1. ‘Stealing’
Carol Ann Duffy

2. Poetry has layers - Literal verses Figurative language
Literal language – the most obvious reading/ meaning (giving an actual example)
E.g. He ran as fast as he could when confronted by the savage dog.
(Yes he did. He just ran)
Figurative language – alternative readings/ meanings that go beyond the obvious which are more abstract or metaphorical. (Presenting your meaning imaginatively)
E.g. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
(You wouldn't would you? It just means you could eat a large meal)
Common examples of figurative language use are:
Simile Alliteration
Metaphor Idiom
Personification Hyperbole

3. Literal/ figurative/ both? Why?
‘The most unusual thing I ever stole?’
‘A snowman.’
‘..a mate with mind as cold as a slice of ice within my own brain.’
‘..a fierce chill piercing my gut.’
‘Life’s tough.’
‘Mirrors.’

4. Identify which of the following features are present within the poem Stealing? Label them.
Alliteration Short sentences Single line stanzas Questioning Simile Metaphor Personification Enjambment Sibilance Irony Synesthesia (combining two senses – e.g. hearing a sound, evokes a sensation of colour)
Rhyme Internal rhyme Distinctive Rhythm/ metre Repetition Assonance Caesura Foregrounding Obvious Structure Form Interesting use of language/ syntax/ Semantics

5. Stealing
The most unusual thing I ever stole? A snowman.
Midnight. He looked magnificent; a tall, white mute
beneath the winter moon. I wanted him, a mate
with a mind as cold as the slice of ice
within my own brain. I started with the head.
Better off dead than giving in, not taking
what you want. He weighed a ton; his torso,
frozen stiff, hugged to my chest, a fierce chill
piercing my gut. Part of the thrill was knowing
that children would cry in the morning. Life's tough.
Sometimes I steal things I don't need. I joy-ride cars
to nowhere, break into houses just to have a look.
I'm a mucky ghost, leave a mess, maybe pinch a camera.
I watch my gloved hand twisting the doorknob.
A stranger's bedroom. Mirrors. I sigh like this - Aah.
It took some time. Reassembled in the yard,
he didn't look the same. I took a run
and booted him. Again. Again. My breath ripped out
in rags. It seems daft now. Then I was standing
alone among lumps of snow, sick of the world.
Boredom. Mostly I'm so bored I could eat myself.
One time, I stole a guitar and thought I might
learn to play. I nicked a bust of Shakespeare once,
flogged it, but the snowman was the strangest.
You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?

6. Diamond 9 – rank the importance of lines and justify your thinking
Which of these triangles represents a commentary structure?
What?
Themes
Suffering
Empowerment
Self-destruction
Methods
Enjambment to present the speaker’s inner voice
Effective use of punctuation
Representation of natural speech
Why?
How?

7. Review and reflection
How can the poem Stealing be structurally likened to another Duffy poem?
Compare how Duffy presents one crafting method in Stealing to how she uses this method in another of her poems.
For example, Duffy uses enjambment in Stealing to convey the self destructive nature of the speaker’s inner voice. How does she use enjambment in another of her poems?