THE FEMININE GOSPELS
• CONNOTATIONS?
• ‘FEMININE’?
• ‘GOSPELS’?
THE TITLE
•
WHAT
ARE
‘THE
FEMININE
GOSPELS’?
NARRATIVE POEMS WITH A FEMALE PERSPECTIVE. THEY AIM TO REVEAL THE TRUTH
ABOUT WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES
• THE WORD ‘GOSPEL’ MEANS ‘GOOD NEWS’ BUT THE POEMS DO NOT ENTIRELY(IF
AT ALL) FOCUS ON POSITIVE ASPECTS
• THE COLLECTION IS DEDICATED TO MEN- A WARNING NOT TO BE LIMITED TO
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES?
• DUFFY AIMS TO GIVE A ‘VOICE TO THE VOICELESS’
•
‘THE
FEMININE’
‘FEMALENESS’ & QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH IT
• ‘LIFE-GIVING’- EARTH & NATURE AS WELL AS WOMEN
• QUALITIES OF ‘HOLDING’ OR ‘RECEIVING’ WHICH PEOPLE CONSIDER
ARCHETYPALLY FEMININE
• THE MOON (MONTHLY CYCLE)
• FEMININE QUALITIES IN PSYCHOANALYSIS (EVERYONE HAS MASCULINE AND
FEMININE QUALITIES)
• IMAGES OF THE FEMININE E.G, GRACEFUL, KIND, PURE OR VENGEFUL,
THREATENING AND JEALOUS
• THE DIET
GROUP 1: WOMEN’S BODIES
• THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED
• THE MAP-WOMAN
BODIES- DISCUSSION
• A WOMAN’S BODY MAKES A LOT OF THE DECISIONS IN HER LIFE FOR HER
• ALL THE PRODUCTS THAT EXIST FOR WOMEN TO USE ON THEIR BODIES ARE JUST A FORM OF
EXPLOITATION
• MEN ARE LESS CONCERNED ABOUT WOMEN’S BODIES THAN WOMEN ARE
• IF YOU’RE A WOMAN, NATURE WANTS YOU TO REPRODUCE
• WOMEN WHO WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT SHOULD STICK TO A DIET WITH DISCIPLINE
• MEN MAKE WOMEN WANT TO DIET
• THE MEDIA PRESENTS WOMEN’S BODIES AS POSSESSIONS
• BECAUSE WOMEN’S BODIES CHANGE MORE, THEY HAVE MORE DECISIONS TO MAKE
• MEN FACE JUST AS MUCH PRESSURE TO LOOK ‘GOOD’ AS WOMEN
• WOMEN WHO CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN ARE MISSING OUT ON WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE A
WOMAN
• WOMEN SHOULDN’T BOTHER TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR BODIES.
• MEN NEVER GO ON DIETS
DIETING
SOME DEPRESSING DIETING
FACTS!
• 95% OF PEOPLE PUT ANY WEIGHT THEY LOSE
BACK ON 
• BY THE AGE OF 45, THE AVERAGE WOMAN WILL
HAVE BEEN ON 61 DIETS SINCE THE AGE OF 16
• 80% OF 10 YEAR OLD GIRLS HAVE BEEN ON A DIET
• 90% OF PEOPLE WITH EATING DISORDERS ARE
FEMALE
• IN 15-24 YEAR OLDS, THE DEATH RATE FROM
ANOREXIA IS 12 TIMES HIGHER THAN FROM ANY
OTHER CAUSE
• 95% OF WEIGHTWATCHERS MEMBERS ARE FEMALE
THE DIET
• DUFFY PLAYS WITH THE IDEA THAT INSIDE EVERY FAT PERSON
THERE IS A THIN ONE WAITING TO GET OUT
• CYCLICAL STRUCTURE- SELF-DENIAL CONTRASTED WITH THE
DESIRE TO RETURN TO SELF-INDULGENCE
• ALLUDES TO ALICE IN WONDERLAND BUT WILL NEVER RETURN
TO HER TRUE SELF
• COUNTERS THE TRADITIONAL VIEW- ACTUALLY THE ‘REAL’ SELF
IS TRAPPED IN THE ANOREXIC BODY
• THE WOMAN WHO ONCE ATE EVERYTHING IS LEFT WITH
NOTHING TO EAT BUT HERSELF
• FAIRY TALE (ALICE) BUT DWINDLING SELF IS VERY REAL FOR
PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH BODY IMAGE AND SIZE
• SCATOLOGICAL REFERENCES REFLECT SOCIETY’S REVULSION
WITH OBESITY AND WITH THE HUMAN BODY
• CONFORMING TO SOCIETY’S DEMANDS IN TERMS OF BODY
SHAPE, RESULTS IN UNHAPPINESS AND EVEN DEATH
• APHORISTIC- SHORT, TERSE, REFLECTIVE, PHILOSOPHICAL, OBSERVATIONS
• BATHETIC- MOVING FROM THE ‘EXALTED’ TO THE ‘MUNDANE’- E.G ‘SHE
FLOATED INTO THE BARMAN’S EYE’
• ALLUSION- HINTING AT OTHER LITERARY WORKS
• PROTAGONIST- MAIN CHARACTER
• CONCEIT- FANCIFUL POETIC IMAGE, ESPECIALLY AN ELABORATE OR
EXAGGERATED COMPARISON
THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED
• WHY DO WE SHOP?
