering why Duffy has chosen chosen these these particular particular women from the Bible, particularly as you might be asked about the biblical versus the classical characters in the examination.
‘Salome’: from the New Testament, Testament, the book book of Matthew, chapter chapter 14. Salome danced for Herod on his birthday and he was so pleased by her performance that he he promised to give give her whatever she she wished for. She was prompted by her mother, Herodias, and asked for the head of John the Baptist, on a plate. John the Baptist had been preaching preaching about the coming of Jesus and had baptised Jesus (Matthew, chapter 3). Many writers have re-told the story of ‘Salome’, including Oscar Wilde, in a play originally written in French.
The poem starts off in what might be termed a rather ‘male’ style, in that the tone is that of someone boasting about waking up the morning after the night before with an unknown unknown stranger in the bed beside them. Immediately Duffy Duffy signals that this is not a one-off occurrence (‘I’d done it before’) and this might be seen as an ironic twist on the idea of the one-night stand scenario – lots of one night stands for her but for the men it is literally a never to be repeated experience as they they are now dead. dead. The parenthesis reflects how unimportant unimportant the event is to Salome: ‘(and doubtless I’ll do it again, /sooner or later)’. There is an inevitability about what has happened which has resonances of the ‘I just can’t help myself’ comments of men who have one-night stands. Despite its gruesome subject the poem is humorous – ‘woke up with a head on the pillow beside me’ – although a certain amount of knowledge of the story of ‘Salome’ is required by the reader to recognise the black humour in the line, otherwise we might not realise the head is detached from the body! The poem reveals a woman in control, as with many of the other poems in the collection. There is no doubt that Salome would go to bed with a handsome man – ‘Good looking, of course’ – and again the detailed description of his physical appearance mirrors the way in which some men might discuss a onenight stand. stand. There is no emotion emotion here, here, only the confirma confirmation tion that she she can ‘have’ whoever she wants. It is only at the end of the poem that Salome makes reference to the severed head and we might get the impression that she has forgotten what happened, as if she is awakening from a drunken sleep; in the first stanza she certainly does not seem to realise why the man is so cold: ‘Colder than pewter. Strange.’
In the second stanza the rather frugal meal Salome wishes for – ‘I knew I’d feel better / for tea, dry toast, no butter’ – contrasts vividly with the gory overindulgence of her fantasies, which she has carried out for real. The The stru struct ctur ure e of the the poem poem mim mimics ics a pers person on grad gradua uall lly y com coming ing to full full consciousness from a deep sleep: the first stanza is free verse, with long line lines, s, ques questi tion ons s and and use use of elli ellips psis is,, sugg sugges esti ting ng almo almost st a stre stream am of consciousness. In the second stanza, there are much shorter lines and an up-tempo rhythm, which reflect her coming awake and recognising what will make her feel better. The half rhymes of butter/better and clatter/clutter, gradually gradually change to full rhymes of clatter/patter/batter mirroring her growing wakefulness and then the final line of the stanza is like the recollection of a person who realises they are badly hungover and lead in to the resolution of the third stanza: ‘hungover and wrecked as I was from a night on the batter. / Never again!’ Salome’s attitude to the man is clearly shown in the three words she uses to describe him in the third stanza, ‘the blighter, / the beater or biter,’ and it is worth considering why Duffy has chosen these – to blight, to beat, to bite: what do they imply? imply? Salome Salome also says says it was time to ‘turf him out’, out’, so there will be no gentle wakening or swapping of phone numbers to meet up again. Duffy clearly shows that Salome has no emotional attachment to him. It is only in the last stanza that there is any hint that Salome might have done something wrong: ‘I saw my eyes glitter.’ But does this imply wickedness or merely mischievousness? mischievousness? Think about the irony of the phrase ‘and ain’t life a bitch’: the man is not alive and bitch always refers to the female, thus Salome is confirming that yes, life is female and women are central; men are peripheral and dead. The end of the poem sounds like gossip, the punch line of a joke or boasting to friends: ‘and there, like I said – and ain’t life a bitch – was his head on a platter.’ There is no emotion emotion in these lines, except except perhaps a triumphant note? There is no mention of the man being decapitated and the poem finishes just as the truth is revealed; does this impact on our opinions of Salome, as Duffy has portrayed her?
Helpful hints for the study of ‘ from Mrs Tiresias’ The title of this poem suggests it is an extract from a much longer piece of work. According According to some sources sources Duffy Duffy added the ‘from’ ‘from’ as a tongue-intongue-incheek gesture after she was patronising patronisingly ly told by an academic academic that there is a lot more to the myth than she has mentioned in the poem.
Story of Tiresias: Tiresias was out on a walk, when he saw two snakes mating. He watched for a while until the snakes sensed his presence. They did not want to be disturbed so they attacked him. Tiresias managed to kill the female but simultaneously as he killed her he turned into a woman. As a woman Tiresias apparently became a prostitute. Then one day the episode with the snake was repeated, but this time Tiresias killed the male, and turned back into a man. When Zeus and Hera had a disagreement about which sex enjoys the most pleasure during intercourse they asked Tiresias, since he had experienced both. Hera insisted men enjoy sex more, while Zeus Z eus claimed the opposite. Tiresias claimed that if sexual pleasure could be put on a scale from one to ten, men were at one, and women women at three times three. Hera was so enraged to hear this that she blinded Tiresias, but Zeus gave him inner sight: wisdom and the ability to see the future.
