1. Tuesday, 15 December 2015

2.  Consider the gender of the poets. The Flea is by a 16 th century male. What was the gender balance at this time? Does this affect the discussion of relationships within the poem?  Valentine is by a woman living in the 20 th /21 st century. What has changed in this time?  On gender, note that the Duffy poem is not gender specific. How might this be used in a discussion of male/female relationships?

3.  The Duffy allows either gender to be speaking (even a potential homosexual relationship) and as such shows a real equality between the genders.  The speaker in the Donne is male. He seems to be using his power both of gender and language to bully (?) the female.  Is his persistent begging a sign of weakness in your opinion?

4.  In the Donne, what is the male seeking? Is this love? Could you describe this as an appetite?  The Duffy seems to be concerned with love as a lasting, tangible emotion.

5.  Try to find examples from the poems to support the points made on the previous two slides. 1 for each is quite sufficient.  Then try to focus on specific points of language or poetic devices to explain your choice of quotation…