Carol Ann Duffy

Education for Leisure

terms Colloquialism: in a conversational manner that may include slang: Connotations: emotional association a reader has for a certain word: God …. in Education it has a – connotation not as creator but destroyer. Allusion: reference to other literary works Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at beginning of sentences; Assonance: repetition of same vowel sound : open, broken; remembered, tendered Consonance: identical consonant sound at end of word preceded by different vowel: Home, same, breath, worth

Dramatic Situation Dramatic monologue Speaker is a young adolescent male who is bored and tired of being ignored, overlooked. He wants attention in the worst way…by committing Violence, playing god, causing destruction and fear as a means of feeling powerful. Speaking to the reader Tone is sinister: Today I am going to kill something Tone is also ironic: contrast between the speaker’s view of himself and reality.

Structure Regular lined verses Poem moves from a threat to action Five stanzas - four lines each Poem moves from a threat to action Builds tension with escalating images of violence Syntax: Short “jabbing” sentences. …Why? Other lines that are more lyrical Line 4 Last line

STRUCTURE Punctuation Use of end stops and enjambment. Title? Ironic. Leisure of the unemployed, the drop outs, the underclass. Time on their hands because they have either dropped out of school or have been expelled.

Language Colloquial diction, slang direct address at end Connotation of the word “genius” We usually associate the word with creativity, but here word is used with irony. Not as bright as he thinks. Irony of a poor education . “God”: association of omnipresent being who created the world, but here used to show how speaker takes joy in destruction: “I see that it is good.” Capable only of destruction, not creation

Language Imagery: Grey with boredom [day] Pavements Glitter: Interesting contrast. Glitter with what? (blood, something to do?)

language Allusion to Gloucester’s line in King Lear.(WHY?) Image of fly being squashed Another Language. ( death vs language of art) Ironic humor to show discrepancy between speaker’s egotistical view of himself and our view of him.

Musical Devices? Unrhymed free verse Non-metrical (pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.) Except for some Iambic meter in lyrical lines (line 4 and last line) (yearning) Flat, plodding rhythm…reinforces the monotony of his life.

Thesis Duffy uses______________,___________, and__________________to show_________________________. Duffy uses colloquial diction, allusions to God, and a threatening tone to dramatize the increasingly violent actions of a frustrated and disenfranchised youth.

War Photographer From Duffy’s first collection: Standing Female Nude 1985

War Photographer The poem comes from Duffy’s friendship with Don McCullin and Philip Jones Griffiths, two well-respected stills photographers who specialised in war photography. Duffy is fascinated by what makes someone do such a job and how they feel about being in situations where a choice often has to be made between recording horrific events, and helping.

Vietnam War

Vietnam

Iraq, 2005

Iran, 1979

War Photographer Terms: Alliteration: repetition of (usually) consonant sounds at the beginning of a sentence. Big Bad Bear Connotation: the emotional association we have with a word. Caesura: a pause within a line of poetry. Used for dramatic effect, or to create tension, surprise Diction: word choice (contributes to tone) Imagery: use of figurative language to create images in mind of reader

Structure 4 stanzas 6 lines per stanza Regular rhyme scheme – ABBCDD, etc. WHY? Imposes order in the chaos of war Like the photographer – order with the photos, making sense of the chaos Syntax: short sentences. Serious approach to work. Focused Punctuation? End stops at the end of each stanza In the middle of each stanza creating a caesure A pause. Why Perhaps to signify how war brings a sudden break to our lives.

Make notes on the structure of the first verse In his darkroom he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. Is this continued throughout? Why?