This is one of the poems in the collection that tells part of a story and therefore we might refer to it as a narrative poem (other classic examples include ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’, ‘The Highwayman’ and ‘The Lady of Shalott’) although unusually, here the narrator is one of the characters. In the first stanza the ‘maleness’ (rather than masculinity) of Tiresias is undoubted, which Duffy emphasises with ‘he went out for his walk a man’ and the lack of any personal pronouns in ‘and came back female’ shows the reader how shocking the transformation is and how uncomfortable Tiresias feels. In a simi simila larr way way to ‘Mrs ‘Mrs Midas Midas’’ the the sp spea eaker ker gives gives the the impr impres essi sion on of contented domesticity in the second stanza: a couple at ease and doing everyday, everyday, ordinary ordinary activities. activities. Tiresias Tiresias goes ‘Out the back gate’ with ‘the ‘the dog’. He is ‘wearing ‘wearing his gardening gardening kecks, / an open-necked open-necked shirt, shirt, / and a jacket in Harris tweed I’d patched at the elbows myself’. The first hint of discord is reflected in the one word stanza, ‘Whistling’. Although it might reveal someone of a cheery demeanour it is often an unpl unplea easa sant nt nois noise e for for the the hear hearer er and and can can hint hint at smug smugne ness ss or self self-satisfaction. This lack of harmony between the the couple is further illustrated in stanza four when Mrs Tiresias tells the reader about Tiresias writing to The Times after hearing the first cuckoo. In itself, the action might imply somebody who is arrogant, pompous and has too much time on their hands and it seems even more absurd when Mrs Tiresias confides to the reader that she had usually heard it ‘days before him’.
Duffy personifies the thunder when it gives a ‘faint sneer’ and this foretell s the ‘curse’ that has afflicted Tiresias, in more than one way: it is literally a curse that has been placed on him and later he wails about ‘the curse’, which is another word for menstruation. Again,, the Again the poem poem has has echo echoes es of ‘Mrs ‘Mrs Mida Midas’ s’ as Mrs Mrs Tires Tiresias ias grad gradua ually lly becomes aware of what has happened, ‘when a face / swam into view’. Mrs Tiresias gives the impression that, despite her shock, she recovers herself quickly which Duffy shows through one stanza finishing with Mrs Tiresias ‘passed out’ and the next beginning with ‘Life has to go on.’ We must remember that the character of ‘Mrs Tiresias’ is recalling all these events at a later date so, in a sense, she is an unreliable narrator: she is conveying her opinions of Tiresias and the situation after she has been cast aside. There is a sense, in the next few stanzas that, despite her shame, Mrs Tiresias Tiresias makes an effort effort to be supportive supportive to her husband. husband. The reason reason for his change of gender is not reported to the reader and we might infer many many thin things gs from from this this:: Mrs Mrs Tire Tiresi sias as has not not been been told told? ? She She is too ashamed? It is insignificant to to the story? The contrast of the stanza that ends, ‘sisterly, holding his soft new shape in my arms all night’ and the next one-line stanza, ‘Then he started his period’, signals to the reader the change in feeling that Mrs Tiresias has for her husband: an overtly hostile note creeps in to the poem emphasised by the ascending numbers in the next stanza which reflect Tiresias’s ever increasing needs. The The word words s us used ed to desc descri ribe be Tires Tiresias ias and and his his acti action ons s in the the follo followi wing ng stanzas stanzas reveal Mrs Tiresias’s Tiresias’s rising anger and bitterness: bitterness: ‘demanding’, ‘demanding’, ‘selfish pale face’, ‘snapped’ and ‘It got worse’. There are hints of Tiresias’s prostitution in lines such as ‘out and about’, ‘glitzy restaurants’ and ‘on the arms of powerful men’. Duffy might not be imag imagin inin ing g tha that Tire Tiresi sias as lit literal erally ly becam ecame e a callall-g girl irl but but that hat he metaphorically prostituted himself: in other words he played up to the stereotype of how women behave and look. As with with many many of the the other other poem poems s in the the colle collect ctio ion n Duff Duffy y has has graf grafted ted modern ideas, theories, behaviour, language and goods on to legendary characters. Here, Tiresias appears appears to frequent chat shows, sharing his/her feelings: of course the irony is that when Tiresias is ‘telling the women out there / how, as a woman himself, / he knew how we felt’ he actually has no idea. idea. The The stat statem ement ent also has echo echoes es of patron patronis isin ing g celeb celebrit ritie ies s and and wealthy stars who claim to have an understanding of how ordinary women feel about and cope with domestic life. Again, there are hints of Mrs Tiresias’s bitterness in such lines as, ‘His flirt’s smile’ and ‘A cling peach slithering out from its tin. / I gritted my teeth.’ The two harsh ‘i’ ‘i’ sounds reflect the the harshness and slightly slightly grating soun sound d that that Tiresi Tiresias as’s ’s voice voice has. has. The The ‘tin ‘tinne ned d peach peach’’ imag image e hint hints s at
someth something ing unbear unbearabl ably y sweet, sweet, manufa manufactu ctured red and quite quite unlike unlike the real real thing. In the last stanza the confusion felt by the reader over who the ‘he’ and the ‘her’ are possibly reflects the bewilderment and awkwardness that Mrs Tiresias Tiresias and Tiresias Tiresias feel at this meeting. meeting. Again, the the artificial artificial nature of items ‘glittering’ and ‘tinkling’ suggest the unease and discord between them. The repetition repetition of ‘her bite’ bite’ in the stanza stanza seems intended intended to taunt Tiresias: Mrs Tiresias is, and always has been, a lesbian (?) unfulfilled by her her husb husban and d and and now now extr extrem emel ely y awar aware e of and and eloq eloque uent nt abou aboutt the the sensuous nature of a loving relationship. The word ‘clash’ in the final line seems to have a double meaning: the literal literal jarring jarring and noise noise of Tiresia Tiresias’ s’s s and the lover’ lover’s s bejewel bejewelled led hands hands meeting but also the animosity that they feel towards one another.
