Havisham
Carol Ann
Duffy
Havisham
 Dramatic
monologue
 First person narration
 Gives the reader an insight into the
mental and emotional state of the
character.
Havisham
 Told
from the perspective of Miss
Havisham, a character from Dickens’
novel “Great Expectations”, the poem
reveals the emotional toll that being jilted
by her fiancé in her youth has had on the
ageing speaker. Driven mad by despair
and grief, Havisham fantasises about
taking violent revenge on the man who
wronged her, but occasionally reveals
glimpses of tenderness towards him.
Havisham – Title
 Dickens’
character is Miss Havisham, but
the title of the poem is simply “Havisham”.
The implication here could be that the
pain of spinsterhood is so great that the
title “Miss” needs to obliterated, as it
serves as a torturous reminder of the
speaker’s unmarried state.
Havisham – Stanza 1

“Beloved sweetheart bastard”

Oxymoron/Paradox/Contrast – How can one be both a
“beloved sweetheart” and a “bastard”?
“Beloved sweetheart” – suggests a deep love and
affection.
“bastard” – highly emotive word choice, demonstrating the
hatred she has for her former fiance.
Alliteration of the plosive “b” sound – suggests the words
are being spat out aggressively by the speaker, helping to
convey her anger.
Minor sentence – no verbs; suggestive perhaps of Miss
Havisham’s inaction.




Havisham – Stanza 1
 “Not
a day since then I haven’t wished
him dead”.
 “Not
a day since” - highlights her
longstanding desire for revenge.
 “Wished him dead” – “wished” conveys
the intensity of the hatred; she strongly
desires his demise.
Havisham – Stanza 1
 “Prayed”
 “prayed”
– Ordinarily one would seek
divine intervention to secure a positive
outcome, but here Havisham is asking for
God’s help to exact revenge on the man
who jilted her.
Havisham
 “dark
green” – colour has connotations of
jealousy, which suggests that Havisham is
envious of those who have found
romantic happiness and fulfilment.
Havisham – Stanza 1

“so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes”.

“dark green pebbles for eyes” – metaphor;
suggesting she has eyes of stone. This implies
that she has hardened over the years as a
consequence of being jilted. It suggests she
has become a cold, unfeeling, cruel person
as a consequence of being misused by her
fiancé.
Havisham – Stanza 1

“ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with”.

“ropes on the back of my hands” – another metaphor
suggesting the hardening of Miss Havisham’s personality.
Rope is a coarse material that can cause a friction burn.
This might indicate that Havisham is capable of inflicting
pain. Moreover, rope is formed from twisted hemp, which
complements Havisham’s twisted personality.

“strangle” – continues the violent tone established with
“wished him dead”, which underlines the extent of
Havisham’s murderous desire for revenge.
Havisham – Stanza 2
 “Spinster”
- One word sentence at the
beginning of the stanza. The word, like
Havisham herself, is isolated and alone.
The abruptness of the sentence suggests it
is being spat out, possibly conveying
Havisham’s disgust at having to endure
the humiliation of being labelled in such a
fashion.
Havisham – Stanza 2
 “I
stink” – a consequence of never
changing out of her wedding dress.
 “and remember” – she is fixated on the
past and cannot move on with her life;
she is haunted by the way in which she
has been wronged.
 “Whole days in bed” – inert with grief; she
cannot find the motivation to move on
with her life.
Havisham – Stanza 2
 “cawing”
– the harsh, grating cry of a
crow. Such is Havisham’s anguish, she
makes a similarly unpleasant sound.
 By
likening her to an animal, Duffy is
perhaps suggesting that Havisham has
been dehumanised by her grief, which is
echoed by the murderous fantasies she
has about her former love.
Havisham – Stanza 2

“Nooooo” – The onomatopoeic elongated
vowel sound helps to convey Havisham’s
distressed howl and underlines the depth of
her despair. The howling sound also ties in with
the animal imagery.

“the dress yellowing” – indicative of decay as
time passes. Literally, time has turned the dress
from from white to yellow; metaphorically,
Havisham’s personality has also decayed as
she has become increasingly bitter over time.
Havisham – stanza 2



“trembling if I open the wardrobe” – Havisham seems
to be scared at the prospect of seeing her withered
and dishevelled appearance in the mirror.
“slewed mirror” – To slew is to turn or slide violently or
uncontrollably. This may suggest that Havisham,
angered by the devastating impact of time and
despair on her appearance, has thrown the mirror
aside or attempted to smash it.
“her” – Havisham refers to herself in the third person.
This suggests that she doesn’t recognise the
decaying figure before her. It is almost as if she
refuses to acknowledge the aged spinster reflected
in the mirror as herself.
Havisham – stanza 2/3

“who did this/to me? – This is an example of
enjambment, which occurs when a line of
verse “runs on” to the next line. It could be
argued that this reflects the restless, frenzied
nature of Havisham’s disturbed mind.

“who did this” – Is it her former fiance’s fault,
or is she to blame for failing to move on with
her life?
Havisham – Stanza 3

“puce” – puce is a dark, reddish brown. This
bloody imagery is commensurate with
Havisham’s desire to kill her former fiance.

“curses” – trying to invoke a supernatural
power to inflict punishment on her fiance.
Alternatively, “curses” could refer to the use
of expletives, which would underline the rage
she feels for the man who jilted her.

Havisham – Stanza 3

“sounds not words” – suggests that she has become
inarticulate with rage. Rage is now her only mode of
communication. Her mental decline seems to have a
negative impact on her linguistic ability, an idea
which is revisited in the poem’s final line. This phrase
also complements the animal imagery, as like
Havisham here, they too are capable only of
articulating “sounds not words”.