In his darkroom he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to atone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.

alliteration – what is the effect? Contrast to what? alliteration – what is the effect? What are the connotations of the colours? In his darkroom he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to atone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. regularity/order – reflects structure Suggestion of graves/bodies Litany of horror; what is the effect of the caesura? Simile – reverence and devotion to the pictures Isaiah 40:6 – shortness of life

Why did they not tremble then? Why now? Ambiguity – chemicals/solutions to war Implies carelessness He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands which did not tremble then though seem to now. Rural England. Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children in nightmare heat. Why did they not tremble then? Why now? Suggests idyllic life Contrast: barefoot children running in grass for fun/those running from war – end of innocence and, possibly, life. True meaning to the poem - contrast Cannot compare to pain of war

Ambiguous: Literal – developing the photo. Figurative – person in pain Something is happening. A stranger’s features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approval Without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust. Photographer’s dilemma – has a job to do. Metaphor – 1. image on photo, 2. death

Suggests they are used for entertainment Photo Good/evil Truth/lies Trivialises; we are only moved momentarily Contrast to war zone A hundred agonies in black-and-white from which his editor will pick out five or six for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers. From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where He earns his living and they do not care. En route to another assignment; poem is cyclical; unceasing wars Chooses photos to suit the article; don’t convey the full horror of war Who are they? Suggests they are used for entertainment

Discussion Points How do you think this photographer feels about their job? Pride or guilt? How do you think Duffy feels towards the newspaper editors? What does Duffy seem to be suggesting about the way the readers react to seeing these images? What is Duffy trying to point out about life in Britain compared to Beirut etc? Themes?

Diction Which words or phrases seem significant in contributing to the tone of the poem? For example alone…in first stanza Suggests isolation, detachment.

Theme? Effects of war Shows trauma caused by witnessing tragedy, horrors of war. Juxtaposition of photographer’s inner conflict, (being impassive, objective among such horror) and the public’s fleeting interest and lack of concern for such events..

Think about how Duffy uses certain literary devices; for what effect? For example, in “War Photographer,” Duffy uses rhyme scheme to impose order on a chaotic world. The alliteration of Belfast. Beruit. Phnom Penh is a harsh sound, suggestive of bombs or bullets. Also, the caesura created between each city creates a pause, similar to a sacred recitation or prayer for the dead.

Reviw your Thesis-revise How does author +verb+ lit. feature+ verb+lit. effect + why. War Photographer Duffy uses________, ______, and ______ to reveal_______________. Write it down and share with class. turn it in.

Thesis example Duffy uses a regular rhyme scheme, a shifting tone, and the contrasting imagery of war and rural England to reveal the cyclical nature of conflict and the impassivity that some feel toward others’ suffering.

Begin Commentary Paragraph First line states poet and poem and explains what the poem is about. Briefly Mention Structure and why it is important Insert your thesis here with two-three salient features State first lit. device in thesis and give example of how it is used and to what effect?cite line for evidence. Transition to next example

Commentary Use formal third person Need to focus on literary devices and how they contribute to the meaning of the poem.

Comments on commentary Commentaries need to be a a paragraph, not a list of observations. Must be specific Some imagery is used to show …. Which imagery? State how features are used: Syntax is regular? Why? How does fit poem? \

Commentary continued Commentaries should have a thesis: How does author +verb+ lit. feature+ verb+lit. effect + why. In the poem Mrs. Aesop, Carol Ann Duffy uses a sarcastic tone and humorous allusions to Aesop’s Fables to show the wife’s discontent in her marriage and to depict her husband as an unoriginal bore.

Don’t refer to persona in poem as narrator. It is a speaker Avoid empty phrases: It seems to me, in my opinion, interesting to note. They don’t add to commentary. They only take up space. “I have no choice.” Different interpretations here, but the artist might mean 1. needs $. 2. must paint because he loves it. It is what he does

Stealing: central questions Why does Duffy use a contrast of colloquial and poetic diction? What is the effect? Discuss the central image of the snowman in the poem. How does Duffy use it?

Colloquialism: in a conversational manner that may include slang: Connotations: emotional association a reader has for a certain word: Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at beginning of sentences; Assonance: repetition of same vowel sound : open, broken; remembered, tendered

What is the dramatic situation?

Stealing Dramatic Monologue Angry tone Speaker? Who is he talking to?

