THE FEMININE GOSPELS CONNOTATIONS FEMININE GOSPELS THE TITLE

THE FEMININE GOSPELS

• CONNOTATIONS? • ‘FEMININE’? • ‘GOSPELS’? THE TITLE

WHAT ARE ‘THE FEMININE GOSPELS’? • NARRATIVE POEMS WITH A FEMALE PERSPECTIVE. THEY AIM TO REVEAL THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES • THE WORD ‘GOSPEL’ MEANS ‘GOOD NEWS’ BUT THE POEMS DO NOT ENTIRELY(IF AT ALL) FOCUS ON POSITIVE ASPECTS • THE COLLECTION IS DEDICATED TO MEN- A WARNING NOT TO BE LIMITED TO FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES? • DUFFY AIMS TO GIVE A ‘VOICE TO THE VOICELESS’

• ‘THE FEMININE’ ‘FEMALENESS’ & QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH IT • ‘LIFE-GIVING’- EARTH & NATURE AS WELL AS WOMEN • QUALITIES OF ‘HOLDING’ OR ‘RECEIVING’ WHICH PEOPLE CONSIDER ARCHETYPALLY FEMININE • THE MOON (MONTHLY CYCLE) • FEMININE QUALITIES IN PSYCHOANALYSIS (EVERYONE HAS MASCULINE AND FEMININE QUALITIES) • IMAGES OF THE FEMININE E. G, GRACEFUL, KIND, PURE OR VENGEFUL, THREATENING AND JEALOUS

GROUP 1: WOMEN’S BODIES • THE DIET • THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED • THE MAP-WOMAN

BODIES- DISCUSSION • A WOMAN’S BODY MAKES A LOT OF THE DECISIONS IN HER LIFE FOR HER • ALL THE PRODUCTS THAT EXIST FOR WOMEN TO USE ON THEIR BODIES ARE JUST A FORM OF EXPLOITATION • MEN ARE LESS CONCERNED ABOUT WOMEN’S BODIES THAN WOMEN ARE • IF YOU’RE A WOMAN, NATURE WANTS YOU TO REPRODUCE • WOMEN WHO WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT SHOULD STICK TO A DIET WITH DISCIPLINE • MEN MAKE WOMEN WANT TO DIET • THE MEDIA PRESENTS WOMEN’S BODIES AS POSSESSIONS • BECAUSE WOMEN’S BODIES CHANGE MORE, THEY HAVE MORE DECISIONS TO MAKE • MEN FACE JUST AS MUCH PRESSURE TO LOOK ‘GOOD’ AS WOMEN • WOMEN WHO CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN ARE MISSING OUT ON WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE A WOMAN • WOMEN SHOULDN’T BOTHER TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR BODIES. • MEN NEVER GO ON DIETS

DIETING

SOME DEPRESSING DIETING FACTS! • 95% OF PEOPLE PUT ANY WEIGHT THEY LOSE BACK ON • BY THE AGE OF 45, THE AVERAGE WOMAN WILL HAVE BEEN ON 61 DIETS SINCE THE AGE OF 16 • 80% OF 10 YEAR OLD GIRLS HAVE BEEN ON A DIET • 90% OF PEOPLE WITH EATING DISORDERS ARE FEMALE • IN 15 -24 YEAR OLDS, THE DEATH RATE FROM ANOREXIA IS 12 TIMES HIGHER THAN FROM ANY OTHER CAUSE • 95% OF WEIGHTWATCHERS MEMBERS ARE FEMALE

THE DIET • DUFFY PLAYS WITH THE IDEA THAT INSIDE EVERY FAT PERSON THERE IS A THIN ONE WAITING TO GET OUT • CYCLICAL STRUCTURE- SELF-DENIAL CONTRASTED WITH THE DESIRE TO RETURN TO SELF-INDULGENCE • ALLUDES TO ALICE IN WONDERLAND BUT WILL NEVER RETURN TO HER TRUE SELF • COUNTERS THE TRADITIONAL VIEW- ACTUALLY THE ‘REAL’ SELF IS TRAPPED IN THE ANOREXIC BODY • THE WOMAN WHO ONCE ATE EVERYTHING IS LEFT WITH NOTHING TO EAT BUT HERSELF • FAIRY TALE (ALICE) BUT DWINDLING SELF IS VERY REAL FOR PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH BODY IMAGE AND SIZE • SCATOLOGICAL REFERENCES REFLECT SOCIETY’S REVULSION WITH OBESITY AND WITH THE HUMAN BODY • CONFORMING TO SOCIETY’S DEMANDS IN TERMS OF BODY SHAPE, RESULTS IN UNHAPPINESS AND EVEN DEATH