Some study notes on ‘Mrs Faust’ This is a poem all about the desire for material wealth, ambition and pursuit pursuit of power. power. Once again again Duffy Duffy has updated updated a very old story story and given the characters modern language and imagery to convey her ideas about them and she is illustrating that although most people don’t sell their soul to the devil, many men are corrupted by power. You can probably probably think of characters characters who fit this this picture: Bill Bill Clinton, Nick Leeson and Jeffrey Archer are just a few who might perhaps make it into this category. Summary of character: Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus, finished by 1616, tells the story of a man who, in order to enjoy wealth and power, makes a pact with the devil that he can enjoy all of these things for twenty-four years but must surrender his soul to the devil at the end of this time. There is also a version by Goethe, written in 1832, and both of these stories are based on much earlier tellings of the story, which vary what what happens to Faust at the end. In Marlowe’s version, a group of scholars discover Faustus’ limbs the morning after a host of devils carry him away to hell.
The pace of the poem reflect reflects s the pace of the couple’s couple’s lifestyle. lifestyle. It reads like a list of mostly material goods and achievements, slightly abbreviate abbreviated, d, like a brief brief business business telephone telephone call. call. The list list is very similar to lots of items that people desire in life and that give them status: many of them are status symbols, such as ‘fast cars’, ‘a boat with sails’ and ‘a second home in Wales’. As with with many any of the the othe otherr poem poems s in the the coll collec ecti tion on Duff Duffy y has has presented us with a character who appears to tell us everything
abou aboutt thei theirr rela relati tion onsh ship ip and and thro throug ugh h this this we reco recogn gnis ise e what what is missing: there is no mention of love between the couple. The morality of Faust gradually degenerates as he is able to achieve whatever he decides on and he moves into coveting things that affect other other people, people, such as ‘MP’, ‘MP’, ‘Cardinal ‘Cardinal’’ and even ‘Pope’. ‘Pope’. It is iron ironic ic that that Faus Faustt take takes s on the the role role of the the head head of the the Cath Cathol olic ic chur church ch,, a posi positi tion on very very clos close e to God God and and one one that that invi invite tes s the the confidences of others, when he is simultaneously in a relationship with with the the Devi Devil. l. He then then buys buys into into obje object cts s that that dire direct ctly ly and and negati negativel vely y affect affect the lives lives of others others:: ‘inves ‘invested ted in smart smart bombs’ bombs’,, ‘cloned sheep’ and even ‘surfed the Internet / for like-minded BoPeep.’ This last in in particular shows shows a shift downwards downwards to things things that are unacceptable and taboo to society: the bombs and sheep are possibly alright to discuss with others but surfing the internet for innocent young girls, implied by the Bo-Peep image, is not.
Duffy is not condoning the behaviour or actions of Mrs Faust, who admits, ‘I grew to love the lifestyle’ and does not feel ‘jealousy’ and ‘went my own own sweet way’. Mrs Faust’s Faust’s activit activities ies are all to do with with appearance and her body, such as ‘colonic irrigation’, ‘had a facelift, / had my breasts enlarged, enlarged, / my my buttocks tightened’. tightened’. In one stanza stanza Duffy appears to mock the actions a ctions of women who talk about ‘finding them themse selv lves es’’ and and seem seem to adop adoptt a frug frugal al life lifest styl yle e but but actu actual ally ly achiev achieve e nothi nothing ng and are sti still ll in a privi privileg leged ed position position.. Mrs Mrs Faust Faust becomes ‘teetotal, vegan, / Buddhist, 41’ but at the end of the stanza stanza after after changi changing ng her hair hair colour colour and runnin running g away, away, merely merely ‘went home’. There are hints in the poem of Mrs Faust’s loneliness, expressed through phrases such as, ‘I grew to love the lifestyle, / not the life.’ and and the the fact fact that hat Mrs Mrs Faust aust goes goes ‘her ‘her own sweet eet way’ ay’ and and apparently alone. Look at the lack lack of regret regret Faust has has for what he has has done. Duffy’s Duffy’s diction shows shows he is is unconcerned unconcerned and unrepentant. unrepentant. The persona of Faust Faust talks talks about about ‘gagg ‘gaggin ing g for it’ and ‘going ‘going for it’. There There is no apology and no remorse in the language. The humour of the poem is in the attention to detail Duffy provides. For example when Faust is dragged down to hell the devil pokes his hands up ‘through ‘through the terracotta Tuscan tiles.’ Even at this moment moment of judgement Mrs Faust is keen for the reader to know that the kitchen tiles are the ‘right’ colour and style. The The last last stan stanza za expo expose ses s Mrs Mrs Faus Faust’ t’s s own own sh shoc ocki king ngly ly immo immora rall behaviour. Her response response to Faust’s doom doom is ‘C’est ‘C’est la vie’, a phrase simi simila larr to a sh shru rugg ggin ing g of the the sh shou ould lder ers s in resp respon onse se to a mino minorr problem. problem. She buys a kidney kidney ‘with ‘with my credit credit card’, card’, hinting hinting to the reader the shockingly gruesome origins of her donated organ. At the the end end of the the poem poem the the iron irony y of the the situ situat atio ion n is expl explic icit itly ly revealed. Faust has even tricked the the devil because because he ‘didn’t have a soul to sell’. sell’. He is the ultimate ultimate salesma salesman n who has clinched clinched the ultim ultimate ate deal. deal. Mrs Faust’ Faust’s s opini opinion on of her husban husband d is also made made overtly obvious as her final words about him are that he is a ‘clever, cunning, callous bastard’: hardly words of love.
Some notes on ‘Queen Herod’ This This is a poem about love, love, relations relationships hips and childr children. en. It is about maternal maternal love, love, marital marital love and and even lesbian lesbian love. It is one of the most most diffi difficul cultt poems poems within within the collec collecti tion on The World’ World’s s Wife Wife and therefore you need to study and revise it carefully.
Who was Herod? Of course, he is the king who, according to the Bible (Matthew, Chapter 2), was so concerned at the news the three wise men brought him about the birth of Jesus Christ, that he demanded the execution of every male child child under two. In the Bible, Bible, when the three wise men visit Herod and tell him the news about the birth, the only hint we have about Herod’s disquiet is the statement that Herod was ‘troubled’ by the news.
