Havisham Carol Ann Duffy

Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then Lack of ‘Miss’ in her name highlights lack of any status. Powerful opening sentence. Oxymoron of affectionate and insulting language. Havisham Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead. Use of pronoun rather than real name.

so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes, Metaphor showing how much she has been crying. Green also represents envy. Prayed for it so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes, ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Metaphor showing how withered she has become; her veins stick out like ropes.

Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days Play on word ‘think’. Shows how inactive she has been since he left. Effective one word sentence. Summarises her whole identity. Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; Loss of language. Losing the ability to express herself. Word normally associated with an animal. Highlights her lack of femininity.

yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe; ‘slewed’ = turned or twisted Pronouns highlight how she barely recognises herself. Nervous – her or the dress itself? As the wedding dress decays, so does she. the dress yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe; the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words. Questioning how she became like this. Use of enjambment highlights this confusion. Puce = purplish brown

Some nights better, the lost body over me, She becomes able to express herself again physically in her dreams. Again the male is not referred to by name. He is simply a body that she misses. Some nights better, the lost body over me, my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear then down till I suddenly bite awake. Imagery becomes more sexually suggestive and then violent as she awakens to the reality of her loss and hatred.

hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting Connotations of colour: White = purity, virginity, pale, death Red = Love, passion, anger, blood Oxymoron used again like in opening sentence. Emotional confusion further highlighted by use of enjambment. Love’s hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding-cake. Violent verbs highlight her anger, reinforce how abruptly her happy dream of wedded bliss came to an end.

Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon. Grotesque image emphasising her desire for revenge. Romantic idea yet when juxtaposed with previous image it becomes sick and twisted. Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon. Don’t think it’s only the heart that b-b-b-breaks. Repeated theme of loss of language. Emotions are so confused that she cannot express herself clearly.