Carol Ann Duffy – Stealing Analysis
In the opening stanza we are introduced to the speaker a conversation is established.
The dramatic monologue quickly involves us in the poem and engages us with the
persona:
“The most unusual thing I ever stole? A snowman.
Midnight. He looked magnificent; a tall, white mute
beneath the winter moon. I wanted him a mate.”
Immediately the poem becomes a platform for our persona to speak and explain how
his mind works. We begin to wonder who the persona could be speaking to, other
than the reader, and it becomes clear that there is something childlike and lonely
about the character. The minor sentence serves to shock the reader as we did not
expect the answer to be a snowman. The mere fact that he steals a snowman,
something typically associated with children and joy, insinuates that this is something
lacking form his own life. The minor sentence however, has darker connotations. This
bold line stands out and helps to remind us that our speaker is a criminal as midnight
is a time associated with crime and danger. The speaker appears to be in awe of the
snowman and there is a strong contrast between the brilliant, dazzling white of the
snowman and the darkness of the setting. Duffy’s clever word choice, “mute,” serves
to highlight to us the true extent of the persona’s isolation, as there is something sad
about wanting a friend you cannot communicate with. We could perhaps be drawn
into feeling sympathy for the speaker this is quickly disappears as we delve deeper
into the persona’s mind.
The speaker’s callous and cold nature becomes apparent in the first stanza. He talks
about the snowman and finds a disturbing similarity:
“With a mind as cold as the slice of ice within my own brain.”
This simile illustrates how cold hearted the speaker as he suggests the coldness of the
snowman mirrors his own cold state of mine. The internal rhyme and assonance in
this line creates a slow melodic sound, which adds to the sinister comparison. By
comparing himself to an inanimate object we are shows his lack of compassion but
also illustrates how lonely he must be. Snowmen are associated with happy children
spending time building them. The fact that our thief robs them of their creation shows
his jealousy. He is pleased because he knows there will be suffering. The contrast
between the children’s creativity and the persona’s destructive nature is illustrated
effectively at this stage. Duffy effectively creates a very thought provoking character
as we are exposed to his complex nature and attempt to determine why he is so
sinister, isolated and cold hearted.
In stanza three the speaker’s isolation is shown to the reader through his inability to
communicate. In stanza three, the persona admits that he steals for no particular
reason. He steals purely for the fun of it and the reader is made to wonder if it is a
compulsive disorder:
“Sometimes I steal things I don’t need […] break into houses just to have a
look. / I’m a mucky ghost.”
The first line emphasises the futile nature of his habits. His robberies are pointless.
This makes us seriously question the persona’s motives and assume that, for the
speaker, this desire to steal is driven from an underlying unhappiness. He is clearly
disaffected and isolated from society. The fact that he breaks into houses just to look
also peaks our interest. We question what he is looking for. It becomes apparent that
there is perhaps something missing from his life and that he perhaps breaks into the
homes of others to see what a more ‘normal’ functioning life looks like. His isolation
is highlighted by the contradictory metaphor, “mucky ghost.” A ghost is a non living
spirit that is transparent. This is clever in many ways. Firstly, it suggests he is unseen
during these break-ins and that he leaves a mess or causes destruction, simply to cause
pain to others. However, it also directly relates to how the persona envisages himself:
he does not see himself as a living thing. Rather, he thinks of himself as a dead spirit,
haunting the lives of others. While this may be disturbing for some, it is also a tragic
confession. This dramatic monologue could be a cry for help from a seriously lost and
isolated person. Duffy really brings the speaker to life in this section of the poem,
using the conversation to highlight to the reader the issues surrounding anti-social
characters.
In the second stanza the speaker begins to painstakingly dismantle the snowman. The
description gives us further insight into his cold and uncaring nature:
“Better off dead than giving in, not taking
what you want. He weighed a ton; his torso,
frozen stiff, hugged to my chest, a fierce chill
piercing my gut.”
Even though moving the snow is freezing and hard work, he is pleased because he
knows there will be suffering. Here we are shown the unsympathetic motto of the
speaker who goes through life taking what he wants and caring about the
consequences. It suggests he has no morals and will completely disrespect others
without a care. Duffy use of violent word choice and imagery –“fierce” and
“piercing” - helps to unveil the speaker’s cold nature. Fierce is typically something
ferocious and frightening, whereas piercing reminds us of pain and conjures images of
stabbings and knives: both of which directly relate to the speaker’s harsh personality.
The alliteration – repeated ‘t’ sound - almost mirrors the staggering effort the persona
is putting into stealing the snowman and we are reminded that his efforts are once
again pointless. His efforts are not going to reap him the companionship he longs for.
Any sympathy we had for the persona’s isolation and need for companionship
disappears when he states:
“…Part of the thrill was knowing
that children would cry in the morning. Life’s tough.” (Lines 9 and 10)
This hints that life has been difficult for the narrator and he wants other people to
experience the harshness of life. At the same time these two lines make him easy to
dislike because of his attitude. This short statement sums up the character’s nature.