• CUNT= PROSTITUTION/EXPLOITATION
• STONE COLD= NOTHING LEFT
• WANTED= DESIRE FOR CONSUMERISM
• RAN LIKE PAINT IN THE RAIN= SHOPPING
BLURS INTO ONE
• CONCRETE NOUNS= REINFORCES
CONSUMERIST THEME
VOCAB
IMAGERY
STRUCTURE
THEMES AND IDEAS
• 2 HALVES- REL WITH SHOPPING V SHOPPING
BECOMES HER. CONSUMERISM CONSUMES YOU
• GREED- WANTS TO BUY EVERYTHING NONESSENTIAL GOODS
• ENJAMBMENT- LISTS OF ITEMS. OVERWHELMING
EXPERIENCE
• ADDICTION/COMPULSION- WOMAN IS UNABLE(?)
TO STOP. SHOPPING IS A DRUG WHICH KILLS HER
QUESTIONS RAISED
CONNECTIONS TO ‘THE DIET’
• HOW COMMON IS THIS?
• CRITICISM OF STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES
• AT WHAT POINT (IF ANY?) DOES THE WOMAN REALISE IT
HAS GONE TOO FAR
• ENJAMBMENT- LISTS USED TO SHOW
OBSESSIONS AND THEIR PROGRESSION
• WHAT HAS MOTIVATED DUFFY TO COMMENT ON THIS?
• DO WE NEED SO MUCH STUFF?
• WHAT SUPPORT IS THERE FOR PEOPLE IN THIS SITUATION?
• CRITICISES OBSESSIVE SUPERFICIALITY
FORM AND STRUCTURE
• STANZAS ARE VERY CONTROLLED SHAPES- WHAT DOES THIS SUGGEST?
• AVOIDS FULL STOPS IN FAVOUR OF CAESURA. IN EFFECT, 1 SINGLE
SENTENCE
• SHORT CLAUSES AND LISTS, LIKE ‘THE DIET’
THE REPULSIVE TRANSFORMATION
• FROM THE INITIAL, ‘SIMPLE’ DESIRES GROWN AN OBSCENE, VAPID
CREATURE OF CAPITALISM
• REPULSIVE TRANSMOGRIFICATION UNTIL THE END FOR DRAMATIC IMPACT
• ALLUDES TO OVID’S METAMORPHOSES (TERRIBLE FATES EXACTED ON
OVERREACHING, ASPIRING MORTALS) ‘STONE HAIR’ AND BIRDS WHICH
‘SHRIEK’ IN THE SAME WAY CLASSICAL HARPIES DID. IS DUFFY PRESENTING
A SIMILAR, PUNISHABLE ‘SIN’ TO THAT OF OFFENDING THE GODS>
• IMAGE OF PROSTITUTION- PROTAGONIST WELCOMES AND ANTICIPATES
BEING THE VEHICLE OF AN OBSCENE CAPITALIST CEREMONY- THE
DESECRATION OF HER OWN BODY. REFERENCE TO PEOPLE QUEUING AT
HER ‘CUNT’
• DISCUSS:
STARTER
• WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT PURPOSES OF MAPS?
• HOW ARE MAPS CONNECTED TO A SENSE OF IDENTITY?
THE MAP-WOMAN
OUR BODIES ARE MAPS OF OUR
LIVES. THE SCARS WE HAVE, THE
HAND THAT IS HELD BY OUR FIRST
LOVE, THE EARS THAT STICK OUT
AND GET US PICKED ON.
MAP YOUR LIFE ON YOUR A4
BODY. THINK OF KEY PHYSICAL/
EMOTIONAL LANDMARKS AD
SYMBOLICALLY MAP YOURSELF!
GEOGRAPHERS CAN ADD GEEKY
TOPOGRAPHICAL STUFF IF THEY
WANT!
TASK
THE MAP-WOMAN
• TITLE RECALLS THE FEMINIST JEANETTE WINTERSON’S ‘WRITTEN ON THE
BODY’ WHICH CONTAINS THE LINE: ‘THE LETTERS FEEL LIKE BRAILLE’ WHICH
DUFFY HAS ALSO INCLUDED
• LANGUAGE: THE POEM EXPLORES CONNECTIONS BETWEEN IDENTITY
AND ENVIRONMENT. IN SCRUBBING TO REMOVE THE IMPRINT AND IN
TRYING TO DISGUISING HER SKIN, DUFFY EXPOSES THE IDEA THAT MANY
WOMEN MAY NOT DESIRE TO BE FEMALE BUT THAT TRYING TO ESCAPE
THIS IS FUTILE.