• APHORISTIC- SHORT, TERSE, REFLECTIVE, PHILOSOPHICAL, OBSERVATIONS • BATHETIC- MOVING FROM THE ‘EXALTED’ TO THE ‘MUNDANE’E. G ‘SHE FLOATED INTO THE BARMAN’S EYE’ • ALLUSION- HINTING AT OTHER LITERARY WORKS • PROTAGONIST- MAIN CHARACTER • CONCEIT- FANCIFUL POETIC IMAGE, ESPECIALLY AN ELABORATE OR EXAGGERATED COMPARISON

THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED • WHY DO WE SHOP?

• CUNT= PROSTITUTION/EXPLOITATION • STONE COLD= NOTHING LEFT • WANTED= DESIRE FOR CONSUMERISM • RAN LIKE PAINT IN THE RAIN= SHOPPING BLURS INTO ONE • CONCRETE NOUNS= REINFORCES CONSUMERIST THEME VOCAB IMAGERY

STRUCTURE • 2 HALVES- REL WITH SHOPPING V SHOPPING BECOMES HER. CONSUMERISM CONSUMES YOU • ENJAMBMENT- LISTS OF ITEMS. OVERWHELMING EXPERIENCE THEMES AND IDEAS • GREED- WANTS TO BUY EVERYTHING NONESSENTIAL GOODS • ADDICTION/COMPULSION- WOMAN IS UNABLE(? ) TO STOP. SHOPPING IS A DRUG WHICH KILLS HER

QUESTIONS RAISED • HOW COMMON IS THIS? • AT WHAT POINT (IF ANY? ) DOES THE WOMAN REALISE IT HAS GONE TOO FAR • WHAT HAS MOTIVATED DUFFY TO COMMENT ON THIS? • DO WE NEED SO MUCH STUFF? • WHAT SUPPORT IS THERE FOR PEOPLE IN THIS SITUATION? CONNECTIONS TO ‘THE DIET’ • CRITICISM OF STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES • ENJAMBMENT- LISTS USED TO SHOW OBSESSIONS AND THEIR PROGRESSION • CRITICISES OBSESSIVE SUPERFICIALITY

FORM AND STRUCTURE • STANZAS ARE VERY CONTROLLED SHAPES- WHAT DOES THIS SUGGEST? • AVOIDS FULL STOPS IN FAVOUR OF CAESURA. IN EFFECT, 1 SINGLE SENTENCE • SHORT CLAUSES AND LISTS, LIKE ‘THE DIET’

THE REPULSIVE TRANSFORMATION • FROM THE INITIAL, ‘SIMPLE’ DESIRES GROWN AN OBSCENE, VAPID CREATURE OF CAPITALISM • REPULSIVE TRANSMOGRIFICATION UNTIL THE END FOR DRAMATIC IMPACT • ALLUDES TO OVID’S METAMORPHOSES (TERRIBLE FATES EXACTED ON OVERREACHING, ASPIRING MORTALS) ‘STONE HAIR’ AND BIRDS WHICH ‘SHRIEK’ IN THE SAME WAY CLASSICAL HARPIES DID. IS DUFFY PRESENTING A SIMILAR, PUNISHABLE ‘SIN’ TO THAT OF OFFENDING THE GODS> • IMAGE OF PROSTITUTION- PROTAGONIST WELCOMES AND ANTICIPATES BEING THE VEHICLE OF AN OBSCENE CAPITALIST CEREMONY- THE DESECRATION OF HER OWN BODY. REFERENCE TO PEOPLE QUEUING AT HER ‘CUNT’

• DISCUSS: STARTER • WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT PURPOSES OF MAPS? • HOW ARE MAPS CONNECTED TO A SENSE OF IDENTITY?

