1. Never go back
By Cam and Mike 

2. Discuss – Some light topics to start off, thanks Carol.
Have you ever moved away from somewhere you used to live and returned there for a visit? What was it like seeing the same places/people again?
Are there any people or friends that you have known but you have grown apart as you grew up? What were the reasons for this and what is it/what would it be like to see them and speak to them again now?
In the future would you like to live in the same place/similar area to where you are now? Why/why not?
What do you associate with alcoholism?
What is it to die? What do you think death is and why might people fear it? Do you think it is literally when your body stops functioning or do you think there is a point at which you feel like you don’t really want to do anything else/get much older?
Discuss – Some light topics to start off, thanks Carol.
Discuss in pairs or small group for few mins.
Another happy poem from Carol.

3. Anyone want to read it?
Mr Kouenburg?

4. Starter Read through the poem “Never go back” on page 53.
Note down the first 5 connotations that come to your head.
Do you think the poem can be split into sections? If so, how do you think they should be split?
Starter
Now that you have read the poem…
Give them 5 mins max to discuss.
Pick a few people to speak or ask for volunteers?

5. The poem “Never go back” was written by Carol Ann Duffy and published in her collection “Mean Time” in 1993, which won 3 awards.
Carol Ann Duffy was 38 a the time.
38 is maybe around the age in which you may have a mid life crisis, the sort of age where you may think about your past and start to wonder what there really is left in this world for you (which is a nice thought.)
Context
Just a bit of context for people to look at.

6. Structure Split into 3 sections Present – Past - Present
Split into 3 sections which represent different places in the past. She could be visiting the literally or just in her memory. Each section gives her a sense of despair and includes images of death, disease and decay.
Read the sheet for never look back

7. In the final two stanzas the caesuras and commas are always spread between the centre and the end of the line or not at all. This could represent the uncertainty and distress that she is feeling after this strange visit.
Caesura

8. Some Main Features

9. Duffy uses repetition of the second person, personal pronoun “you” throughout the poem.
Could be talking to herself
People she used to know
Not too specific
Personal Pronouns
Duffy could be talking to herself which could make her seem quite detached, as if her past is dead or as if she herself is on the alcohol. She could be talking to the people that she used to know. These personal pronouns also allow the reader to become more involved and she avoids making it so particular that the reader cannot relate. This allows the reader to think about their own past in this manner.

10. Tense Mostly present tense with some past tense
Duffy likes to vary the tenses in her poems. The use of present tense keeps the poem relevant and current. The past tense adds to the fact that it is about the past. The present tense may also have been used so heavily in conjunction with the personal pronouns to allow the reader to relate to duffy. The present tense is also used in order to show and back up the fact that you cannot go back to the past, the present is all there really is, all that is important and all that you can change as you cannot change the past nor can you change the future.

11. Lots of imagery created around the senses
Sensory Imagery

12. Closer Analysis
Stanza by stanza analysis. Feel free to add anything you spot along the way, raise your hand if you have any ideas worth sharing or any additions.