Structure 5 stanza-5lined regular verse. Unrhymed and irregular in meter. Begins and ends with question. Nothing unusual about syntax Stanzas control the poem…keep it from spilling over. Contains the energy

Language Slang: “Better off dead.” One word sentences Lyrical lines: “A tall white mute/beneth the winter moon.” Why? Sharp violent verbs: piercing my gut Slice of ice. Why?

language Metaphor: snowman, Why significant? Simile: “ a mind as cold as the slice of ice within my own brain. Caesuras in the middle of the lines. Why effective

Musical devices Internal rhyme: “I started with the head/ better off dead Slice of ice Alliteration: ripped out in rags Repetition: Again. Again. Assonance: mute, moon, mats, mind:

Thesis Duffy uses a contrast of colloquial and poetic diction, winter imagery, and the use of caesuras to create a belligerent tone of a young misfit who years for something better.

Standing Female Nude Title Poem of her first Collection of poetry: Standing Female Nude 1985

Picasso Standing Female Nude

The Grand Nude; 1908 Gorges Braque 1892-1963

Who has more power in this poem? What is Duffy saying about art?

Think about Power, Gender and class struggles, the male gaze Line breaks emphasize ideas, contrasts and juxtapositions. Why in the last stanza do we have two one word lines? What do they represent or support? Finished… enjambment: line continues just as the work seems to never end.

Tone? Cynical tone of a prostitute who poses for money. “The bourgeoisie will coo… Inequality of the classes She stands for 6 hours for a few francs Poem ends on the mention of francs also.

Me Reassertion of the model’s individualism. “Finished …..me.” Two lines stick out and form their own thought Speaks also to the artist’s transformation of model into an unrecognizable version of herself.

Francis Bacon painting breaks new record Sold last year for record breaking price of $142,405,000 sold in 6 minutes

How to talk about punctuation: The phrase “Belly nipple arse” lacks punctuation which shows that she is being looked at as an overall item, not for her individual attributes. This enjambment creates a broken rhythm to the poem that relates to the poverty of the model.

Literary Features? Duffy uses ___________, ____________, and ___________ To convey both the ____________ and the _______________________

Student Thesis Duffy uses a lack of punctuation, a cynical tone, and enjambment to illustrate the deception behind the ideals of art; it is not a free, truthful medium, but rather a business and industry in which the subjects have little power to define themselves.

Some thoughts on structure Duffy likes regular lined stanzas “I found that [Stealing] fell naturally (as most of my poems do) into regular-lined verses- in this case, 5 5-lined verses. The verses are unrhymed and irregular in meter. These free verses work for me like small canvasses to hold the words of the poem. They help to control the rhythm of the poem… ”

For Monday (commentary on SFN) Shooting Stars Annotate poem. Use different colors highlighters or pencils. If you don’t have that use boxes, circles and underlines. One color for images One color for diction (words that seem carefully chosen for effect Punctuation Write a working Thesis at the bottom or top of page.. Don’t write a commentary until after we discuss it on Monday

agenda Commments on commentary Shooting Stars

More Poetry terms A caesura is a strong pause within a line, and is often found alongside enjambment.

Shooting Stars

Terms Anaphora: the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Euphemism: mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Spoonerism: transposing first letter of sequential words “ragged gape”

Connotation: the emotional association of a word Denotation: dictionary meaning Enjambment: the running over from one line to another used to disrupt the reader by breaking up thoughts. This can emphasize certain points the poet wants to make, which in turn emphasizes specific ideas or themes.

6 Groups: one per stanza 8 minutes --In group, FIrst Reflect on title: discuss denotations and connotations. --- what is the dramatic situation and how is it demonstrated through structure ( form, movement, end-stopped lines: enjambment)/ Why 6 Stanzas? --- Who is the speaker? Groups will present their stanza discuss the following: in six minutes (BE SUCCINCT. Make point and move on you only have 8 minutes in oral for entire poem.) -- What is the significance of the images and how do they contribute to theme[s]? 5: What type of diction is used, what tone is created, and how does it support theme or action of poem? 6 Discuss use of punctuation and how it supports theme or poet’s intention.

Shooting Stars

After I no longer speak they break our fingers After I no longer speak they break our fingers 
 to salvage my wedding ring. Rebecca Rachel Ruth 
 Aaron Emmanuel David, stars on all our brows 
 Beneath the gaze of men with guns. Mourn for our daughters, 


upright as statues, brave. You would not look at me upright as statues, brave. You would not look at me. 
 You waited for the bullet. Fell. I say, Remember. 
 Remember these appalling days which make the world forever bad. One saw I was alive. Loosened

his belt. My bowels opened in a ragged gape of fear his belt. My bowels opened in a ragged gape of fear. 
Between the gap of corpses I could see a child. 
The soldiers laughed. Only a matter of days separate 
this from acts of torture now. They shot her in the eye. 