THE MAP-WOMAN

OUR BODIES ARE MAPS OF OUR LIVES. THE SCARS WE HAVE, THE HAND THAT IS HELD BY OUR FIRST LOVE, THE EARS THAT STICK OUT AND GET US PICKED ON. MAP YOUR LIFE ON YOUR A 4 BODY. THINK OF KEY PHYSICAL/ EMOTIONAL LANDMARKS AD SYMBOLICALLY MAP YOURSELF! GEOGRAPHERS CAN ADD GEEKY TOPOGRAPHICAL STUFF IF THEY WANT! TASK

THE MAP-WOMAN • TITLE RECALLS THE FEMINIST JEANETTE WINTERSON’S ‘WRITTEN ON THE BODY’ WHICH CONTAINS THE LINE: ‘THE LETTERS FEEL LIKE BRAILLE’ WHICH DUFFY HAS ALSO INCLUDED • LANGUAGE: THE POEM EXPLORES CONNECTIONS BETWEEN IDENTITY AND ENVIRONMENT. IN SCRUBBING TO REMOVE THE IMPRINT AND IN TRYING TO DISGUISING HER SKIN, DUFFY EXPOSES THE IDEA THAT MANY WOMEN MAY NOT DESIRE TO BE FEMALE BUT THAT TRYING TO ESCAPE THIS IS FUTILE. • THE MAP-WOMAN NEEDS TO EVOLVE AND CHANGE (SHEDDING HER SKIN) BUT THIS IS NOT TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL. HER ORIGINAL IDENTITY REASSERTS ITSELF HOWEVER MUCH SHE TRIES TO ESCAPE.

• FORM AND STRUCTURE: • FREE VERSE WITH INTERNAL RHYMES BUT TIGHTLY CONTROLLED (REFLECT THE SENSE OF RESTRICTION EXPERIENCED) • EXTENDED METAPHOR • MAPS ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH A HISTORY OF EXPLORATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT (PATRIARCHAL) AND THEREFORE MAPS COULD SYMBOLISE THE IDEA THAT WOMEN ARE ‘DRAWN’ FROM MALE EXPECTATIONS

GROUP 2: HOW WOMEN RESPOND TO WORLD EVENTS • LOUD • TALL • HISTORY THESE POEMS EXPLORE THE ATTITUDE OF FEMALE CHARACTERS TO SUFFERING AND THE ATTITUDE OF THE WORLD TO THEIR CONCERN

STARTER • DISCUSS THESE STATEMENTS AND THEN RANK ORDER THEM IN TERMS OF THEIR ACCURACY 1= MOST TRUTHFUL, 8= LEAST TRUTHFUL 1) WOMEN ARE MORE AFFECTED BY SUFFERING IN THE NEWS THAN MEN ARE 2) MOST OF THE WOMEN I KNOW THINK THAT POLITICS IS JUST FOR MEN 3) IF WOMEN ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT SUFFERING IN THE WORLD, WHY DON’T MORE OF THEM SPEAK UP? 4) IF A WOMAN WAS PRESIDENT OF THE USA THERE WOULD BE LESS WAR 5) WOMEN DON’T WANT TO JOIN THE ARMY AS MUCH AS MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE OPPOSED TO DEATH AND DESTRUCTION 6) THE REASON WOMEN OFTEN DON’T DISCUSS WHAT GOES ON IN THE NEWS IS THAT IT IS TOO TERRIBLE FOR WORDS 7) WOMEN MIGHT FEEL ISOLATED FROM POLITICS BECAUSE ALL THEY SEE IS OLD, WHITE MEN ARGUING AND LYING ALL THE TIME 8) MANY WOMEN ARE MOTHERS. MAYBE IT IS TOO PAINFUL TO THINK ABOUT PAIN AND SUFFERING WHEN YOU HAVE A BABY.