13. Stanza 1
The first stanza is set in a bar. In the first stanza Duffy describes a bar I which images of death and decay feature strongly. The oxymoron “living dead” suggests that the drinkers (her friends) have given up hope in life. Perhaps she no longer finds them interesting.Living tells us that they are still alive and dead shows that their dreams have died or perhaps they are realising that their pasts are dead and they cannot go back – this also links back to the title of the poem, “Never Go Back”. This could also be viewed as dead people, or people from her past that are still living on in her memory as she thinks of the past. The alliteration “dead drink all day” emphasises the amount of time that the people re drinking, usually its alcoholics that drink all day therefore implying that these people are mourning over something, perhaps their age as they are described as “dead” which could represent their older age. There is also reference to the past and nostalgia through the personification of the jukebox. “a jukebox reminisces in a cracked voice”. Jukeboxes are quite outdated and also not needed anymore as modern technology is far superior this could represent the way Duffy wishes to portray the people in the bar as old and perhaps useless compared to other people. The fact that the jukebox is cracking, means it may not be working properly or a reference to the peoples childhood as their voices cracked in their teenage years, this could also represent the damage of age and alcohol on their bodies. Perhaps showing why the people in the bar are “dead”, they could have been through a lot of hardship or drunk themselves to death or a dead-like state (alcohol poisoning?) The verb reminisces means nostalgic or to indulge in an enjoyable recollection of past events which seems quite odd considering the fact that all the signs suggest no signs of enjoyment. This could be because they know that things will never be the same and they cannot go back to that place/time. “there’s nothing to say. You talk for hours” The caesura emphasises the fact that there is nothing to say, this is then juxtaposed by the fact that “you talk for hours”. The personal pronoun “you” could mean that the poet is directly addressing the audience or perhaps her past self, as though even though she has nothing left to say now, she had so much to say when she was younger. This could show how she fells like she is coming to her end, her opinions are maybe no longer relevant or that she has already lived it all and she has nothing left to give. This is backed up by “anecdotes shuffled and dealt with…snapshots” which portrays her past events as an overused game as the cards never change but the game does. The word snapshots again emphasises the reminiscing of her past. This metaphor also suggests that the conversation at the bar is as dead as her past or the personalities are dead and all they can seem to talk about is their past. The smoky mirrors suggest that she is looking at a version of herself in the past that is blurred, perhaps flattering herself on how amazing she/life used to be compared to now. Old faces of the past show her thoughts about those she used to know. Never return… shows that you can never go back to the past as referenced by the quote “space where you left time pining till it died” and also to the title.

14. Stanza 2
The personification of the streets as they “tear litter in their thin hands” imply that the weather is bad or windy. This also emphasises and backs up the images of darkness and death referred to in the first stanza. The verb “tears” suggests both violence and could be also read as tears as in crying perhaps further creating pathetic falacy using the tear drops as rain. The fact that “a tired wind whistles through the blackened stumps of houses” also adds to the imagery of bad weather, especially as whistling is usually associated with either happiness or tense/sinister horror films – also linking to death. The “blackened stumps of houses” also presents images of darkness and death as the word stumps connotes images of amputation and death as trees leave stumps when cut down. The fact that they are blackened implies some sort of burning perhaps the ash of the living dead that were portrayed in the first stanza. A limping dog adds to the images of amputation and pain. The reader will feel more sorry for the limping dog than the alcoholics because the world is corrupt and people don't really care about people because they assume their problems are their fault but they feel empathy for animals. “God, this is and awful place” the use of gods name being used in vain shows that they have given up hope on any form of belief that everything is going to be okay, this is emphasises by the friend and alcoholic whose “head is negative”. This shows that the friend is thinking in a pessimistic manner, perhaps struggling from other issues other than alcohol addiction. There is evidence to believe that this friend is also dead as “you listen and nod, bereaved”. Bereaved means that you have been deprived of someone close to you such as a friend through their death. The fact that the dead and the living seem to be in the same place could suggest that life on Earth is just as bad as death. It could also imply that the person in the poem is dead or their young selves have died as they have grown up and the friend is just an old friend that is still alive but the narrator is no longer in touch with anymore so they have lost their friendship. This may just be a place in which the protagonist used to live but they have changed so much that this place doesn't feel right anymore. The short sentences at the end of the stanza almost seem aggressive which suggest that the poet almost is filled with hatred about how much the place or she has changed.