Jus Justt beca becaus use e the the poem poem us uses es the the wife wife of Hero Herod d as narr narrat ator or and and app appears to have references to Jesus being a ‘hunk’ and a ‘paramour’, it does not mean that the poem is blasphemous: if you are reading it in this way then you are probably only reading it on a very superficial level. Try to avoid criticising criticising Duffy Duffy for her choice of mate materi rial al as you you won’ won’tt get get many many mark marks s for for an answ answer er like like that that;; instead aim to explore some of the incredible issues Duffy raises thro throug ugh h ‘Que ‘Queen en Herod’ Herod’.. Why Why for for exam exampl ple e has has Duff Duffy y made made the ‘villain ‘villain’’ female? In many of the other other poems poems in the collectio collection n the fem female ale partn artner er of the the famo amous male ale looks oks on with disg sgu ust, condescension, fear or even amusement at what the man is doing – why why has has Duffy uffy made ade Quee Queen n Hero Herod d the the one one who who dem demands ands the the murder of all baby boys? The way Duffy uses language is incredibly clever and complex and she has woven many stories into this one poem – in a way that is simi simila larr to the the Bibl Bible e and and the the many any diff differ eren entt ways ays it has has been been interpreted. One of her many sources might well be T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Journey of the Magi’, which you really need to look at in order to appreciate Duffy’s poem fully. fully. Eliot’s poem tells the story story of the journey of the the three wise men and the opening of Duffy’s poem, in particular, has echoes of Eliot’s earlier work: Eliot: ‘“A cold coming we had of it”’ Duffy: ‘Ice in the trees’ Eliot: ‘And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory’ Duffy: ‘their several sweating, panting beasts’ Both poems end with dual messages: Duffy’s might be expected to end this way with Queen Herod recognising the horror of what she has demand demanded. ed. The The juxtap juxtaposi ositio tion n of the peaceful peaceful images images of the female baby/babies – ‘sleeping girls’ and ‘lullabies’ – with that of the forthcoming violence – ‘We wade through blood’, ‘daggers for eyes’ and ‘the hooves of terrible horses / thunder and drum’.
The Eliot poem is similarly, and perhaps surprisingly, ominous in its tone: ‘We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, / But no longer at ease ease here here,, in the the old old disp dispen ensa sati tion on,, / With With an alie alien n peop people le clutching their gods. / I should be glad of another death.’ There is no need for us to do an in-depth analysis of Eliot’s poem but it is worth considering what or which death the voice refers to and in what tone. Is it the death of his religion religion (because the Saviour is born?) or his own death (because of his betrayal) or the deaths of all the the baby baby boys? boys? And how shoul should d we inter interpret pret ‘shou ‘should’? ld’? Is it ‘I should be glad but I’m not’ or ‘I will be glad of another death’? There are a few end-rhymes in Duffy’s poem (be/me/three) and you need to think about why she has chosen to do this at the point in the poem where Queen Herod is alone with the three queens. Look at the way Herod is described (‘drunken’ and ‘fusty bulk’) and Quee Queen n Hero Herod’ d’s s opin opinio ion n of marr marria iage ge (her (her own) own):: sh she e is ‘spl ‘splay ayed ed’’ beneath Herod – it doesn’t exactly sound like she is enjoying sex or even even has has any any choi choice ce in it – and and the the poss possib ible le marri arriag age e of her her daughter: ‘some wincing Prince to take her name away / and give a ring, a nothing, nowt in gold.’ What What about other other meaning meanings s of the word ‘Queen ‘Queen’? ’? Are Are the three three people people who arrive arrive royalty royalty or is Duffy hintin hinting g at lesbian lesbian love? The voice in the poem does tell us that one of them looks at her ‘Queen to Queen, with insolent insolent lust’. lust’. It might just just be female friendship friendship that Duffy is referring to, which can be incredibly close, particularly just after women have had children. How How many many voic voices es are are ther there e in the the poem poem and and wher where e does does each each speaker begin and end? Is it really Jesus that is being referred to when the narrator recalls the conversat conversation ion about about ‘The ‘The Husband. Husband. Hero. Hero. Hunk.’? Hunk.’? Or is it any boy and is Duffy just using the story of the birth of Jesus to draw parallels between what society considers the ultimate achievement for boys (e.g. you can be anybody anybody you want to be, literally, literally, you can be amazingly powerful – look at Jesus) and what it considers the ultimate achievement achievement for girls girls (e.g. you can find find a boyfriend, boyfriend, fall in love, get married)?
There are lots of ideas not included in these notes but these are a starting point for you to further explore the poem.
‘Pilate’s Wife’
This is one of the five poems in The World’s World’s Wife about biblical characters characters.. The others others are ‘Queen Herod’, Herod’, ‘Salome’, ‘Salome’, ‘Delilah ‘Delilah’’ and ‘Mrs Lazarus Lazarus’. ’. As with the the other poems, poems, you need to consider consider why why Duffy has chosen to tell this woman’s story and why she tells it in the way she does. Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from AD 26 to 36. The Jews who wanted Jesus killed took him to Pilate and although Pilate did not find Jesus guilty of any crime he allowed him to be crucified. It is said that he asked the people if they wanted wanted him to free Jesus but they cried out for Barabbas instead, a murderer. murderer. Thus, because he was afraid of the people, Pilate let them decide Jesus’ fate, and effectively ‘washed his hands’ of the problem.