• MALE MPS OUTNUMBER FEMALE MPS 4 TO 1 • OUT OF A CABINET OF 23, ONLY 4 ARE WOMEN • THE UK IS 57 TH IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN POLITICS

LOUD • WHY INCLUDE THE QUOTATION, TAKEN FROM A GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER REPORT ABOUT THE US BOMBING OF AFGHANISTAN? • WHO DOES SHE BLAME FOR GLOBAL CONFLICT? • STANZA 1: A LITERAL/METAPHORICAL ‘FINDING THEIR VOICE’. LEARNING TO ‘ROAR’ REFLECTING THAT MUCH IS ACHIEVED FROM MILITANCY • THE POEM PRESENTS THE ARGUMENT THAT THE ‘RIGHTEOUS’ RAGE OF AN INDIVIDUAL WOMAN IS, IN FACT, A FORCE OF NATURE- CONSIDER WHAT HER RAMPAGE INVOLVES? • TO BE ‘LOUD’ IS A FEMININE TABOO. DUFFY DESCRIBES A FORCE SHE FEELS TO BE POWERFUL, REAL AND POSSIBLE

TALL

• TALL ‘GROWING’ AS A WOMAN- AGAIN THEME OF TRANSFORMATION IS TAKEN TO THE EXTREME • CRUCIALLY, SHE ‘OUTGROWS’ HER ENVIRONMENT WHILST STILL FEELING CONNECTED TO IT. • RELIGIOUS OVERTONES- FORGIVENESS AND DELIVERANCE ARE FEMININE QUALITIES? GOD IS FLAWED AND LONELY? DUFFY, THE POET, MUST DESCRIBE THE HUMAN CONDITION FROM A DISTANCE? • A REFLECTION ON A POETIC CAREER? ‘NEEDED A TURRET’ REFLECTING THE NEED FOR PRIVACY? • POET’S PERSPECTIVE EXPLORED- NUMEROUS VANTAGE POINTS ARE PRESENTED. PROMOTES A WILLINGNESS TO ‘SAVE’ THE WORLD SHE ORIGINATES FROM? ENCOURAGING RESPONSIBILITY?

HISTORY • RHYTHM FLUCTUATES BETWEEN IAMBIC AND DACTYLIC, OFTEN WITH A PAIR OF SPONDEES USED TO EMPHASISE A SHORT PHRASE. EFFECT= ? • LOOKS OUTWARD AT HISTORY AS A WHOLE RATHER THAN FEMININE HISTORIES (SUCH AS THE LONG QUEEN) • PROTAGONIST SEEMS EVERYDAY. DUFFY EFFECTIVELY ARGUING THAT HISTORY IS SOMETHING WE MEET DAILY • SHE WAS HISTORY (PAST TENSE- LIFE OVER? ) • PROTAGONIST IS HISTORY PERSONIFIED. FEMININE HISTORY IS ‘DEAD’ AND FEMALE PERSPECTIVE ON HISTORY IS NOT RECORDED. ORDINARY FEMALES CONNECTED TO THE VIRGIN MARY THROUGH TORMENT, TORTURE AND LACK OF VOICE

THE VIRGIN’S MEMO • THE VOICE OF MARY • IN THE POEM SHE WRITES A ‘MEMO’ TO THE YOUTHFUL JESUS • THE JESUS SHE SPEAKS TO IS A WORRY. HIS CREATIVE WORK APPEARS TO FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVE QUALITIES IN CREATION. • A MESSAGE FROM HIS MOTHER, HOPING HE WILL MAKE THE BETTER PLACE OR AN ATTACK ON THE VOICELESS NATURE OF MARY IN HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS?

• CONNOTATIONS OF HISTORICAL WRITINGS WHICH ARE NOW UNINTELLIGIBLE • WOMEN’S ADVICE IS OFTEN NOT UNDERSTOOD • ILLITERATE= VOICELESS • BIBLICAL TRANSLATIONS: ARABIC-GREEK-LATIN-GERMANENGLISH