15. Stanza 3
The personification of the house that she used to live in adds to the images of disease and decay and death as it describes is as having cancer. The house is also depicted as hostile as it accuses her. Upstairs in “the bedroom” she draws her body on the blurred air with the simple power of loss. The fact that it is just “the bedroom” shows that it must be significant in some way to her, perhaps her old bedroom as otherwise it would just be “a” bedroom. The fact it doesn’t say “your bedroom” or “your” old bedroom implies a further feeling of loss and distance between her and her past. The loved body is her past self whom she seems to miss and get a sense of nostaligia from. The simple power of loss shows how she has moved on and is no longer the same person and is no longer with her husband. Also loss suggests that she is worse off now than she was back then, this could link to children and how innocent they are and oblivious to the difficulty and harsh reality of life itself. The fact that she holds happy memories of being a bride in that house completely juxtaposes this sad diseased house. This only adds to the distance that we can see between her and this place that she used to know. The words “lies…and cries” tell us that this was also a place of bad things as well as good such as “love” the unstructured rhyme of these two words places emphasis on them to widen the distance between her and her past life/self. These lies and cries of love are presented using zoomorphism. The are described as a “swarm” and they disappear once they sting you. This could be a reference to bees as they die once they have stung you suggesting that at first you feel pain but its only short lasting as all these memories are in the past, they are dead similarly to how her past it dead in stanza one as she can “never go back”. The sibilance of “suddenly swarm” adds emphasis to the metaphorical swarm of memories with the “s” sounds almost resembling the sound of insects entering the room and quickly disappearing as an “s” sound has quite a slow attack which mimics the insects entering the room while the middle/sustain of the letter is quite sharp and piercing like the insects stings and the fairly short release of the sound mimics the quick departure/death of the insects/memories.

16. Stanza 4
You shouldn't be here. – short sentence could suggest anger or discipline that you would receive from a teacher or parent. The personal pronoun “you” makes it as though they are talking directly to “you”. The use of this pronoun and the word “shouldn't” as opposed to should not shows that it may be slightly more informal/friendly as though the person speaking is genuinely concerned for the protagonist. There is evidence to suggest it is speech as the colloquial term “shouldn't” is a lot easier to speak than should not and you suggests direct speech.  The caesura also makes the statement stand out as important. The fact that she carries on shows that she isn't listening to the advice of a caring friend or teacher and is following her dark side represented by the poem saying “you follow your shadow” the shadow being her dark side. She is walking around the room and touching objects in the room, picking them in which bring back memories that are painful as shown by “”fill a room with pain”. Which suggests that it is not the room itself that is bringing back the painful memories but what lies within the room, whether it be objects or memories, as the word “a” is very general, if it was “the” then it would suggest the room itself is bringing back the memories. the hyphen between “half-believe” shows, physically, the distance in which she has moved apart from this place and her past. It could also be a reference to how different the house is that she hardly believes that she is in the right place what with it falling apart as when she leaves she ends up “shaking plaster confetti from her hair.” and the shear amount of time that she hasn’t visited it and how different she is now compared to when she used to live there she could be seeing it from a new angle, realising that this isn't home anymore. The rush at the end with the commas separating short little phrases shows that she, herself is in a rush to get out. It suggests that she wants to leave in a hurry as she may be emotional?

17. Stanza 5
Hearse is the word for a funeral car, yet again making references to death. The driver also “look like death” which is, yet again a reference to death. This is an interesting simile as if the car is implied to be for transporting the dead and the driver looks like death. This could be the fictional character death which suggests that he is transporting her between life and death (as that is what death does), or she feels as though he is dead also. The fact they take the long way round is also important in this simile as she already felt dead at the start of the poem and her only hope was for her past, all her happiness she had was from the past and to have discovered that nothing is the same as it used to be and the places and people she used to know have died or moved on makes her sad. This sadness is why the taxi ride seems to take forever as people often say that time goes fast when you are having fun and she is obviously feeling the opposite effect of that. The taxi driver therefore is taking her away from the place she used to know (her happy life that is no more) and taking her back to her life that seems happier and light. This then contrasts with the “neon” as all the places have changed and are still very lively, creating other peoples pasts and childhood while hers is left behind. The places she used to know have changed names and are sprouting new bright (like neon) lives and memories for other people while she is left behind. This reference to childhood is also brought up as “theme park”s are mentioned. The fact that the theme park has no name suggesting that for her, the place has lost its identity. “sly sums” is again using those silibant sounds. The personification of the money winking suggests that either money isn’t a big deal to her any more, she has lost interest after her disappointing trip. This is because winking is a very subtle thing and if the sly money is winking then that means that she doesn’t mind being overcharged for the taxi ride as she has lost interest and perhaps cant be bothered to argue. Or it could be a reference to the whore later in the paragraph. The red light could be another reference to the slow ride. The drenched whore could be a very subtle turning point that the women doesn’t really pick up on but sub consciously she realises that there are people worse off than her.

