Higher Critical Reading Poetry 10 Mark Question
Example Essay
Discuss how Carol Anne Duffy uses the themes of love and relationships in this poem and
at least one other to highlight the poem’s main concerns.
Stage 1: introduce poems and their details, identify the commonality between them and
elaborate on their themes/central concerns:
 Carol Anne Duffy uses the themes of love and relationships in ‘Hathaway’ to explore
the central concerns of longing and loss as Hathaway describes the ‘second best bed’
left to her after the death of her husband, Shakespeare, and what this item may
have meant to her. (1)
 She also uses the theme of relationships in ‘Valentine’ to explore an unromanticised
and realistic viewpoint of love by using an onion to represent the antithesis of
clichéd love rather than a traditional red rose. (1)
And/ or (note: this will not get you an extra mark at this stage for mentioning another
poem’s commonalities and themes, only for analysing it later.)
Duffy also uses love and relationships in ‘Havisham’ to explore heartbreak and the
destructive power of love as Havisham has been driven insane after being
abandoned by her ex-lover.
Stage 2: Look at the named poem/poem you have been given in exam and identify a
feature/idea/technique that helps to explore the commonality/answers the question
given:
 In ‘Hathaway’ Duffy explores the themes of longing and loss when she writes, “I hold
him in the casket of my widow’s head/ As he held me on that next best bed.” The
use of the word “casket” has connotations of keeping something precious and
valuable forever and is very touching as Hathaway will always cherish the memories
of her husband even after he has died. Duffy uses the married life of real historical
individuals to explore how the personal memories of married life created during
relationships can be all-consuming and incredibly important to those involved, and
help to create a bond that even death cannot break. While many saw Shakespeare’s
gift as a slight to his wife, Duffy tries to show how the experiences they shared upon
that ‘next best bed’ may have been wonderful and were actually an integral part of
the secret, intimate married life many couples share.
Do not under any circumstances continue to analyse quotes from the given poem:
you will receive 0 marks for this!
Higher Critical Reading Poetry 10 Mark Question
Stage 3: Identify an appropriate technique/idea or feature of language in a different
poem which illustrates the same commonality effectively (eg: theme, central
relationship, importance of setting, use of imagery, development in characterisation, use
of personal experience, use of narrative style) and answers the question.
 Note: Make sure that your quotation is appropriate to the question asked and
that you are linking back to the question!
 In ‘Havisham’ Duffy takes on the persona of Mrs Havisham from Dickens’ ‘Great
Expectations’ to show how love and relationships can lead to heartbreak, hatred and
even madness. Duffy begins the poem with the provocative opening line: “Beloved
sweetheart bastard.” By using an oxymoron, Duffy highlights the conflicting feelings
of love and hate Havisham feels for her ex-lover. Though he has broken her heart
and she names him “bastard”, he in some way is still adored and cherished by her,
albeit in an obsessive, unhealthy manner. Duffy uses Havisham’s experience of love
and relationships to highlight how love can turn into hatred as the feelings are both
extremes of emotion that seems at odds with one another yet can often become
inseparable after a relationship has dissolved. (2)
 Duffy also uses ‘Havisham’ to bring the readers’ attention to the devastation of
heartbreak as she spends “Whole days/in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall”. Her use
of the word “cawing” has connotations of the shrieking of crows or other birds which
have a harsh, painful cry, suggesting that Havisham has spent days weeping and has
lost her voice. Here Duffy draws the readers’ attention to how the awful pain of lost
love can lead to a debilitating depression as Havisham can only voice her disbelief
and anguish through the long, drawn out moans of “Noooo” to express her pain.
Duffy refuses to create an idealized, unrealistic impression of heartbreak as it would
be untrue to many peoples’ experience of love and relationships. (2)
 Duffy plays further upon the terrible consequences of love as she goes on to
describe how Havisham’s heartbreak has driven her to insanity and murderous
thoughts: “I stabbed at a wedding cake. /Give me a male corpse for a long slow
honeymoon.” Here Duffy overturns the traditional, romantic idea of weddings and
honeymoons from something dreamy and pleasant into something more dark,
sinister and extremely violent through the use of words such as “stabbed” and
“corpse”. All Havisham is left with is anger: a rage which shows itself in her violent
fantasies where she longs to see her former lover dead. Once again we see how
Duffy uses language to subvert our traditional, romanticized views of love and
relationships to show us the bitter truth about love: while love may seem eternal, it
is also an impermanent, changeable, and often painful emotion. (2)
Higher Critical Reading Poetry 10 Mark Question
 Please note: this is an extremely basic frame and is only to be used to practise
structuring your answer
1. Introduction: Duffy uses ___(stated commonality)______________ in
‘__(title)______’ to explore the themes of _______________ in her poem
about__(details on poem)__.
2. She also uses_________________________ in '____________' to highlight the
themes of_________________________ when describing______________
(repeat if looking at more than one poem)
3. Look at named poem first: In ‘_(title)_’ she explores the theme of__________
when she writes: "_(quote)_". This is effective in
exploring/developing/highlighting the theme of ________ because the use of
imagery/word choice/ sentence structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/
consonance/ symbolism suggests that _(analysis)_. The use of____________
helps to develop the idea that____________ because it makes the reader feel/
creates an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of ___(evaluation)_.
Look at a different poem three times:
4. In ‘______________’ she explores the theme of__________ when she writes:
"______________". This is effective in exploring/developing/highlighting the
theme of _______________ because the use of imagery/word choice/ sentence
structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ symbolism
suggests that _____________________. The use of____________ helps to
develop the idea that____________ because it makes the reader feel/ creates
an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of
___________________________________.
5. In ‘______________’ she explores the theme of__________ when she writes:
"______________". This is effective in exploring/developing/highlighting the
theme of _______________ because the use of imagery/word choice/ sentence
structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ symbolism
suggests that ____________. The use of____________ helps to develop the idea
that____________ because it makes the reader feel/ creates an atmosphere
of/touches upon deeper ideas of __________________.
6. In ‘______________’ she explores the theme of__________ when she writes:
"________________________". This is effective in
exploring/developing/highlighting the theme of _______________ because the
use of imagery/word choice/ sentence structure/ line length/ alliteration/
assonance/ consonance/ symbolism suggests that _____________________.
The use of____________ helps to develop the idea that____________ because it
makes the reader feel/ creates an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of
___________________________________.