Comparison of “Shooting Stars” and “Psychopath” Both poems by Carol Ann Duffy Int 2 and Higher I Yule & L Feeney

Title “Shooting stars” has a double meaning and does not alert the reader to what the poem is about. The title can mean that there are fireworks in the sky and luck while it could also mean the shooting of innocent Jews who are wearing the star of David

“Psychopath” makes us only think of one thing: an ‘emotionally blind’ animal who is void of feeling and emotion. This clouds our judgement of the poem because of previous knowledge. It seems to contradict the setting of the poem – which suggests happiness and innocence

Persona In “Shooting Stars” Duffy takes on the persona of the victim. She is giving a voice to the victims of the holocaust. We experience the pain of what happened through the voice of a Jewish woman This helps us to enter into the key concern of the poem – that we remember their suffering

In “Psychopath” Duffy takes on the persona of the perpetrator and we learn about his crimes through his own voice. We are able to see the inner workings of this mad-man. This leads us into the central concerns of the poem – what caused him to be this way?

Setting “Shooting stars” is set in a concentration camp and Duffy describes the horrible treatment of Jews within the camp. The “corpses,” the idea of a “child” the rape, all highlight the horrific nature of the place.

In “Psychopath” it is set within a fairground and we normally think of this place as somewhere or safety and innocence. We don’t assume it is a place where a psychopath would be searching for his next victim. “Goldfish” “coconuts” “Tunnel of love” all used to create a setting.

Imagery Duffy in “Shooting Stars” uses imagery to highlight the horrific treatment of the victims. She also uses it to showcase how brave and unbreakable to Jewish people were when they were being treated so badly.

In “Psychopath” we see that imagery is used to illustrate how the psychopath feels about his actions It is used to describe appearances (the girl blushing like candy floss, new skin, feel like a king.) It is also used to describe the reaction of the town where the crimes are taking place.

Sentence structure In “Shooting stars” the use of enjambment is used to highlight the horrific scene of the rape. The comma in “, brave” is there to show how the women are acting when tortured. Short sentences are also used to describe the events

The important sentence structure element is the use of ellipsis in “Psychopath.” This is used to mark a shift in perspective. It goes from a flashback to the present day. The lack of punctuation around the girl’s speech is also an important feature as it once again takes away her power.

Word choice Is used more to make the reader feel sympathetic towards the victims as it demonstrates the pain they have had to suffer. It also shows the sinister behaviour of the Nazi soldiers “break” “Salvage” “Suffering” She also uses commanding verbs to try and get the reader to never forget what happened in those camps.

The word choice in “Psychopath” is used to showcase the aggressive behaviour of the man “grabbed” “gasped” “wriggled” “frenched” “flicked” It is also used to describe how he needs confidence and takes it from other people “Jimmy” “Elvis”

Title The title “Shooting Stars” makes us think of 2 things: that there is a star shooting across the sky which could be used for luck. It could also mean the killing of innocent Jews who wear the star of David. Clouds our reading of the poem at first as the title is ambiguous.

In “psychopath” we have assumptions about this word and associate it with a menacing character. This proves to be right as we continue to read the poem. The title and the setting of the poem cause a problem for the reader as we normally associate a fairground with a place of fun and innocence.

Theme The theme of “Shooting Stars” is we can never forget the horrible events of the holocaust - Remembrance This can be seen in Duffy involving the reader with the question, “how would you prepare to die on a perfect April’s evening?”

In “Psychopath” the theme is the loss of innocence In “Psychopath” the theme is the loss of innocence. The psychopath himself lost his innocence when he saw his mum having sex with the “Rent Man” as well as when he was with “Dirty Alice.” Now he takes the innocence away from girls who come to the fair ground expecting a nice day out.