Feminine Gospels

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Carol Ann Duffy is also an acclaimed playwright, and has had plays performed at the Liverpool Playhouse and the Almeida Theatre in London. Her plays include Take My Husband (1982), Cavern of Dreams (1984), Little Women, Big Boys (1986) and Loss (1986), a radio play. She received an Eric Gregory Award in 1984 and a Cholmondeley Award in 1992 from the Society of Authors, the Dylan Thomas Award from the Poetry Society in 1989 and a Lannan Literary Award from the Lannan Foundation (USA) in 1995. She was awarded an OBE in 1995, a CBE in 2001 and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999. Duffy’s themes include language and the representation of reality; the construction of the self; gender issues; contemporary culture; and many different forms of alienation, oppression and social inequality. She writes in everyday, conversational language, making her poems appear deceptively simple. With this demotic style she creates contemporary versions of traditional poetic forms - she makes frequent use of the dramatic monologue in her exploration of different voices and different identities, and she also uses the sonnet form. Duffy is both serious and humorous, often writing in a mischievous, playful style - in particular, she plays with words as she explores the way in which meaning and reality are constructed through language. In this, her work has been linked to postmodernism and poststructuralism, but this is a thematic influence rather than a stylistic one: consequently, there is an interesting contrast between the postmodern content and the conservative forms.

a b "Prof Carol Ann Duffy". Manchester Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013 . Retrieved 2 November 2009. Firstly, Duffy begins this section with a premonition by the end, ‘dead’. The caesura following this word adds emphasis, creating an unsettling moment of pause. Diana, apart from her fantastic activism and philanthropy, is also known for how badly she was treated by the press. Her death came in a car crash while fleeing from the press, perhaps signaling ‘dead’ as her final resting state. She also writes picture books for children, and these include Underwater Farmyard (2002); Doris the Giant (2004); Moon Zoo (2005); The Tear Thief (2007); and The Princess's Blankets (2009).There is a great deal of male lust in these stanzas, with everyone wanting to be with her. The use of caesura around ‘line, sighed,’ signals the desperation of the men that follow her. Helen’s beauty captures these people in a spell, then all want to follow her ‘till death’. Although Helen has a great deal of power, it is all based on her beauty, the overwhelming ‘every man’ following her being an incredibly daunting image. It is hard not to find that assumption of freedom heady. Even if, in this particular poem, the character is hardly given Duffy's approval, that readiness to move on is intoxicating. It teaches an odd, contemporary post-feminist courage; and perhaps that is the source of Duffy's huge popularity. Duffy begins this stanza by focusing on the longevity of Cleopatra’s reign, ‘She never aged’. Once again Duffy begins a section by focusing on the female pronoun, ‘she’. Yet, the focus on ‘aged’ could link to the notion that women’s beauty fades as they age. Duffy could be retaliating against this idea, demonstrating how Cleopatra ‘never’ changed during her life. Duffy’s more disturbing poems also include those such as ‘Education for Leisure’ ( Standing Female Nude) and ‘Psychopath’ ( Selling Manhattan) which are written in the voices of society’s dropouts, outsiders and villains. She gives us insight into such disturbed minds, and into the society that has let them down, without in any way condoning their wrongdoings: ‘Today I am going to kill something. Anything. / I have had enough of being ignored […]’ (‘Education for Leisure’). Semantic fields of beauty and sexuality, along with wealth and the juxtaposition of modern and traditional

a b c d e f g Forbes, Peter (31 August 2002). "Winning Lines". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Themes: loss of control, loss of identity, suffering, society pressure altering women to fit into stereotypes Upon deciding on a man to be with, Helen ‘fled’. Again, Duffy uses caesura to emphasize this word. The use of ‘fled’ plays into the semantics of hunter and prey, with Helen being reduced to a fleeing animal. The reaction to this escape inspires ‘War’, the grave impact of her beauty leading to total chaos. Helen is followed and prosecuted only for her beauty. Duffy uses The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High to explore the power of female voices. There is also a deep sense of community, grounded within the title school ‘Stafford Girls’. The girls use their laughter to lift each other up, laughter spreading across the school. Eventually, this laughter allows the teachers to liberate themselves from their own lives. Women allow women to rise up and achieve what they have always wanted to do. This poem represents how a community of women can turn the tide of society. Duffy’s poem can also be understood as a metaphor for second-wave feminism. Both community and the female voice are at the heart of this poem.

One could argue there is a slight reference to Desdemona from Othello, ‘a handkerchief she’d dropped once’. This reference bears relevance as Desdemona is murdered by Othello due to his male rage, unable to believe his loyal wife.

Finally, Duffy discusses the Princess of Wales, Diana. Lady Di was known as the “People’s Princess”, is a much-loved figure in the U.K. In 1981 she engaged Prince Charles and married later that year. After the couple’s separation in 1992, the media sought details of their marital difficulties. Diana was viciously hunted by the media, eventually dying in a car crash while fleeing the paparazzi in 1997. Her funeral was televised and brought in 32.10 million viewers in the U.K., with millions more watching around the world. The triple reception of ‘loved’ signals the happiness that Helen experiences. Now away from her perusers, she is able to experience the happiness of love. Yet, the men still follow her, wanting to contain her beauty from themselves.

Preston, John (11 May 2010). "Carol Ann Duffy interview". Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 16 February 2018– via www.telegraph.co.uk. Litotes: each stanza starts with a measure of time, 'not tonight', majority of which reference the future