How would you prepare to die, on a perfect April How would you prepare to die, on a perfect April evening 
with young men gossiping and smoking by the graves? 
My bare feet felt the earth and urine trickled 
down my legs. I heard the click. Not yet. A trick.

After immense suffering someone takes tea on the lawn After immense suffering someone takes tea on the lawn. 
After the terrible moans a boy washes his uniform. 
After the history lesson children run to their toys the world 
turns in its sleep the spades shovel soil Sara Ezra… 



use of biblical diction elevates stanza to prayer Sister, if seas part us, do you not consider me? 
 Tell them I sang the ancient psalms at dusk 
 inside the wire and strong men wept. Turn thee 
 unto me with mercy, for I am desolate and lost. Do not forget The assonance of the of the O is a sorrowful sound Asks the world to be merciful

Persona A strong woman( speaking from the grave?) describing how the women were brave as statues. Ends with song (psalm 26-16) one of King David’s, pleads with God for deliverance from affliction, shame and death: ‘let not my enemies exult over me’ (verse 2). In the last stanza the speaker asks the world to be merciful.

Punctuation Lack of commas between names to show loss of individuality. Elipses…. The names go on and on…. Rhetorical questions: How would you prepare to die? Do you not consider me? 4th stanza: no commas…horror runs into the mundane

Shooting Stars Duffy uses sorrowful diction, violent imagery, and punctuation to show the indifference to human suffering during the Holocaust.

Warming Her Pearls Selling Manhattan. Copyright © 1987

Warming Her Pearls as group: Title? Structure? Context ( topic common to writer?) Speaker? Literal meaning? Deeper Meaning? (can fill this out later)

Annotate by self only feature assigned One member mark only aspects of structure and puncuation that seem significant. One member mark important images (look for contasting images also and why they might support a theme) One member Circle diction and Language that is significant (word choice) One member mark sounds (musical devices)

Group Thesis becomes outline for a larger essay Intro l Structure and punctuation ll Diction lll Imagery lV musical devices

Terms Satire: A type of literature in which folly, evil or topical issues are held up to scorn through ridicule, irony or exaggeration. Euphemism: an inoffensive word or phrase substituted for one considered offensive or harmful.

From Duffy in The Guardian Book Club Feb 2012 It appears alongside "Warming Her Pearls", a lesbian love poem in the voice of a lady's maid who fancies not the mistress's pearls but the mistress herself. I think what I was interested in at the time of writing these poems was in finding a language and imagery for the erotic and the hidden or secret. The pearls warmed by the pining servant's skin are, of course, a metaphor for her desire; but a poem is also like a pearl – a language-jewel provoked into existence by the grit of feeling or revelation.

Final comments Warming her pearls Poem about a servant’s unrequited forbidden love for her mistress There is also the underlying theme of class division: Stanza 2: “Slack on my neck, her rope” Structure of contained stanzas=different worlds of maid and mistress Last line: “I burn”- double meaning Both desire and resentment Pearls as symbol of wealth and desire

A Healthy Meal (not) Satire on the dining habits of the rich How does the contrast in imagery of animals and people contribute to the irony of poem? How do euphemisms in the poem reveal her theme?

The Dolphins How does structure resemble the theme of oppression or being trapped How does the unusual syntax contribute to the movement and theme of poem?

Activity: Step 1 10 minutes 1. Meet in groups to discuss assigned poem. 2. Identify poetic devices and how they are used: what is their effect? 3. Come up with thesis statement

Step 2 10 Minutes The two youngest students in group move to next group. (5 minutes) Teach your poem to the home team 5 minutes Home team teach visiting team

Step 3 10 minutes Same traveling team travel to next group deliver a 5 minute oral to the person across from you. Use your cheat cheat if it helps.