The word choice ‘thrill’ explains the true motives for his crimes and suggests,
sadistically, that he takes great pleasure from hurting others. The dramatic ending of
the stanza makes us think he is trying to teach others a lesson as his life his been
tough. However, he is using this as an excuse to absolve himself from blame; that in a
strange way he is doing the children a favour by teaching them a life lesson. Duffy
effectively illustrates the complex and disturbing nature of this character through this
incident.
The speaker describes breaking into houses in stanza three. At this point we begin to
understand how disturbed the persona is:
“I watch my gloved hand twisting the doorknob.”
The fact the speaker ‘watches’ himself doing this suggests that this is a compulsion. It
gives the reader the impression that he is almost removed from himself at this point
and is merely a spectator to his own criminal acts. The ‘gloved hand’ emphasises the
intelligence of the persona and highlights the professional manner in which he breaks
in – he doesn’t leave any trace of himself and, we assume, does not get caught.
Furthermore, the word choice ‘twisted’ has connotations of evil and reminds us that
the persona has a twisted nature. He is sinister and callous. He goes on to show his
darker side when he says, “A stranger’s bedroom. Mirrors. I sigh like this – Aah.” The
staggered nature of this line – created by the minor sentence and the caesura - makes
us feel like we are with him walking through the house, pausing when he pauses and
seeing what he sees. He looks at his reflection and takes pleasure seeing himself in a
‘stranger’s’ bedroom – a violation of one’s intimate and private place. Duffy uses
clever word choice here to illustrate how unhinged the persona and we are left
wondering if this detached character has mental health issues.
In the fourth stanza he return to the topic of the snowman. He has now completed the
rebuild but inevitably it is no longer the perfect snowman he longed for:
“He didn't look the same. I took a run
and booted him. Again. Again. My breath ripped out
in rags …Then I was standing
alone among lumps of snow, sick of the world.”
Taking a snowman that is not something permanent, shows us his mentality, he hasn’t
time to think or consider his actions. The short statement effectively sums up the
speaker’s disappointment when the snowman’s appearance has changed. At this point
the speaker becomes frustrated and is overwhelmed with anger. Duffy uses
enjambment to create a sense of movement in the line “run” which mimics the
speaker’s actions. This powerful run up and the word choice “booted” help us to
understand how forceful the speaker is when destroying the snowman. “Booted,”
meaning to kick has connotations of violence and force and this illustrates how angry
the speaker has become. The repetition of the minor sentence, “again,” reinforces and
emphasises his anger as he repeatedly kicks the snow in a tantrum. The enjambment
of ‘alone’ is significant in illustrating, once again, his isolation as our attention is
drawn to this line. We almost feel sympathy for him here - his efforts have failed and
he is once again lost, detached from society and lonely - and it’s clear this rage is
driven by his disappointment – he longed for a friend and his efforts are creating one
have not paid off. Duffy helps us to appreciate the intense emotions of the disturbed
speaker and understand his isolation.
In the final stanza, the speaker’s intense boredom and desire for companionship is
very apparent. His detachment from society is clear again:
“Boredom. Mostly I'm so bored I could eat myself.”
The minor sentence helps to emphasise the persona’s depression as it is so bold. It’s
clear he does not enjoy life. This idea is repeated to stress the intensity of his
disinterest. The image is an identification of the narrator's life, boredom, punctuated
only by random acts of vandalism, theft and cruelty. There is no meaning to his/her
actions other than to satisfy and entertain at other's expense. This line is also quite
disturbing as it hints at self-harm and again makes us consider if underlying
psychological issues are affecting him. The poem ends on depressing point that
creates a sense of hopelessness indicated by the final question, “You don’t understand
a word I’m saying do you?” This challenge to the reader suggests the persona is
misunderstood as we do not clearly and definitively know the real reasons that
motivate the thief. The tone of the ending – depressive and dark – neatly sums up the
persona’s disaffected nature and isolation. We are left to wonder at the social
upbringing and society in which the speaker lives and what will happen to him.
The last stanza again moves on to the different kinds of things he has stolen. Inside he
wants to do something, to learn something but doesn’t have the means of developing
his creativity. When the narrator says,
“One time I stole a guitar and thought I might
learn to play. I nicked a bust of Shakespeare once,
flogged it, but the snowman was the strangest.”
The items stolen in these lines hint at intelligence and creativity and suggest he is
seeking an outlet for this. We get the impression that the thief wants to do things to
escape boredom but hasn’t the willpower and self-discipline to do them. He is trying
to justify why he stole each item but the reader knows he is someone who likes to
steal people’s joy and this alienates the reader from the narrator. After glorifying his
actions and confessing how and why he stole things he realises that the person or
people he is talking to can’t understand his motives. This is shown in the final line:
“You don’t understand a word I’m saying do, you?”