WHITE WRITING • WHITE INK IS AN IMPORTANT FEMINIST TEXT BY HELENE CIXOUS. THE TITLE REFERS TO WOMEN WRITING IN ‘WHITE’ IMPLYING THEY ARE INVISIBLE. • A PARADOX- THE WRITING IS BLACK AND WE CAN READ IT. WHAT IS DUFFY SAYING ABOUT HER WRITING (AND THE WRITING OF OTHER WOMEN) • IRONY OF WRITING IN BLACK- IS DUFFY POINTING US TO WHAT IS NOT WRITTEN ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP? IS SHE HIGHLIGHTING WHAT SHE FEELS TO BE IMPORTANT/INSIGNIFICANT? • EPHEMERAL IMAGERY- REFLECTS THAT LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS HAVE NO TRADITIONAL PLACE IN SOCIETY. IT LEAVES LESS OF A TRACE BEHIND IT AND WON’T BE WRITTEN

A DREAMING WEEK • PARALIPSIS OR LITOTES- IN DENYING SOMETHING YOU INVOKE THE REALITY OF IT. • THE ‘WEEK’ IS SYMBOLIC OF A LIFE • THE POWER OF IMAGINATION • DUFFY DENIES SHE IS CREATING POETRY…BUT SHE IS! OH THE TRICKY TRICKSTER

BEAUTIFUL WHAT IS BEAUTY? IS IT ON THE INSIDE? NATURE? A PRETTY FACE? A ROCKING BODY? “That’s what makes you beautifullllll!”

BEAUTIFUL THE LIVES OF FOUR FAMOUS, BEAUTIFUL WOMEN ARE REFLECTED UPON IN SUCH A WAY AS TO FOCUS UPON THE FACT THAT BEING BEAUTIFUL CAN OFTEN BE FATAL- NOT JUST TO THOSE CAPTIVATED BY IT BUT TO THOSE WHO POSSESS IT

HELEN OF TROY • HELEN WAS BORN FROM AN EGG PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THE RAPE OF LEDA BY ZEUS. • WHEN PARIS ABDUCTED HER, HER HUSBAND MANELAUS LAUNCHED A THOUSAND SHIPS & SAILED TO TROY TO BRING HER BACK. • AS A PRINCESS WITH A COMMON TOUCH SHE LINKS TO PRINCESS DIANA (THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS)

• QUEEN OF EGYPT CLEOPATRA • INFLUENTIAL, SEXUAL, POWERFUL • HAD A CHILD WITH JULIUS CAESAR • THE ROMAN LEADER MARK ANTONY BECAME HER LOVER • IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY (AS IN REAL LIFE), ANTONY BELIEVES HER TO BE DEAD AND KILLS HIMSELF. WHEN SHE FINDS THIS OUT SHE KILLS HERSELF

• MARILYN MONROE A DIFFICULT EARLY LIFE • MULTIPLE MARRIAGES AND AFFAIRS • MARRIED TO FAMOUS BASEBALL PLAYER JOE DIMAGGIO • MARRIED TO ARTHUR MILLER THE PLAYWRIGHT • BECAME DEPENDENT ON DRUGS/ALCOHOL • HINTS OF AN AFFAIR WITH JFK • IRONIC TRUTH THAT HOLLYWOOD BOTH KILLED AND IMMORTALISED HER

PRINCESS DIANA • IMAGES OF HER LIFE MIRRORED IN DEATH. E. G SHE WAS ‘ELEGANT’ BUT BECAME ‘ELEGANT BONE’ • ‘BEAUTIFULLY PALE’- CONNOTATIONS OF THE MOON AND THE ROMAN GODDESS DIANA (GODDESS OF THE HUNT- EARL SPENCER SPOKE OF THIS IRONY AT HER FUNERAL) • LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESS • IN DEATH, LINKED TO MARILYN- ‘CANDLE IN THE WIND’ • DUFFY HIGHLIGHTS THE HYPOCRISY OF THOSE GRIEVING HER DEATH

STRUCTURE: • FREE VERSE WITH INCLUSION OF TETRAMETER AND TRIMETER WITH EXTENDED LINES. NO PENTAMETER. CONSIDER WHICH LINES ARE TETRAMETER/TRIMETER AND HOW THIS MAY CONNECT WOMEN/ELEMENTS OF WOMEN. • LINE LENGTH REDUCES TOWARDS THE BLEAK ENDING, INCREASING THE IMPACT OF DIANA’S EXPERIENCES TRADITIONS: • DUFFY ADOPTS A PUNCHY, MASCULINE VERNACULAR WHICH BELONGS TO A FEMINIST TRADITION WHICH SEEKS TO EXPLORE A PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY’S REFLECTION ON WOMEN. THIS ‘TOUGH-GUY VERNACULAR’ ORIGINATES IN THE POETRY OF SYLVIA PLATH AND, MORE RECENTLY, ANNE SEXTON

QUESTIONS • IS BEAUTY MORE A HINDRANCE THAN A HELP? • WHAT IS DUFFY CRITICISING IN THIS POEM?

