Nostalgia, Never Go Back Carol Ann Duffy Nostalgia, Never Go Back
Nostalgia Watch the video analysis, then compare this poem with Never Go Back to find similarities and differences.
Never Go Back This poem is full of personification. How many examples can you find? What is the effect of having so many? Who are the actual people mentioned in the poem and how are they described? List the adjectives. What is the tone they convey? Explain the metaphors about anecdotes, the house and death. Consider sound patterns in: hours…parched dog. God bereaved. Baby/ what you owe to this place is unpayable Alone/nursing it’s growth and cracks, each groan and creak Learn this lesson hard, speechless, slamming slick of cold sweat….full in the face
Compare and Contrast From the titles, how might you expect the poems to differ? Would your expectations be right? How is the structure of different Nostalgia from Never Go Back? Which poem is more positive about the past and which more positive about the present? What is the narrative voice in each poem? Explain the difference.
Essay plans Compare and contrast how memory is presented in Nostalgia and Never Go Back. Discuss the importance of place in Close and Never Go Back.