• THE MAP-WOMAN NEEDS TO EVOLVE AND CHANGE (SHEDDING HER
SKIN) BUT THIS IS NOT TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL. HER ORIGINAL IDENTITY
REASSERTS ITSELF HOWEVER MUCH SHE TRIES TO ESCAPE.
• FORM AND STRUCTURE:
• FREE VERSE WITH INTERNAL RHYMES BUT TIGHTLY CONTROLLED (REFLECT
THE SENSE OF RESTRICTION EXPERIENCED)
• EXTENDED METAPHOR
• MAPS ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH A HISTORY OF EXPLORATION AND
ENLIGHTENMENT (PATRIARCHAL) AND THEREFORE MAPS COULD
SYMBOLISE THE IDEA THAT WOMEN ARE ‘DRAWN’ FROM MALE
EXPECTATIONS
GROUP 2: HOW WOMEN RESPOND TO WORLD
EVENTS
• LOUD
• TALL
• HISTORY
THESE POEMS EXPLORE THE ATTITUDE
OF FEMALE CHARACTERS TO
SUFFERING AND THE ATTITUDE OF THE
WORLD TO THEIR CONCERN
STARTER
• DISCUSS THESE STATEMENTS AND THEN RANK ORDER THEM IN TERMS OF THEIR ACCURACY 1= MOST
TRUTHFUL, 8= LEAST TRUTHFUL
1)
WOMEN ARE MORE AFFECTED BY SUFFERING IN THE NEWS THAN MEN ARE
2)
MOST OF THE WOMEN I KNOW THINK THAT POLITICS IS JUST FOR MEN
3)
IF WOMEN ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT SUFFERING IN THE WORLD, WHY DON’T MORE OF THEM SPEAK
UP?
4)
IF A WOMAN WAS PRESIDENT OF THE USA THERE WOULD BE LESS WAR
5)
WOMEN DON’T WANT TO JOIN THE ARMY AS MUCH AS MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE OPPOSED
TO DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
6)
THE REASON WOMEN OFTEN DON’T DISCUSS WHAT GOES ON IN THE NEWS IS THAT IT IS TOO
TERRIBLE FOR WORDS
7)
WOMEN MIGHT FEEL ISOLATED FROM POLITICS BECAUSE ALL THEY SEE IS OLD, WHITE MEN
ARGUING AND LYING ALL THE TIME
8)
MANY WOMEN ARE MOTHERS. MAYBE IT IS TOO PAINFUL TO THINK ABOUT PAIN AND SUFFERING
WHEN YOU HAVE A BABY.
• MALE MPS OUTNUMBER FEMALE MPS 4 TO 1
• OUT OF A CABINET OF 23, ONLY 4 ARE WOMEN
• THE UK IS 57TH IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN POLITICS
LOUD
• WHY INCLUDE THE QUOTATION, TAKEN FROM A GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER
REPORT ABOUT THE US BOMBING OF AFGHANISTAN?
• WHO DOES SHE BLAME FOR GLOBAL CONFLICT?
• STANZA 1: A LITERAL/METAPHORICAL ‘FINDING THEIR VOICE’. LEARNING
TO ‘ROAR’ REFLECTING THAT MUCH IS ACHIEVED FROM MILITANCY
• THE POEM PRESENTS THE ARGUMENT THAT THE ‘RIGHTEOUS’ RAGE OF AN
INDIVIDUAL WOMAN IS, IN FACT, A FORCE OF NATURE- CONSIDER WHAT
HER RAMPAGE INVOLVES?
• TO BE ‘LOUD’ IS A FEMININE TABOO. DUFFY DESCRIBES A FORCE SHE FEELS
TO BE POWERFUL, REAL AND POSSIBLE TO UNLEASH
TALL
•
TALL
‘GROWING’ AS A WOMAN- AGAIN THE THEME OF TRANSFORMATION IS
TAKEN TO THE EXTREME
• CRUCIALLY, SHE ‘OUTGROWS’ HER ENVIRONMENT WHILST STILL FEELING
CONNECTED TO IT.
• RELIGIOUS OVERTONES- FORGIVENESS AND DELIVERANCE ARE FEMININE
QUALITIES? GOD IS FLAWED AND LONELY? DUFFY, THE POET, MUST DESCRIBE
THE HUMAN CONDITION FROM A DISTANCE?
• A REFLECTION ON A POETIC CAREER? ‘NEEDED A TURRET’ REFLECTING THE
NEED FOR PRIVACY?
• POET’S PERSPECTIVE EXPLORED- NUMEROUS VANTAGE POINTS ARE
PRESENTED. PROMOTES A WILLINGNESS TO ‘SAVE’ THE WORLD SHE
ORIGINATES FROM? ENCOURAGING RESPONSIBILITY?