18. Stanza 6
The word Welcome is capitalised to show the irony. This is irony because she doesn't feel very welcome at all in this place that she used to know. An emigrant for the last time shows that she has no desire to return here to live or perhaps even visit ever again. The caesura is used at the end of time to emphasise that it is definitely the last time, full stop. The personification of the train sighing and pulling you away implies that she is bored or disappointed but obviously not overwhelmed by the disappointment as she isn't crying or seemingly too upset. The train journey could be perceived as relaxing as she is pulled away which is less aggressive than being pushed or taken. Also rewinding like a film is quite a nice piece of imagery as opposed to most of the images of death in the poem. The rewinding also links to the past as it suggests you are going back in time. She again goes for a drink but doesn't seem to overdo it this time as she is feels released. The journey into nowhere and nowhen, shows that she is now focusing on the present rather than the past or she is just thinking about nothing. And the word forget backs this up. Forget is then repeated as perhaps an imperative telling herself to forget. And as she forgets, the fires and lights come on. This is because she has finally let go of her past and could represent that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Wherever you live shows that it's up to her to bring the energy and excitement to her own life and not rely on places and people from her past.

19. Main Themes Death Loneliness The past Alcoholism Depression Nostalgia
Childhood
Illness
Liquids
Pain
Memories
Escape
Main Themes

20. Throughout the poem, Duffy changes the theme of the poem.
In the first and second stanzas, the speaker is in a bar that she used to visit, and she talks to old friends. There is a theme of reminiscence in this stanza as it talks a lot about the past, but there is also a sense and theme of awkwardness between her and her old friends from the bar, and it’s not the same as it used to be.
The third and fourth stanza have themes of regret and guilt. It talks about the house where she was a ‘bride’ (wife). It mentions ‘All the lies told here’ and ‘the cries of love’. We don’t know what happened here but we know the house is full of bad memories and that something bad happened between her and her previous partner who she shared this house with.
Stanza five and six are about the speaker leaving the place she used to live in. She gets a taxi to the train station and leaves. She says she is ‘an emigrant for the last time’ suggesting she does not plan on coming back to the city again. There is a theme of running away from the past. She has come back to this place because it was full of memories, but when she revisits, she doesn’t receive a good vibe from it, because of the discomfort from all the bad memories that drove her to leave it in the first place. She leaves the city, wanting to forget about what happened here in the past.

21. Main Idea You cannot return to the past; people and places change.
One of the main ideas with this poem, as with many of Carol Ann Duffy’s poems is that you cannot return to the past as people and places change. It evokes images of death, disease and decay as this is what happens to people and places and objects over time. Duffy uses darkness “Blurred air” Smoky mirrors” and “dead” to represent her feeling about time. Also there is a lot of reference to drinking in a bars and alcoholism which could suggest that people turn to alcohol when their lives get bad or not as good as the past or they want to go back to a place or a time but know they cannot. This could be why the title o the poem is “never go back” – it is advice from Duffy never to look back into the past for it could potentially damaging or saddening and in some cases lead to the before mentioned, death or drug use and also that it is not possible to return to the past and even if you could it would only be upsetting or devastating as things change over time, you cant just leave it pining.