Women and History Poems in this category: ‘Beautiful’ ‘The Long Queen’ ‘Sub’

Women have achieved less fame throughout history because they are less outgoing. What women do when they become mothers is much more important than some man who is famous for doing something supposedly ‘brave.’ Real history is the history no one shows us. Men regularly take the credit for historical discoveries made by women. 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 If women were in charge, there would be less war. There is an unseen network of female wisdom which for centuries was not written down, except in the form of fairytales. Famous women manipulate people and their own image as much as men do Men are more successful in the public sphere and women are more successful in the private sphere

“That’s what makes you beautifullllll!” 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)

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 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

Shared qualities? Have power over men and men are powerless? A cult of worship for her beauty? Victim of relentless attention? Described as ‘dumb’ or ‘stupid’ ? Match men and dominate them with cleverness? Out of control of own destiny?

Question How is each woman portrayed within ‘Beautiful?’ For each woman, build up a list of quotes that Duffy uses to describe them. Pick two quotes and create an analysis spiral for these quotes.

Repeat process with your own quotes… This shows that Duffy believes that as a historical figure, she is not seen as a woman who, unlike Cleopatra, used her sexual identity in order to capture men, and therefore power within a patriarchal system. The repetition of the phrase ‘loved’ shows that Duffy is portraying Helen of Troy as a virginal figure within ‘Herstory’ as she uses a non- sexualised term to refer to her sexual relations. ‘loved and loved and loved again.’ This makes the reader question the comparison to Cleopatra as both women are depicted as having intercourse within the poem, however only one is being judged as being a sexual predator. Duffy’s intention is to highlight the hypocrisy with which we view women throughout history and make judgements upon their sexuality.