HISTORY
• RHYTHM FLUCTUATES BETWEEN IAMBIC AND DACTYLIC, OFTEN WITH A
PAIR OF SPONDEES USED TO EMPHASISE A SHORT PHRASE. EFFECT= ?
• LOOKS OUTWARD AT HISTORY AS A WHOLE RATHER THAN FEMININE
HISTORIES (SUCH AS THE LONG QUEEN)
• PROTAGONIST SEEMS EVERYDAY. DUFFY EFFECTIVELY ARGUING THAT
HISTORY IS SOMETHING WE MEET DAILY
• SHE WAS HISTORY (PAST TENSE- LIFE OVER?)
• PROTAGONIST IS HISTORY PERSONIFIED. FEMININE HISTORY IS ‘DEAD’ AND
FEMALE PERSPECTIVE ON HISTORY IS NOT RECORDED. ORDINARY FEMALES
CONNECTED TO THE VIRGIN MARY THROUGH TORMENT, TORTURE AND
LACK OF VOICE
THE VIRGIN’S MEMO
• THE VOICE OF MARY
• IN THE POEM SHE WRITES A ‘MEMO’ TO THE YOUTHFUL JESUS
• THE JESUS SHE SPEAKS TO IS A WORRY. HIS CREATIVE WORK APPEARS TO
FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVE QUALITIES IN CREATION.
• A MESSAGE FROM HIS MOTHER, HOPING HE WILL MAKE THE BETTER
PLACE OR AN ATTACK ON THE VOICELESS NATURE OF MARY IN
HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS?
• CONNOTATIONS OF HISTORICAL WRITINGS WHICH ARE NOW
UNINTELLIGIBLE
• WOMEN’S ADVICE IS OFTEN NOT UNDERSTOOD
• ILLITERATE= VOICELESS
• BIBLICAL TRANSLATIONS: ARABIC-GREEK-LATIN-GERMAN-ENGLISH
WHITE WRITING
• WHITE INK IS AN IMPORTANT FEMINIST TEXT BY HELENE CIXOUS. THE TITLE
REFERS TO WOMEN WRITING IN ‘WHITE’ IMPLYING THEY ARE INVISIBLE.
• A PARADOX- THE WRITING IS BLACK AND WE CAN READ IT. WHAT IS
DUFFY SAYING ABOUT HER WRITING (AND THE WRITING OF OTHER
WOMEN)
• IRONY OF WRITING IN BLACK- IS DUFFY POINTING US TO WHAT IS NOT
WRITTEN ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP? IS SHE HIGHLIGHTING WHAT SHE
FEELS TO BE IMPORTANT/INSIGNIFICANT?
• EPHEMERAL IMAGERY- REFLECTS THAT LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS HAVE NO
TRADITIONAL PLACE IN SOCIETY. IT LEAVES LESS OF A TRACE BEHIND IT
AND WON’T BE WRITTEN IN MARRIAGE REGISTERS ETC
A DREAMING WEEK
• PARALIPSIS OR LITOTES- IN DENYING SOMETHING YOU INVOKE THE
REALITY OF IT.
• THE ‘WEEK’ IS SYMBOLIC OF A LIFE
• THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
• DUFFY DENIES SHE IS CREATING POETRY…BUT SHE IS! OH THE TRICKY
TRICKSTER
BEAUTIFUL
WHAT IS BEAUTY?
IS IT ON THE INSIDE?
NATURE?
A PRETTY FACE?
A ROCKING BODY?
“That’s what makes you
beautifullllll!”
BEAUTIFUL
THE LIVES OF FOUR FAMOUS, BEAUTIFUL WOMEN ARE REFLECTED UPON IN
SUCH A WAY AS TO FOCUS UPON THE FACT THAT BEING BEAUTIFUL CAN
OFTEN BE FATAL- NOT JUST TO THOSE CAPTIVATED BY IT BUT TO THOSE
WHO POSSESS IT
HELEN OF TROY
• HELEN WAS BORN FROM AN EGG PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF
THE RAPE OF LEDA BY ZEUS.
• WHEN PARIS ABDUCTED HER, HER HUSBAND MANELAUS
LAUNCHED A THOUSAND SHIPS & SAILED TO TROY TO BRING HER
BACK.