A lot of the imagery in this poem is to do with hands, emphasising the metaphor of of ‘washing your your hands’ of a problem. Duffy uses the the softness of a woman’s hands as an insult: it gives the impression that Pilate does not not do any work. She uses long vowel vowel sounds in the the description of Pilate’s hands, to emphasise his languid and lethargic natu nature re:: ‘pea ‘pearl rly y nail nails’ s’,, ‘she ‘shell lls s from from Gali Galile lee’ e’,, ‘Ind ‘Indol olen ent’, t’, ‘Cam ‘Camp’ p’,, ‘clapped’, ‘clapped’, ‘pale, ‘pale, mouthy mouthy touch’. touch’. The reference reference to moths moths reflects reflects Pila Pilate te’s ’s inde indeci cisi sion on:: moth moths s hove hoverr and and flit flit abou aboutt but but they they neve neverr actua actuall lly y land land on the the obje object ct of thei theirr atte attent ntio ions ns.. The The one one word word senten sentence ce at the end of the first first stanza stanza highligh highlights ts the sp speak eaker’ er’s s contempt for Pilate, ‘Pontius.’ It is a short, abrupt sound after the long vowels of the previous words and might even be mistaken for the word ‘ponce’. The The subter subterfug fuge e and excit exciteme ement nt of going going to visit visit Jesus Jesus is shown shown thro throug ugh h Duff Duffy’ y’s s verb verb choi choice ces. s. The The sp spea eake kerr ‘cre ‘crept pt out’ out’,, was was ‘disguised ‘disguised’. ’. In her haste and anxiety anxiety she ‘trippe ‘tripped’ d’ and ‘clutched’. ‘clutched’. The use of enjambement at the end of the second stanza, leading in to the third reveals how quickly and in what a confused way Pilate’s wife meets Jesus: she merely ‘looked ‘looked up / and there he he was.’ There is no pre-meditation about the event; it just happens.
Pilate’s wife’s adoration and lust are illustrated through her reaction to Jesus’ eyes: eyes: ‘He looked looked at me. I mean he he looked at at me. My God.’ Of course the last sentence has a double meaning: the shock of seeing him makes her blaspheme but it can also be interpreted as her her ackn acknow owle ledg dgem emen entt that that Jesus Jesus is her god. god. Duff Duffy y has has quit quite e possibly emphasised the beauty of Jesus’ eyes because in pictures he is often portrayed as having extremely piercing blue eyes, with an arresting stare.
When When Pil Pilate ate’s ’s wife wife dream dreams s of Jesus Jesus Duffy Duffy convey conveys s the contr contrast ast between his hands and Pilate’s; Jesus’ hands are ‘brown’ and he has ‘tou ‘tough gh’’ palm palms. s. She She desc descri ribe bes s him him as having having work worker er’s ’s hand hands: s: suntanned suntanned and hardene hardened d through through labour. labour. Remember Remember as well well that Jesus is often described as performing miracles on people by laying his hands upon them: he does something useful with his hands, unlike Pilate. In the penultimate stanza the people are again referred to as the crowd. In the second second stanza they were ‘frenzied’ because of Jesus’ presence, presence, now they are ‘baying’ ‘baying’ for Barabbas. Barabbas. They are portrayed portrayed as the same set of people, swayed by popular feeling and merely ther there e beca becaus use e ever everyo yone ne else else is. is. The The hyst hyster eria ia of the the crow crowd d is juxtaposed with the methodical movements of Pilate, who ‘carefully turned up his sleeves / and slowly washed his useless, perfumed hands.’ In the last stanza, ‘My maid knows all the rest’ suggests that Pilate’s wife wife could not bear bear to witnes witness s what the crowd crowd did to Jesus. Jesus. The violence that prefixes the line hints at what is to follow: they ‘seized’ him and ‘dragged ‘dragged him him out’. The last line line also has an ironic ironic double double meaning. meaning. Pilate’s Pilate’s wife wife is adamant adamant that Jesus Jesus is not God and when when she says ‘Pilate believed he was’ it can be interpreted either that Pilate thought Jesus was God or that Pilate thought he himself was God: either way Pilate is condemned by the line. As with many of the other poems in the collection the horror of this one comes from the controlled line and stanza length and cadence of the poem poem which which sugges suggests ts someon someone e reflec reflecti ting ng on events events with with emot emotio iona nall deta detach chme ment nt.. Pila Pilate te is port portra raye yed d as amor amoral al and and unre unresp spon onsi sive ve but but at the the end end of the the poem poem,, desp despit ite e her her bout bouts s of passion, we are left feeling that Pilate’s wife is perhaps very similar. The Eliot poem is similarly, and perhaps surprisingly, ominous in its tone: ‘We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, / But no longer at ease ease here here,, in the the old old disp dispen ensa sati tion on,, / With With an alie alien n peop people le clutching their gods. / I should be glad of another death.’ There is no need for us to do an in-depth analysis of Eliot’s poem but it is worth considering what or which death the voice refers to and in what tone. Is it the death of his religion religion (because the Saviour is born?) or his own death (because of his betrayal) or the deaths of all the the baby baby boys? boys? And how shoul should d we inter interpret pret ‘shou ‘should’? ld’? Is it ‘I should be glad but I’m not’ or ‘I will be glad of another death’? There are a few end-rhymes in Duffy’s poem (be/me/three) and you need to think about why she has chosen to do this at the point in the poem where Queen Herod is alone with the three queens.
Look at the way Herod is described (‘drunken’ and ‘fusty bulk’) and Quee Queen n Hero Herod’ d’s s opin opinio ion n of marr marria iage ge (her (her own) own):: sh she e is ‘spl ‘splay ayed ed’’ beneath Herod – it doesn’t exactly sound like she is enjoying sex or even even has has any any choi choice ce in it – and and the the poss possib ible le marri arriag age e of her her daughter: ‘some wincing Prince to take her name away / and give a ring, a nothing, nowt in gold.’ What What about other other meaning meanings s of the word ‘Queen ‘Queen’? ’? Are Are the three three people people who arrive arrive royalty royalty or is Duffy hintin hinting g at lesbian lesbian love? The voice in the poem does tell us that one of them looks at her ‘Queen to Queen, with insolent insolent lust’. lust’. It might just just be female friendship friendship that Duffy is referring to, which can be incredibly close, particularly just after women have had children. How How many many voic voices es are are ther there e in the the poem poem and and wher where e does does each each speaker begin and end? Is it really Jesus that is being referred to when the narrator recalls the conversat conversation ion about about ‘The ‘The Husband. Husband. Hero. Hero. Hunk.’? Hunk.’? Or is it any boy and is Duffy just using the story of the birth of Jesus to draw parallels between what society considers the ultimate achievement for boys (e.g. you can be anybody anybody you want to be, literally, literally, you can be amazingly powerful – look at Jesus) and what it considers the ultimate achievement achievement for girls girls (e.g. you can find find a boyfriend, boyfriend, fall in love, get married)?