Opening comments for Oral General comments of poem: Title, poet, context (collection) Structure: Duffy uses… What is it about? Literal meaning Identify dramatic situation The speaker. Is it a dramatic monolgue? Be clear with pronouns. She? Duffy? Or the speaker Deeper meaning? Say one or two sentences here. Thesis Continue with analysis. Be sure to cite lines when you discuss literary devices and their effects

Approaches for oral 1 Stanza by Stanza 2 Or by most obvious literary features in poem stated in thesis (Dramatic situation, structure, Language, musical devices Make sure you are relating back to thesis, literary effect and poet’s intent.

Evidence for Thesis 5-8 items Author uses______to (show, illustrate, portray) State line number say the line and explain how it connects to thesis, or poem’s theme. ( “In line 6, stanza 2 Duffy alludes to King Lear: say line”.) Explain the literary effect (“Duffy uses allusion in stanza two in order to show the alienation of this young man from his education.”) Move to next example

The Dolphin What are the most notable poetic features of this poem? Make list on board Circle the four most important How to organize

The Dolphins by Carol Ann Duffy World is what you swim in, or dance, it is simple. We are in our element but we are not free. Outside this world you cannot breathe for long. The other has my shape. The other’s movement forms my thoughts. And also mine. There is a man and there are hoops.  There is a constant flowing guilt.

We have found no truth in these waters, no explanations tremble on our flesh. We were blessed and now we are not blessed. After travelling such space for days we began to translate. It was the same space. It is the same space always and above it is the man.

And now we are no longer blessed, for the world will not deepen to dream in. The other knows and out of love reflects me for myself. We see our silver skin flash by like memory of somewhere else. There is a coloured ball we have to balance till the man has disappeared.

The moon has disappeared. We circle well-worn grooves of water on a single note.  Music of loss forever from the other's heart which turns my own to stone. There is a plastic toy.  There is no hope.  We sink to the limits of this pool until the whistle blows. There is a man and our mind knows we will die here.

Group Thesis becomes outline for a larger essay Intro l Structure and punctuation ll Diction lll Imagery lV musical devices

Organize by features I will discuss each feature and how they are present in each stanza. My Thesis: In “The Dolphins” Duffy uses regular lined structure, unusual syntax, repetition and imagery of loss to create pathos for the dolphins whose world has been reduced to an artificial pool.

The Dolphins Organize by features Topic Sentences 1 Syntax is irregular to show how their world has been changed., “World is what you live in.” The Object (world) becomes the subject Short sentences =flat tone 2 Repetition is used to reinforce the loss of freedom and repetitive nature of their captivity. (world, man, space, blessed, disappeared) Reinforces the repetitive motion of swimming in circles 3 Imagery of loss is shown through concrete images and metaphor 5. Additional features: assonance, sorrowful tone,

A Healthy Meal connotations of people Capped teeth chatter Woman chewing Fine seat bastes his face Meat flops in jowls (internal rhyme jowls

+ connotations animals-juxtaposed with cooking term Secret dreams of cows/ tossed Swish of oxtails/languished Breast/flew Language of tongues/braised + connotations of animals Duffy uses contrasting diction, a satirical tone and gastronomical imagery to reveal the human greed and cruelty against animals.

Literary terms to look for Metaphor: comparison between two disimilar things that share a common trait. Movement. The overall progression of the poem. How does is move from start to finish and through time?

Moments of Grace: about time time and memory Moments of Grace: about time time and memory. Discussion of senses and how they pull us into the past, as well as bring us back into the present…”Now I smell you peeling an orange.: Blessings and grace; religious diction to honor those moments of memory and present time.

Flowchart is used as Intro write an introduction paragraph, followed by thesis Title? Structure? Context ( topic common to writer?) Speaker? Literal meaning? Deeper Meaning Then thesis

Procedure Read poem As a group Identify all poetic devices and their contribution to the theme in your stanza. Effect. Start with connotations of title. Who is speaker? What is it about? Share out with class

Practice Oral intro: Intro Title? Structure? Context ( topic common to writer?) Speaker? Literal meaning? Deeper Meaning? Thesis Commentary: Dramatic situation Structure Language Musical devices