• AS A PRINCESS WITH A COMMON TOUCH SHE LINKS TO
PRINCESS DIANA (THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS)
• QUEEN OF EGYPT
CLEOPATRA
• INFLUENTIAL, SEXUAL, POWERFUL
• HAD A CHILD WITH JULIUS CAESAR
• THE ROMAN LEADER MARK ANTONY
BECAME HER LOVER
• IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY (AS IN REAL
LIFE), ANTONY BELIEVES HER TO BE
DEAD AND KILLS HIMSELF. WHEN SHE
FINDS THIS OUT SHE KILLS HERSELF
•
MARILYN
MONROE
A DIFFICULT EARLY LIFE
• MULTIPLE MARRIAGES AND AFFAIRS
• MARRIED TO FAMOUS BASEBALL PLAYER
JOE DIMAGGIO
• MARRIED TO ARTHUR MILLER THE
PLAYWRIGHT
• BECAME DEPENDENT ON
DRUGS/ALCOHOL
• HINTS OF AN AFFAIR WITH JFK
• IRONIC TRUTH THAT HOLLYWOOD BOTH
KILLED AND IMMORTALISED HER
PRINCESS DIANA
• IMAGES OF HER LIFE MIRRORED IN DEATH. E.G SHE WAS
‘ELEGANT’ BUT BECAME ‘ELEGANT BONE’
• ‘BEAUTIFULLY PALE’- CONNOTATIONS OF THE MOON AND THE
ROMAN GODDESS DIANA (GODDESS OF THE HUNT- EARL
SPENCER SPOKE OF THIS IRONY AT HER FUNERAL)
• LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESS
• IN DEATH, LINKED TO MARILYN- ‘CANDLE IN THE WIND’
• DUFFY HIGHLIGHTS THE HYPOCRISY OF THOSE GRIEVING HER
DEATH
STRUCTURE:
• FREE VERSE WITH INCLUSION OF TETRAMETER AND TRIMETER WITH EXTENDED LINES. NO
PENTAMETER. CONSIDER WHICH LINES ARE TETRAMETER/TRIMETER AND HOW THIS MAY
CONNECT WOMEN/ELEMENTS OF WOMEN.
• LINE LENGTH REDUCES TOWARDS THE BLEAK ENDING, INCREASING THE IMPACT OF DIANA’S
EXPERIENCES
TRADITIONS:
• DUFFY ADOPTS A PUNCHY, MASCULINE VERNACULAR WHICH BELONGS TO A FEMINIST
TRADITION WHICH SEEKS TO EXPLORE A PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY’S REFLECTION ON
WOMEN. THIS ‘TOUGH-GUY VERNACULAR’ ORIGINATES IN THE POETRY OF SYLVIA PLATH
AND, MORE RECENTLY, ANNE SEXTON
QUESTIONS
• IS BEAUTY MORE A HINDRANCE THAN A HELP?
• WHAT IS DUFFY CRITICISING IN THIS POEM?
WOMEN AND HISTORY
Women have achieved less fame throughout
history because they are less outgoing.
POEMS IN THIS CATEGORY:
• BEAUTIFUL
• THE LONG QUEEN
• HISTORY
• SUB
Real history is the history no one shows us
Lack of education/literacy has prevented women’s
voices from being heard
Women who are famous for being beautiful
deserve the attention and intrusion they get
Famous women manipulate people and their own
image as much as men
Men are more successful in the public sphere and
women are more successful in the private sphere
THE LONG QUEEN
• PRESENTS A PATRON SAINT OF WOMEN, OR A
GODDESS THROUGH THE AMALGAM OF QUEEN
VICTORIA OR QUEEN ELIZABETH I
• LIFE CYCLE PRESENTED IN THE FOUR
ASSERTIONS/ LAWS: CHILDHOOD, BLOOD,
TEARS, CHILDBIRTH
• SUMMATIVE AND SYNCRETIC LANGUAGE
SUB
• THE SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS THE CHALLENGES
FACED BY WOMEN A) MALE-DOMINATED
SOCIETY B) MOTHERHOOD NOT REGARDED AS
AN ACHIEVEMENT C) WOMEN ARE EXPECTED TO
DO THE SAME THINGS AS MEN BUT WITH ADDED
DIFFICULTIES (E.G PERIODS!) D) ISOLATION WHEN
ENTERING MASCULINE CULTURES.
MOTHERHOOD AND CHILDREN
• THE LIGHT-GATHERER
• THE CORD
• WORK
MOTHERHOOD
• IS MOTHERHOOD THE GREATEST THING A WOMAN CAN ASPIRE TO?
• SHOULD ALL WOMEN HAVE CHILDREN?
• WHY ARE MOTHERHOOD AND FATHERHOOD VIEWED DIFFERENTLY?
WORK
• WOMEN AS MUCH RESPONSIBLE FOR GLOBAL CAPITALISM AS VICTIMS OF IT. MOTHERHOOD
BOTH NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE ELEMENTS. SYNCRETIC ENDING (FUSION OF DIFFERING
IDEOLOGIES/BELIEFS)
• TRANSITION FROM HYPERBOLIC FAIRY TALE OF ONE WOMAN’S EFFORTS TO SUPPORT AN
EVER-GROWING FAMILY INTO A MEDITATION ON MOTHERHOOD AND THE IMPACT OF A
GROWING POPULATION
• JUXTAPOSES THE ARCHETYPAL ‘NURTURING’ MOTHER ROLE WITH DANGERS OF POPULATION
GROWTH
• RHYME AND RAPID LISTING REFLECTS THE MOMENTUM OF SPEECH AND REFLECTS THE SPEED
OF POPULATION GROWTH
• PAST-TENSE VERBS MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IT IS THE WOMAN’S RESPONSIBILITY BUT THEN DUFFY
PARADOXICALLY ABSOLVES THE WOMAN OF GUILT BY SAYING SHE IS ‘OBLIGED’ TO.
