Higher Critical Reading Poetry 10 Mark Question

Example Essay – using “Hathaway” as the extract

Discuss how Carol Anne Duffy uses the themes of love and relationships in this poem and at least one other to highlight the poem’s main concerns.

Stage 1: introduce poems and their details, identify the commonality between them and elaborate on their themes/central concerns:

Carol Anne Duffy uses the themes of love and relationships in ‘Hathaway’ to explore the central concerns of longing and loss as Hathaway describes the ‘second best bed’ left to her after the death of her husband, Shakespeare, and what this item may have meant to her. (1)

She also uses the theme of relationships in ‘Valentine’ to explore an unromanticised and realistic viewpoint of love by using an onion to represent the antithesis of clichéd love rather than a traditional red rose. (1)

And/ or (note: this will not get you an extra mark at this stage for mentioning another poem’s commonalities and themes, only for analysing it later.)

Duffy also uses love and relationships in ‘Havisham’ to explore heartbreak and the destructive power of love as Havisham has been driven insane after being abandoned by her ex-lover.

Stage 2: Look at the named poem/poem you have been given in exam and identify a feature/idea/technique that helps to explore the commonality/answers the question given:

In ‘Hathaway’ Duffy explores the themes of longing and loss when she writes, “I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head/ As he held me on that next best bed.” The use of the word “casket” has connotations of keeping something precious and valuable forever and is very touching as Hathaway will always cherish the memories of her husband even after he has died. Duffy uses the married life of real historical individualsto explore how the personal memories of married life created during relationships can be all-consuming and incredibly important to those involved, and help to create a bond that even death cannot break. While many saw Shakespeare’s gift as a slight to his wife, Duffy tries to show how the experiences they shared upon that ‘next best bed’ may have been wonderful and were actually an integral part of the secret, intimate married life many couples share.

Do not under any circumstances continue to analyse quotes from the given poem: you will receive 0 marks for this!

Stage 3: Identifyan appropriate technique/idea or feature of language in a different poem whichillustrates the same commonalityeffectively (eg: theme, central relationship, importance of setting, use of imagery, development in characterisation, use of personal experience, use of narrative style) and answers the question.

Note: Make sure that your quotation is appropriate to the question asked and that you are linking back to the question!

In ‘Havisham’ Duffy takes on the persona of Mrs Havisham from Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’ to show how love and relationships can lead to heartbreak, hatred and even madness.Duffy begins the poem with the provocative opening line: “Beloved sweetheart bastard.” By using an oxymoron, Duffy highlights the conflicting feelings of love and hate Havisham feels for her ex-lover. Though he has broken her heart and she names him “bastard”, he in some way is still adored and cherished by her, albeit in an obsessive, unhealthy manner. Duffy uses Havisham’s experience of love and relationships to highlight how love can turn into hatred as the feelings are both extremes of emotion that seems at odds with one another yet can often become inseparable after a relationship has dissolved. (2)

Duffy also uses ‘Havisham’ to bring the readers’ attention to the devastation of heartbreak as she spends “Whole days/in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall”. Her use of the word “cawing” has connotations of the shrieking of crows or other birds which have a harsh, painful cry, suggesting that Havisham has spent days weeping and has lost her voice. Here Duffy draws the readers’ attention to how the awful pain of lost love can lead to a debilitating depression as Havisham can only voice her disbelief and anguish through the long, drawn out moans of “Noooo” to express her pain. Duffy refuses to create an idealized, unrealistic impression of heartbreak as it would be untrue to many peoples’ experience of love and relationships. (2)

Duffy plays further upon the terrible consequences of love as she goes on to describe how Havisham’s heartbreak has driven her to insanity and murderous thoughts: “I stabbed at a wedding cake. /Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.” Here Duffy overturns the traditional, romantic idea of weddings and honeymoons from something dreamy and pleasant into something more dark, sinister and extremely violent through the use of words such as “stabbed” and “corpse”. All Havisham is left with is anger: a rage which shows itself in her violent fantasies where she longs to see her former lover dead. Once again we see how Duffy uses language to subvert our traditional, romanticized views of love and relationships to show us the bitter truth about love: while love may seem eternal, it is also an impermanent, changeable, and often painful emotion. (2)

Please note: this is an extremely basic frame and is only to be used to practise structuring your answer

  1. Introduction: Duffy uses ___(stated commonality)______in ‘__(title)______’ to explore the themes of ______in her poem about__(details on poem)__.
  2. She also uses______in '______' to highlight the themes of______when describing______(repeat if looking at more than one poem)
  3. Look at extract poem first: In ‘_(title)_’ she explores the theme of______when she writes: "_(quote)_". This is effective in exploring/developing/highlighting the theme of ______because the use of imagery/word choice/ sentence structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ symbolism suggests that _(analysis)_. The use of______helps to develop the idea that______because it makes the reader feel/ creates an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of ___(evaluation)_.

Look at a different poem three times:

  1. In ‘______’ she explores the theme of______when she writes: "______". This is effective in exploring/developing/highlighting the theme of ______because the use of imagery/word choice/ sentence structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ symbolism suggests that ______. The use of______helps to develop the idea that______because it makes the reader feel/ creates an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of ______.
  2. In ‘______’ she explores the theme of______when she writes: "______". This is effective in exploring/developing/highlighting the theme of ______because the use of imagery/word choice/ sentence structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ symbolism suggests that ______. The use of______helps to develop the idea that______because it makes the reader feel/ creates an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of ______.
  3. In ‘______’ she explores the theme of______when she writes: "______". This is effective in exploring/developing/highlighting the theme of ______because the use of imagery/word choice/ sentence structure/ line length/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ symbolism suggests that ______. The use of______helps to develop the idea that______because it makes the reader feel/ creates an atmosphere of/touches upon deeper ideas of ______.