“Some nights better, the lost body over me, my fluent
tongue in its mouth in its ear” - Suggests that some
tenderness towards her former fiance remains. Here
she is dreaming about making love to the man who
jilted her.
Havisham – Stanza 3
 “Some
nights better, the lost body over
me – Despite her resentment towards her
former fiancé, Miss Havisham seems to
gain some respite from her anguished
mind when she dreams of making love to
him.
Havisham – Stanza 3
 “my
fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear” –
Here her tongue is fluent, compared to
the previous assertion that it could utter
only “sounds not words”. This contrast
suggests that Havisham temporarily
regains her composure – and possibly her
sanity – when dreaming that she and her
lover are still together. However, she only
seems to experience this calmness while
asleep.
Havisham – Stanza 3
 “bite
awake” – Havisham’s calmness is
short-lived. As she begins to regain
consciousness her anger awakes too.
“Bite” shows that she is still committed to
inflicting pain on the man she blames for
ruining her life. It is also commensurate
with the depiction of Havisham as an
animal elsewhere in the poem.
Havisham – Stanzas 3/4
 “Love’s/hate”
– enjambment is used
again here to highlight the contrasting
feelings Havisham has for her fiance. The
rapid transition from love to hate shows
the disorientated and disordered state of
her mind, which helps to convey her
mental instability.
Havisham – Stanza 4
 “A
red balloon bursting in my face” –
violent imagery; the alliterative plosive “b”
and word choice of “bursting” indicates a
violent explosion, possibly of the speaker’s
heart. “Red” connotes blood, which
deepens the menacing atmosphere.
Havisham – Stanza 4
 “Bang”
– The isolation of the
onomatopoeic “Bang” in a sentence of its
own helps to convey the awakening the
speaker from her dream. The sharp, loud,
aggressiveness of the sound – and its
connotations with gunfire/explosions –
complements Havisham’s vengeful
personality.
Havisham – Stanza 4
 “I
stabbed at a wedding cake” –
ordinarily the happy couple would cut the
cake, but Havisham stabs it,
demonstrating her violent rage towards
the man who ruined her happiness.
Havisham – Stanza 4

“Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon”

“Give me” – a command, which highlights the extent to
which she is intent on revenge.
“ a male corpse” – she is so angry with the man who jilted
her that she wants him dead.
“for a long slow honeymoon” – gruesome imagery of
honeymooning with a dead body. This might suggest that
Havisham is so desperate to lose her spinster status, she
would be willing to wed a corpse. A corpse may appeal to
her as it would allow her to control her former love in death
unlike in life. More sinisterly, it could imply a sexual
relationship, which would obviously indicate her insanity.


Havisham – Stanza 4
 “Don’t
think it’s only the hear that b-bbreaks.” – In addition to a broken heart,
the stammer suggests the fragility of
Havisham’s mental state. Just as her mind
is broken, her language is too, possibly
reflecting the turmoil she is experiencing
inside.
Havisham – Themes
 Destructive
power of love
 Emotional complexity of love
 Love and hate
 Betrayal and revenge
 Violence
 Madness
 Despair
Havisham – Imagery
 “I’ve
dark green pebbles for eyes” –
metaphor
 “ropes on the back of my hands” –
metaphor
 “cawing” – metaphor
 “red balloon bursting in my face” –
metaphor
Havisham – Sound Techniques
 “Beloved
sweetheart bastard” –
alliterative plosive “b”
 “Spinster. I stink” – sibilance
 “Nooooo” – elongated vowel sound
 “ balloon bursting” and “Bang” –
onomatopoeic, alliterative and plosive
 “b-b-b-breaks” – stuttering “b” sound
Havisham – Form and
Structure




Dramatic monologue
First person narration
Written in free verse – the poem does not have a
fixed rhyme scheme or meter. This lends the poem
an air of unpredictability, which reflects the
unpredictable nature of Havisham’s moods. The
lack of control here complements Havisham’s lack
of self control.
Four stanzas of equal length – suggestive perhaps
of some order, which is perhaps a reflection of the
moments when Havisham seems more lucid and
sane.
Sentence Structure
 “Beloved
sweetheart bastard” – minor
sentence
 “Spinster” – one word sentence
 “who did this to me?” – question
 “Love’s/hate behind a white veil” –
enjambment
 “b-b-b-breaks” – stuttering “b” sound.
Contrast
 “Beloved
sweetheart” and “bastard”
 “Wished him dead” and “a corpse”
 “Prayed” and “curses”
 “my fluent tongue” and “sounds not
words”.
Havisham – Tone, Mood
Atmosphere
 Stanza
1 – First sentence is both loving and
hateful.
 Rest of stanza 1 – Spiteful, aggressive,
violent, murderous.
 Stanza 2 – Despairing and vulnerable.
 Stanza 3 – vengeful, erotic and violent.
 Stanza 4 – Spiteful, aggressive, violent and
murderous.
Havisham – Word Choice –
Violence and Aggression










bastard
wished him dead
prayed for it
dark green pebbles for eyes
Puce curses
bite awake
bursting
Bang
stabbed
corpse
Havisham – Word Choice –
Madness
 Give
me a male corpse
 wished him dead
 I stink
 her (3rd person)
 bite awake
 stabbed at a wedding cake
 b-b-b-breaks
Havisham – Word Choice –
Vulnerability and Despair
 Spinster
I
stink and remember
 Whole days in bed
 cawing
 Nooooo
 Trembling
 who did this to me?
Colour Symbolism
 Dark
green pebbles
 the dress yellowing
 Puce curses
 white veil
 red balloon bursting