• RHYMED ENJAMBMENT CREATES INCREMENTAL PACE, MOVING TO THE FRANTIC,
CATASTROPHIC ENDING
GAMBLER
• HYPERION’S TIPS REFERS TO A MYTHOLOGICAL TITAN FROM AN
UNFINISHED NARRATIVE POEM BY JOHN KEATS. HYPERION IS ASSOCIATED
WITH CREATIVITY AND POETRY. HYPERION’S TIPS COULD REFER TO ADVICE
ON WRITING POETRY
• DUFFY MERGES IMAGES OF POETRY WITH BETTING (‘TIPS’) TO SHOW
THAT WRITING POETRY IS A GAMBLE
• EXTENDED JOKE THAT INSTEAD OF STUDYING THE ‘FORM’ OF HORSES, SHE
IS STUDYING THE FORM OF POETRY. HILARIOUS.
• IS DUFFY SAYING THAT PRIOR PERFORMANCE AND TRADITION IS LESS
IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE THINK
• A POETIC MANIFESTO (CHECK YOUR NOTES)
ELEGIES
DUFFY CONCLUDES THE COLLECTION WITH A NUMBER OF ELEGIES. ELEGIES
ARE SAD, MOURNFUL PIECES OF WRITING WHICH COMMEMORATE OR
EXPRESS REGRET FOR SOMETHING LOST (ESP USED WHEN PEOPLE DIE)
ELEGIES ARE A FORM OF REMEMBRANCE AND GIVE ‘LIFE’ TO THE PERSON
WHO HAS DIED. THIS IS A TRADITION EXPLORED BY WRITERS SUCH AS
SHAKESPEARE IN HIS SONNETS
• WISH
• NORTH-WEST
• DEATH AND THE MOON
ELEGIES
TASKS
• FEMINISM STATES THAT THE “PERSONAL IS POLITICAL”. TO WHAT EXTENT IS
THIS TRUE OF DUFFY’S ELEGIES?
AO1
A grade
THE
EXAM
AO2
AO3
Terminology
Accurate, coherent
expression
Analysis of:
• Imagery
• Techniques
• Structure
Comparison
Connections
Sophisticated, mature
writing
Appropriate terminology
Explore how writers use
specific aspects of
form/structure/ language
for specific effects
Illuminating debate;
alternative interpretations &
original links
Sophisticated means:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
High levels of accuracy.
Use of mature vocabulary
A sense of purpose (beginning, middle, end)
Clear connections between ideas
Increasingly ambitious evaluative/analytical phrases
Type 2: Debate a statement
Type 1: Discuss one poem in relation
to the collection
HOW TO CHOOSE POEMS
Women’s Bodies:
The Diet
The Woman Who Shopped
The Map-Woman
Women’s Voices:
Anon
The Virgin’s Memo
White Writing
A Dreaming Week
Loud
Gambler
Motherhood:
The Light-Gatherer
The Cord
Work
Transformation:
Tall
Loud
History
Thematically
Biography:
Wish
Death & The Moon
North-West
Women’s History:
The Long Queen
Beautiful
Sub
History
The Laughter of Stafford
Girls’ Hight
•
WHAT
YOU
MUST
INCLUDE:
ANALYSIS OF POETIC DEVICES (AT LEAST 1-2 PER POEM)
• COMPARISON
• EXPLORATION OF THE POETIC FORM. THINK: LINE
LENGTH, RHYMES, GENRE CONVENTIONS
• CONSIDERATION OF STRUCTURE- YOU MAY WANT TO
THINK OF THE ORGANISATION OF STANZAS/THEMES
OR EVEN THE COLLECTION ITSELF
• DUFFY’S PURPOSE(S) AND METHODS
• EVALUATION
• DISCUSSION OF THE PRINCIPLES/POLITICS DUFFY IS
TRYING TO PRESENT
CHOOSE ONE OF THESE TITLES TO ANSWER IN FULL (POEMS IN
BRACKETS ARE SUGGESTIONS ONLY!)
• ‘FEMININE GOSPELS PRESENTS SUFFERING AS A KEY ELEMENT OF FEMALE
EXPERIENCE.’ DISCUSS.
(HISTORY, TALL, LOUD, THE DIET)
• ‘EACH OF OUR AGES HAS ITS OWN IDEA OF BEAUTY, ITS OWN SYMBOLIC
WOMAN.’ IS FEMININE GOSPELS TRYING TO PRESENT WOMEN WHO
REPRESENT ALL WOMEN?
(THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED, BEAUTIFUL, WORK)
• DUFFY’S POETRY IN FEMININE GOSPELS PRESENTS WOMEN AS PARTLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. DISCUSS.
(‘THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED, THE DIET, WORK)
HOW TO ‘STUDY’ A POEM
• DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS ABOUT MEANING
• READ IT MANY TIMES (INCLUDING ALOUD)
• WHAT IS THE TONE OF VOICE/MOOD?
• IS THERE AN ARGUMENT/DEBATE?
• IS IT DESCRIPTIVE?
• IS THE VOICE THE POET’S OWN OR IS IT A PERSONA?
• WHICH WORDS STAND OUT AND WHY?
• WHICH ELEMENTS ARE USED? CONSIDER: ALLITERATION, ASSONANCE, RHYME, RHYTHM, METAPHOR
• DO THE IMAGES SUGGEST OR SYMBOLISE ANYTHING?
• ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT ABOUT ARRANGEMENT OF LINES?
• DO NOT CONSIDER THE POEM IN ISOLATION. HOW CAN YOU COMPARE/CONTRAST IT WITH OTHER WORK
BY THE POET?
• WHAT IS THE POEM ABOUT?
• SUPPORT IDEAS WITH QUOTATIONS AND EXPLORE LANGUAGE, STRUCTURE AND FORM
HOW YOU ARE ASSESSED
WEIGHTINGS
UNPICKING THE QUESTIONS
INTRODUCTION: SETTING OUT YOUR STALL
• IN YOUR INTRODUCTION, SET UP DEBATE BY ENGAGING WITH THE
QUESTION. STATE TO WHAT EXTENT YOU AGREE WITH THE ASSERTION
AND, IF YOU DISAGREE, BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHY. DON’T SAY ‘IN THIS ESSAY I
WILL LOOK AT…’ AND LET THE REST OF YOUR ESSAY DO THE TALKING
Analyse
Evaluate
Debate
Exhibits
noteworthy
Perhaps, possibly,
potentially
Exposes
substantial
conversely
Presents
weighty
feasibly
Reveals
focal
conceivably
displays
central
paradoxically
Connectives to
DEVELOP ideas
‘Concluding’ sentence starters
Avoiding the ‘I think’
Furthermore
Ultimately, it is evident
One could consider..
Moreover
In conclusion, one can infer
A reader senses that..
additionally
In summation, I consider
My reflection on this..
Likewise
In closing,
A clear consideration is..
Consequently
With reference, then, to my initial
postulation
Readers may deliberate that..
PLANNING
“DUFFY’S TALENT IN FEMININE GOSPELS IS TO SHOW US CLEARLY WHAT WOMEN WANT
MOST”
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW?
INTRO:
1
2
3
4
5
CONCLUSION
PLANNING
“DUFFY’S TALENT IN FEMININE GOSPELS IS TO SHOW US CLEARLY WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST”
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW?
INTRO: TO A SLIGHT DEGREE (STEREOTYPICAL WANTS) BEAUTY, CLOTHES, THINNER
BODIES WHICH COME AT A COST. HOWEVER, ALSO SHOWS THE ‘WANTS’ OF SOME
WOMEN, NOT ALL: (MOTHERHOOD, HOMOSEXUAL LOVE)
1: BEAUTIFUL: ASPIRATIONAL, FAMOUS WOMEN BUT CONSEQUENCES
2: THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED (ENJAMBMENT, METAPHOR)
3: THE DIET: (APHORISTIC, BATHETIC, ALLUSION)
4: THE CORD (MOTHERHOOD- PERSONALLY REWARDING. DUFFY NOT NECESSARILY
SAYING ALL WOMEN WANT THIS
5: WHITE WRITING: AS ABOVE. DEBATE WITH THE QUESTION. DON’T AGREE.
CONCLUSION: DUFFY HIGHLIGHTS WHAT SOME WOMEN WANT, BUT IN THE DIVERSE
RANGE OF FEMALE EXPERIENCES SHE DRAWS ON, SHE HIGHLIGHTS THERE IS NO ONE
OR TWO THINGS WOMEN WANT.
PLANNING
“DUFFY’S TALENT IN FEMININE GOSPELS IS TO SHOW US CLEARLY WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST”
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW?
INTRO: TO AN EXTENT. DUFFY IS SHOWING THAT WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST IS EQUALITY
AND A ‘VOICE’ WHICH HAS BEEN DENIED THEM FOR MANY YEARS AS EXEMPLIFIED IN
POEMS SUCH AS SUB, TALL, LOUD, HISTORY AND ‘THE VIRGIN’S MEMO’.