There are lots of ideas not included in these notes but these are a starting point for you to further explore the poem.
‘The Kray Sisters’ This is the only poem in the collection The World’s Wife that is not a dramat dramatic ic monologu monologue. e. It is also one of only three poems poems based on real characters from the twentieth century; the other two being ‘Elvis’s Twin Sister’ and ‘The Devil’s Wife’.
The real Kray twins were brothers (Ronnie and Reggie): famous villains villains around the East End of London in the 1950s and 60s. They ran protection rackets rackets and had money in various clubs. clubs. They were eventually imprisoned imprisoned for the murder of Jack the Hat in 1969 after evading police for years, and it was recommended that they serve a minimum minimum of 30 years in in prison. Ronnie died in prison in 1996 and Reggie died a few weeks after his release in 2000.
Firstly, make sure you know the translations of the Cockney rhyming slang used in the poem:
Frog and toad Savile Row whistle and flutes Thr’penny bits mince pies God forbids Orchestra stalls Butcher’s Remember, this poem is supposed to be funny and it is one of two from the collection (the other being ‘Elvis’s Twin Sister’) that largely rely on the aural impact to derive the humour: in other words, you need to attempt to read it out loud in a Cockney accent (although obviously not in the exam hall). The characters in the poem are very boastful and the twins exude an air of confidence, which comes from their bullying and violent behaviour. The poem opens with a declarative statement: ‘There go the twins!’ There is a cheerf cheerfuln ulness ess implied implied here here but the ‘geeze ‘geezers’ rs’ are probab probably ly actual actually ly fearful of the twins, not pleased to see them as they imagine and the line can be interpreted either way. The The repet repetit ition ion of ‘Lon ‘Londo don’ n’ in ‘Oh, ‘Oh, Lond London on,, Lond London on,/ ,/Lo Lond ndon on Town Town’’ is reminiscent of patriotic, loyal and rousing songs often associated with the Second World War and its aftermath, such as ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’, ‘Maybe ‘Maybe it’s it’s because because I’m a Londoner’ Londoner’ and and ‘My Old Man’. Man’. They They hint at a feeling of community spirit and unity which probably did not really exist but people like to imagine. There are lots of internal rhymes in the poem, very much mimicking the rhythm, lilt and cadence of the East London dialect.
The poem includes boastful reminiscences which verge on hyperbole: the grandmother, for example, example, knocking out the horse’ ‘with ‘with one punch’. The mention of the grandmother and family life is supposed to show us that the the fami family ly is stro strong ng and and unit united ed:: in othe otherr word words, s, a ‘pro ‘prope per’ r’ fami family ly:: respectful and respected. Of course it is ironic that the twins twins convey this image image and yet they they are extrem extremely ely violen violent, t, unrelia unreliable ble and bullyin bullying g to others. The twins are very masculine in their language and style: ‘We wanted respect for the way / we entered a bar, or handled a car, or shrivelled/ a hard-on with simply a menacing look’ The twins romanticise the past, ‘holding the hand of the past’ and ‘there we for ever are in glamorous black and white’; similar to the way people now (and tabloid newspapers in particular) do – people apparently yearn for the ‘good old days’ of the Krays and the Blitz as the twins in this poem do. It is an ironic contradiction that the twins behave in quite a chauvinistic way, ‘enrolled a few girls/in the firm who were well out of order’ and criticise them for fulfilling such roles as being, ‘some plonker’s wife’ and yet yet they they are are perc perceiv eived ed as bein being g prot protec ectiv tive e of wome women, n, ‘The ‘The word word got got around and about/that any woman in trouble could come to the Krays, / no questions questions asked, for for Protection.’ Protection.’ Again the line can be interpreted interpreted in two ways, in that ‘protection’ might be capitalised because of its importance or alternatively it is capitalised because it is a proper noun: protection is another name for running an extortion racket. These These are very very powerf powerful ul women women and yet, yet, simult simultaneo aneousl usly, y, they they belittl belittle e other females and are condescending to them, referring to them as ‘girls’ and lecturing to them, ‘A boyfriend’s boyfriend’s for Christmas, Christmas, not just just for life.’ The line also patronises men: Duffy takes the phrase, ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ and puts the male in the place of the soppy-eyed puppy dog. There There is us use e of alliter alliterati ation on to show show the twins’ twins’ succes success: s: ‘the ‘the fruits fruits / of feminisim – fact – made made us rich, feared, famous, / friends of the stars.’ The lines mirror a public speech, such as an acceptance speech at an awards ceremony, in that it builds to a climax, each word or phrase that follows the last reveals increasing power: note that ‘feminism’ is the first and therefore the least important to the twins. The The voic voices es revea reveall that that celeb celebri rity ty is more more impo import rtan antt to them them than than the the supposed effect they have on the security of London. Look at the way the list of female celebrities comes first and then the line about the Capital, almost as an aside or a throwaway remark: ‘And London was safer then / on account of us.’ The extract from the letter that appears is supposed to reflect popular feeling and certainly the real Kray twins are often remembered in this way, with the the memory that that London London had been safer ‘in ‘in the old days’. days’. The statements are still said a lot today: just look at some of the election slog slogan ans s and and decl declar arat ation ions s that that have have been been us used ed and and the the way way in whic which h politicians keep telling us they will return Britain to the state it used to be in. What Duffy Duffy is doing here is reminding reminding us that ‘the ‘the old days’ were not bett better er and and were were ofte often n much much wors worse: e: her her refe refere renc nces es to the the twin twins s in
photographs reflect the fact that before the mass audience for television, people were sometimes unaware of current affairs and events beyond their own streets or towns so it was not that there was less crime, it was just that not so many people knew about it. In the last stanza the poem has built to an almost frenzied crescendo of power, which mirrors the behaviour of the real twins, in that they felt themselves almost invincible. invincible. The phrase ‘dressed to kill’ has an ominous double meaning in that the twins are literally well dressed and yet they really are dressed ready to kill anyone who offends them. The extract from the song at the end of the poem is indeed by Sinatra, but it is Frank Sinatra Sinatra’s ’s daughte daughter, r, Nancy. Nancy. The song song itself hints hints at a power power within women that might remain dormant for many years, but once roused can can not not be ignore ignored. d. The The full full song song lyric lyrics s beco become me darker darker as the the song song progresses which is possibly why Duffy has left the ellipsis at the end of the poem, hinting at the sinister events which were to end the Kray twins’ rule over East London.
