Feminine Gospels

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Although the punctuation within the stands varies, one thing to note is simply the length of this poem. In the anthology, only Beautiful and Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High reach similar lengths. This could be to reflect the expanse of information contained in a map. Duffy uses the symbol of a map to represent someone’s whole identity. Therefore, the extensive amount of information given can reflect the intricacy of an individual life. Duffy focuses on those small moments which end up having such a dramatic influence on one’s life. One of Britain's premiere poets here does what she does best, joining wild, surrealistic imagery and pointillist detail to create sharply realized, visionary poems . . . Duffy never settles for mere cleverness. Her poetic technique is sure and subtle.” — Patricia Monaghan, Booklist

Are these poems placed at the end to the book to signal a movement or development? We shall have to wait for the next book to know. For the moment Duffy prefers to wear a tougher face, and to keep her voice jaunty. She moves through the lives she invents with a kind of casual confidence which her characters sometimes briefly share, like the shopaholic who The voice is that of a third person narrator who, it can be assumed, also represents the poet. The tone is didactic, formal and ceremonial, as if instructing listeners and readers. This is reinforced by the questions and the introductory first words of each stanza. A new collection of poems ranging over the experience of women—historical and imagined, real-life and larger than life—from the award-winning author of The World's Wife.Some of Duffy’s references discuss Liverpool, the city in which she was born. Similarly, some road names are taken from Stafford, the city in which Duffy lived for many years. Flowers’ are often used as a stereotypical symbol of fertility and the delicate nature of women. Yet, by connecting with ‘sore’, placing this adjective before ‘flowers’, Duffy removes this archetypical notion of how women should portray themselves, tainting ‘flowers’ with an aching pain ‘sore’. This speaks to the female experience, childbirth is incredibly painful, and the delicate ‘flower’ symbol of women is ridiculous, Duffy transforms the image into something more realistic through the use of this oxymoron.

The poem comprises four free-verse stanzas of uneven length with lines also of uneven length. There is no regular rhyme scheme, although Duffy uses internal consonant and assonant rhyme. There is also no regular metrical rhythm, but the sentences flow smoothly. Lines are frequently enjambed. One of the key themes within Beautiful is Duffy’s exploration of women in history. History is a major theme that Duffy discusses within ‘Feminine Gospels’. This poem uses history to suggest that women have been exploited since the beginning of time, both in fantasy and real life. Duffy exposes the horrors of this exploitation, discussing how it often leads to pain and death. Women are oppressed at the hands of men, both individuals and making up larger forms of society.A dominant technique is the use of asyndeton, lists without conjunctions “and” or “but”. The purpose is to emphasise the power and scope of the Queen, each stanza with a different application, for example, the description of first menstruation and childbirth. The first of the women explored in Beautiful is Helen of Troy. Helen is a character from Greek Mythology, known as the daughter of Zeus and Leda. She is commonly referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world, hence her inclusion in the poem. She became a figure much loved in art and history, with much of literature touching on her story. One technique that Duffy within Sub is a caesura. Caesura, a break or disruption within a line through punctuation, is used frequently within the poem. In doing this, Duffy emphasizes the words that come before and after the pause, adding moments of metrical disruption to pause the rhythm of the lines. One example of this, ‘tampon -‘ uses a caesura to emphasize the presence of the ‘tampon’, the symbol of menstruation, bringing in the feminine element within the masculine atmosphere of the football field. Duffy constantly balances her femininity with the acts she is achieving, doing so despite the patriarchal notions of a woman’s place.

The Long Queen‘ by Carol Ann Duffy elevates the status of women by focusing on one of the most influential rulers in history. Duffy begins by focusing on the principle of marrying ‘Time’ instead of an actual husband, and Elizabeth focuses on ruling successfully instead of marriage and romance. Duffy then moves through the type of people that Queen Elizabeth rules over, focusing on the blinding quality of being a woman, everyone encompassed within her reign. Duffy explores how the Queen’s ‘laws’: supporting all women, dispelling the fear and shame around periods, ensuring that emotions are shown, and safe childbirth. The final stanza suggests that Queen Elizabeth would have given up everything to extend the voice of women, championing females across her ‘time’ and long into the future. The rest of this stanza focuses on the monotony of her game city, Duffy using images of industry. Indeed, ‘railway station’, ’trains’‘operation’ all contain ideas of bleak scenery. Even the trains themselves are personified as ‘sigh[ing] on the platforms’. Duffy presents a grey scene of her home town, the only thing exciting her is ‘pining’ for escape. Be it ‘Glasgow, London, Liverpool’, anything that will allow her to escape from the city she has grown up in. when the law would change . Tears: salt pearls, bright jewels for the Long Queen's fingers to weigh as she counted their sorrow. History is a key theme within Duffy’s Beautiful, and in several of the ‘ Feminine Gospel’ poems. Both within History, The Long Queen, and Sub, Duffy uses history to make her arguments. Although in The Long Queen the woman has lots of power, the other three poems expose how mistreated women are throughout history.

Key features: monosyllabic and harsh consonant sounds, asyndetic listing, declarative sentences, cross-line rhyme, caesure Alongside the innate eroticism of Duffy’s language here, she also presents a note of violence. Monroe is a commodity to be employed, ‘investors’ gold’, Duffy suggesting how people capitalize on her beauty. Indeed, ‘her eyes’ are ‘pressed by a banker’s thumb’, the violent imagery being covered in false ‘sapphires’ and ‘platinum’ to cover up the horrors of her mistreatment. Monroe is manipulated and controlled by those around her, made into a money-making machine instead of treated like a human. The internal rhyme between ‘tattoo’ and ‘map grew’ displays the permanence of her ‘map’ identity. Practically impossible to remove, the ‘tattoo’‘map’ is inescapable for the Map-Woman. She cannot escape her identity, it is permanently etched onto her skin. The internal rhyme is emblematic of this connection, reflecting a sense of togetherness.