1: SUB: EXPLORES A RANGE OF ROLES DENIED WOMEN. RE-WRITES HISTORY WITH
WOMEN IN FAMOUS POSITIONS- WOMEN WANT OPPORTUNITY AND RECOGNITION
2: TALL: TRANSFORMATION TO THE EXTREME. METAPHOR OF GROWTH BUT MAYBE LESS
ABOUT ALL WOMEN AND MORE ABOUT DUFFY’S POETIC PERSPECTIVE. MORE
REFLECTIVE
3: LOUD: TO BE LOUD IS A FEMALE TABOO BUT DO ALL WOMEN WANT TO BE HEARD?
4: HISTORY: PERSONIFICATION. WOMAN IS HISTORY
5. THE VIRGIN’S MEMO: LISTING, INTELLIGIBLE/ILLITERATE WRITING REFLECTS
VOICELESSNESS BUT MARY DID WANT TO BE HEARD
CONCLUSION: THE NATURE OF THIS COLLECTION MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GENERALISE
WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST; DUFFY REFLECTS THAT THERE ARE COMPLEX HISTORICAL
AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON WOMEN AND THAT THERE IS NO SINGLE DEFINITION.
PLANNING
LOOK AGAIN AT THE POEM ‘THE VIRGIN’S MEMO’.
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THIS POEM IS OF CENTRAL IMPORTANCE TO THE COLLECTION?
INTRO: TO A DEGREE. CHOICE OF MARY- ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST FAMOUS YET UNKNOWN WOMEN IS GIVEN A VOICE. AS THE MOTHER OF JESUS SHE
HAS HUGE SIGNIFICANCE. POSITIONED CENTRALLY IN THE COLLECTION- SYMBOLICALLY AT THE CORE OF ALL FEMALE EXPERIENCES. BUT IN AN
INCREASINGLY SECULAR SOCIETY IS SHE STILL SO SIGNIFICANT? PERHAPS EXPERIENCES OF MOTHERHOOD, HISTORY AND WOMEN’S RESPONSE TO
THE WORLD AROUND THEM ARE EXPLORED MORE POWERFULLY IN OTHER POEM’S WITHIN THE COLLECTION
1: ‘ILLEGIBLE’ AND ‘UNTRANSLATABLE’- VOICELESSNESS/WOMEN FORGOTTEN IN HISTORY IS A CENTRAL THEME. ALSO SEEN IN ‘ANON’ WHICH IS NEXT
TO ‘MEMO’ IN THE COLLECTION
2: LOGICAL, ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF WORLD’S ILLS. (MALE?) CREATION PRODUCED MANY NEGATIVES. JUXTAPOSED WITH POSITIVE CREATION
(MOTHERHOOD) IN ‘LIGHT GATHERER’
3: ‘MEMO’ IRONIC IN THIS ‘GOSPEL’ OF FEMALE TRUTH. SIGNIFICANT CONNECTION BETWEEN MARY AND ‘FEMININE GOSPELS’
4: TOO FOCUSED ON MOTHERHOOD- ONLY ONE ROLE? LESS OF A CONTEMPORARY CONCERN THAN ‘THE DIET’
5: ‘MEMO’ FOCUSES ON AN IGNORED FEMALE HISTORY. POSSIBLY THIS IS LESS CENTRAL THAN DUFFY’S FOCUS ON WOMEN’S INCREASINGLY VOCAL
STANCE TO THE WORLD AROUND- ‘LOUD’
CONCLUSION: TO AN EXTENT THIS POEM IS THE ESSENCE OF THE COLLECTION AS IT FOCUSES ON A FAMOUS WOMAN WHO HISTORY HAS
MARGINALISED. HER ROLE AS A MOTHER IS REDUCED AND REDEFINED AND DUFFY LIBERATES AND GIVES HUMANITY TO HER. SAYING THIS, MODERN
READERS MAY FIND THIS FOCUS INCREASINGLY IRRELEVANT AND FIND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES SUCH AS APPEARANCE, SEXUALITY AND THE WAY IN
WHICH WOMEN RESPOND TO THE WORLD AROUND THEM MORE SIGNIFICANT
E.g Paragraph:
Duffy uses a listing structure in the poem ‘The Virgin’s Memo’ to convey a
woman’s representation of creation and their value in society. “Maybe not
rats son” The uncertainty in the language shows a hesitancy suggesting the
lack of power held by women, not only in potentially the modern day, but
throughout history. It also plays on existing stereotypes as the Virgin Mary’s
requests for items such as rats, snakes and spiders to be eliminated from the
world has patently been ignored. Her one positive, the ‘unicorn’, does not
exist. The fact that Jesus ‘ignored’ his mother’s requests convey the idea that
woman are not valued or listened to. The long list and use of the phrase
“son” gives the impression that the list is continuous and boring and seems
like a list of chores set by a mother. The reader is overwhelmed by the
negativity and ugly nature of the language and ideas used and leads them
to link this to society itself in the way that women are treated.