‘Thetis’ As with many of the classical Greek myths, this one has a number of variations but the summary included included here should be enough enough for our purposes. ‘Thetis’ is one of ten in The World’s Wife from Greek mythology, and is one of six from this group in which a female features strongly in the original story.
Thetis was originally wooed by two Gods (Zeus and Poseidon) but was rejected by both when they learnt that Themis had prophesised that she was to father a child who would become mightier than the father. It was a mortal, Peleus, who eventually married Thetis and he had done so by capturing her as she changed shape and form (just as she does in the poem). Thetis’s baby was Achilles and she made him immortal by dipping him into the River Styx (although again some versions say she dipped him in fire) but because she held on to his foot to t o do so, his heel remained unprotected: thus the saying that a person’s vulnerability is their ‘Achille’s heel’.
The poem is about a woman growing more powerful with every stanza but thwarted by a man’s intentions (and attentions) until the moment she has a baby, at the end of the poem. There are similar similaritie ities s in the poem to ‘Pope ‘Pope Joan’ in which the woman woman becomes all-powerful through the experience of giving birth (and many women do say birth is empowering empowering and liberating). liberating). Think about other other poems in the collection, collection, such as ‘Demeter’ and ‘Queen Herod’ in which children feature and decide whether you could use them as comparative poems. Each Each anim animal al Thet Thetis is beco become mes s is more more powe powerf rful ul than than the the last: last: a smal smalll bird bird;; an albatross; snake; lion; mermaid and other sea creatures, including a whale; and then finally to animals that are well-known for their cunning and ability to survive despite being hunted. In the first five stanzas the rhythm of the first two lines is similar if not exactly identical, but this breaks down when Thetis declares, ‘I changed my tune / to racoon,
skunk, stoat’ and this mirrors her change to what are usually considered unpleasant animals, as if she is no longer trying to please anyone but herself. There is use of assonance throughout the poem and you need to think about why Duffy has include included d this. There There are half rhymes rhymes and near rhymes rhymes and a few full rhymes, which all serve a purpose and which you must consider. In the penultimate penultimate stanza Thetis becomes, becomes, ‘wind, I was gas, gas, / I was all hot air,’ She has become intangible, ethereal: she can not be grasped or held. Duffy has followed a fairly traditional view here, in which the female is seen as nature, part of the natural order, with an innate desire to replenish and restore; to continue life through giving birth, whereas the male is seen as a destructive force,
Some of the items the man uses to capture Thetis are personified, such as the ‘squint ‘squint of the crossb crossbow’ ow’s s eye’. Why has has Duffy Duffy done this? this? Perhaps Perhaps to show show the increasing power and violence of the man and his weapons: they become part of his army, prepared to stand with him to defeat Thetis. Duffy explores the ability and often the necessity that women feel to alter themselves t hemselves for a man, ‘So I shopped for a suitable shape’ whilst also mocking men’s perception that women enjoy the experience of shopping. You might disagree with this view and feel that she is mocking some women because of their desire to always look ‘right’ and that she is also criticising women’s materialism. Thetis is initially subservient to the man, ‘I shrank myself’ and then ‘shouldered the cross of an albatross’. albatross’. It is only later in the poem poem after, ‘I sank through through the floor of the earth’ that she appears to become powerful and this moment can almost be seen as a moment of re-birth, particularly with its connotations of baptism. In the fifth stanza, the voice of Thetis refers to, ‘his hook and his line and his sinker’ which has the double meaning of the man’s attempts to catch her (and it is a violent capture) and also a reference to love, in that people refer to being caught ‘hook, line and sinker’. Duffy has perhaps perhaps meant this to have an ironic ironic double meaning meaning in that, for women, relationships are sometimes destructive. In the the sixt sixth h stan stanza za the the anim animal als s Thet Thetis is meta metamo morp rpho hose ses s into into have have nega negati tive ve connotations, ‘racoon, ‘racoon, skunk, stoat, / to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, mink, rat.’ They are often considered disease-ridden, smelly, sly and even evil. In the last stanza Thetis has obviously been married married as she refers to a ‘groom’ but he is insignificant insignificant in the moment of giving giving birth. Although the rest of the poem has not had the rhythm of labour, like ‘Pope Joan’ the poem could be interpreted as another birth poem in that women often describe a feeling of increasing power during labour, from feeling out of control and afraid to taking control of the situation and their bodies. Certainly the last stanza of this poem gives gives the impression of a woman in the last moments of labour before giving birth, when the whole body can feel as if it is on fire with the effort and energy of labour, particularly with the reference to her being, ‘turned inside out’. At the close of the poem the focus has shifted away from Thetis and her attempts to evade the man, to the baby because the poem finishes with, ‘when the child burst out’. It seems like a new beginning, beginning, which having children children is, in that your old life and your needs and desires desires become secondary secondary to that of the infant. Throughout the rest of the poem Duffy Duffy has used ‘I’ sevent seventeen een times times but in the last last stanza stanza Thetis Thetis announces, ‘So I changed, I learned’ and immediately the ‘I’, or sense of Thetis disappears as the child is born.
