Art Carol Ann Duffy

Looking at the poem ‘Art’ it portrays love to a piece of fixed art work. This suggests that either nothing more can be added to their love, or that it is no longer real, almost fixed into stone.

‘Only art now’ – suggests that their relationship has ‘fizzled’ and Is now more of a picture rather than an emotional or physical relationship and therefore questions its existence. Their love is described as being ‘chilling’ and ‘soundless’ –these aren't words you would associate with love. Gives the impression their relationship has ‘dried’ up like the described ‘dried flowers’. In other copies of ‘Rapture’ the front shows blossoming flowers, the poem ‘spring ‘ describes ‘blossoming trees’, suggesting their once blossoming relationship is has now dried up.

The line ‘applause,then utter dark’ reiterates the fact that their relationship was once great and something to celebrate, however now it is ‘dark’ and ‘chilling’ and has come to nothing. ‘huge theatres for the echoes that we left’ – shows the emptiness that is left of the relationship, their happiness is now just an echo in the distance.

Links to Tess and Gatsby Throughout the poem the fact the relationship between two people has now deteriorated can be compared to that of Gatsby and Daisy. ‘ He wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy ’ – the love and idealization that Gatsby had of Daisy had disappeared, this could link to the love which is lost in ‘Art’. ‘At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.’ – could link to the blossoming of flowers in ‘rapture’, perhaps the kiss signifies the pinnacle of their love. Contrasts ‘Art’ because the pinnacle has already been reached, the flowers now are ‘dried’.

The kiss in ‘Art’ is described as being ‘chilling’, in Tess you can imagine this is how Tess must be feeling in the rape scene. The line ‘applause, then utter dark’ could perhaps relate the few weeks Tess and Angel spend together until she tells him of her past, once she has done that her world Is utter darkness.