What do you think about this poem? Is it happy, sad, bitter, triumphant, celebratory? celebratory? What is your reaction to it? What other poems from the collection collection might you compare it to? What is the poem poem about: love; relationships; relationships; childbirth; childbirth; power?
Essay titles Have a go at doing a few of these, remembering to spend no more than one hour on on each one. Do a plan before before your essay and and hand that in as well. Help Helpfu full hint hints: s: refe referr to Duff Duffy y in your your answ answer er as sh she e cont contro rols ls the the characters. Use your choice of poems throughout throughout your your answer: do not write about about one poem and then another. another. Remember to answer the question question:: do not just write down everything you know about the poems. poems. Use poetic poetic terms terms to enhance enhance your answer, answer, not as the main focus. 1. “Th celebr brat atio ion n of wome women n and and thei theirr The e Wo Worl rld’ d’s s Wife Wife is a cele
achi achiev evem emen entts.” s.” To what hat exte extent nt do you you agre agree e with thi this assessment? In your your answer answer you should either refer to two or three poems in or range more widely through the collection. 2. “‘Mrs Sisyphus’ is a typical representation of the poems in The World’s Wife.”
Discuss Discuss this this statemen statementt and consider consider whether whether or not you agree with it.
3. “‘Pope Joan’ is the odd one out in Duffy’s The World’s Wife .”
Explore this idea, considering whether or not you agree with the assessment. 4. “‘Qu “‘Quee een n Kong Kong’’ is, is, like like all all the the poem poems s in the the coll collec ecti tion on,, a
humorous take on a well-known story.” Discuss this this statement, statement, using two or three poems to draw your conclusions c onclusions.. 5. How How has has Duffy uffy us used ed chil childr dren en’s ’s fair fairyt ytal ales es and/ and/or or mode modern rn ‘myt ‘myths hs’’ in orde orderr to comm commen entt on the the natu nature re of rela relati tion onsh ship ips s between men and women? 6. “In using biblical stories in her collection Duffy merely offers
the the read reader er a diff differ eren entt pers perspe pect ctiv ive e on a patr patria iarc rcha hall worl world. d.” ” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail in your answer or ranging more widely through the collection. 7. “The “The poems poems in Th reflectt Duffy Duffy’s ’s own, own, very very The e Wo Worl rld’s d’s Wife Wife reflec
feminist, view view of the world.” world.” Explore this this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection. 8. “Duffy’s poems are more successful when she uses characters
that are more familiar to a 21st century audience, such as ‘The Devil’s Wife’ and ‘The Kray Twins’.” Explore this opinion, using at least two other poems to draw your conclusions.
9. “A “Alt ltho houg ugh h many any of the the poem poems s in Th The e Wo Worl rld’ d’s s Wife Wife are
humo humoro rous us,, they they all all have have a seri seriou ous s unde underl rlyi ying ng mess messag age e to conv convey ey.” .” Expl Explor ore e this this stat statem emen ent, t, us usin ing g eith either er two two or thre three e poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection. 10. “The World’s Wife only appeals to a female audience because
of the negative portrayal of men.” men.” Explore this statement, using using eith either er two two or thre three e poem poems s in deta detail il or rang rangin ing g more more wide widely ly through the collection. 11. “As with many of the poems in The World’s Wife, ‘Mrs Rip Van
Winkle’ has extremely dark undertones and is not meant to be only funny.” funny.” Explore Explore this statem statement, ent, using using two or three three other poems to compare with this one. 12. “The The po poems ems ab about out fai fairy ryta talle ch charac aracte terrs ar are al all fu funny nny, but but the religious religious ones are not.” Discuss this this statement and and give your own opinion, using at least four of the poems in your answer. 13. “The World’ all about about relatio relationshi nships.” ps.” World’s s Wife Wife is all
Explore Explore this this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
14. “There is is no not a si single po positive po portrayal of of a man man in al all the poems in the collection.” collection.” Explore this statement, statement, using either either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection. 15. “The classical characters are either bitter or smug.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection. 16. “There is nothing funny about middle-aged women moaning
about their lot in life.” Explore this this opinion opinion of The World’s Wife, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection. 17. “‘Demeter’ er’ is is a ha haunting ta tale of of gr grief wh which is is un unique in in its topic topic and style style in the collect collectio ion.” n.” Explo Explore re this stateme statement, nt, using at least two or three other poems to compare with this one. 18. “A re reader ne needs to to kn know th the st stories be behind po poems su such as ‘Mrs ‘Mrs Faus Faust’ t’ othe otherw rwis ise e they they do not not have have much much mean meanin ing. g.” ” Explore this opinion, using either two or three other poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
Top ten features 1. Read the list list of features features below below and add an extra extra point point of your your own choice choice if you like. 2. Rank order order the the features features from from one to to ten, starting starting with the one one that best best characterises the collection for you as a reader. 3. For your your top feature, feature, find find evidence evidence from two two poems poems to support support and and explain explain your choice and evidence from a poem that challenges it. 4. Justify Justify your your choice choice to the rest of of the group, group, making making use of the evidence evidence you you have found. Duffy’s poems in The World’s Wife : •
are about power relationships
•
lament the inadequacies of men
•
focus on the presentation of sexual attraction
•
explore the satisfactions and a nd burdens of motherhood
•
are about disappointment
• • •
present women creating their own lives are at heart optimistic present women’s search for independence
•
show that the treatment of women has not changed over time
•
document women’s lives today
•
………………………………. Feature
1.
2.
3.
Evidence from three poems
Essay writing: Now turn your first choice feature into an essay title by adding the following: ‘How far do you agree with this view?’ view?’ In your answer you should should refer to three poems in detail or range more widely through the whole collection.
Use the evidence you have noted in the table above as the basis for a more detailed essay plan before you start writing. Remember to include a poem poem which helps you you offer an alternative point of view so that you address the ‘how far…’ part of the question in your answer.