WOMEN AND HISTORY Women have achieved less fame throughout history because they are less outgoing. POEMS IN THIS CATEGORY: • BEAUTIFUL • THE LONG QUEEN • HISTORY Real history is the history no one shows us Lack of education/literacy has prevented women’s voices from being heard Women who are famous for being beautiful deserve the attention and intrusion they get • SUB Famous women manipulate people and their own image as much as men Men are more successful in the public sphere and women are more successful in the private sphere

THE LONG QUEEN • PRESENTS A PATRON SAINT OF WOMEN, OR A GODDESS THROUGH THE AMALGAM OF QUEEN VICTORIA OR QUEEN ELIZABETH I • LIFE CYCLE PRESENTED IN THE FOUR ASSERTIONS/ LAWS: CHILDHOOD, BLOOD, TEARS, CHILDBIRTH • SUMMATIVE AND SYNCRETIC LANGUAGE SUB • THE SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS THE CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN A) MALE -DOMINATED SOCIETY B) MOTHERHOOD NOT REGARDED AS AN ACHIEVEMENT C) WOMEN ARE EXPECTED TO DO THE SAME THINGS AS MEN BUT WITH ADDED DIFFICULTIES (E. G PERIODS!) D) ISOLATION WHEN ENTERING MASCULINE CULTURES.

MOTHERHOOD AND CHILDREN • THE LIGHT-GATHERER • THE CORD • WORK

MOTHERHOOD • IS MOTHERHOOD THE GREATEST THING A WOMAN CAN ASPIRE TO? • SHOULD ALL WOMEN HAVE CHILDREN? • WHY ARE MOTHERHOOD AND FATHERHOOD VIEWED DIFFERENTLY?

WORK • WOMEN AS MUCH RESPONSIBLE FOR GLOBAL CAPITALISM AS VICTIMS OF IT. MOTHERHOOD BOTH NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE ELEMENTS. SYNCRETIC ENDING (FUSION OF DIFFERING IDEOLOGIES/BELIEFS) • TRANSITION FROM HYPERBOLIC FAIRY TALE OF ONE WOMAN’S EFFORTS TO SUPPORT AN EVER-GROWING FAMILY INTO A MEDITATION ON MOTHERHOOD AND THE IMPACT OF A GROWING POPULATION • JUXTAPOSES THE ARCHETYPAL ‘NURTURING’ MOTHER ROLE WITH DANGERS OF POPULATION GROWTH • RHYME AND RAPID LISTING REFLECTS THE MOMENTUM OF SPEECH AND REFLECTS THE SPEED OF POPULATION GROWTH • PAST-TENSE VERBS MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IT IS THE WOMAN’S RESPONSIBILITY BUT THEN DUFFY PARADOXICALLY ABSOLVES THE WOMAN OF GUILT BY SAYING SHE IS ‘OBLIGED’ TO. • RHYMED ENJAMBMENT CREATES INCREMENTAL PACE, MOVING TO THE FRANTIC, CATASTROPHIC ENDING

GAMBLE R • HYPERION’S TIPS REFERS TO A MYTHOLOGICAL TITAN FROM AN UNFINISHED NARRATIVE POEM BY JOHN KEATS. HYPERION IS ASSOCIATED WITH CREATIVITY AND POETRY. HYPERION’S TIPS COULD REFER TO ADVICE ON WRITING POETRY • DUFFY MERGES IMAGES OF POETRY WITH BETTING (‘TIPS’) TO SHOW THAT WRITING POETRY IS A GAMBLE • EXTENDED JOKE THAT INSTEAD OF STUDYING THE ‘FORM’ OF HORSES, SHE IS STUDYING THE FORM OF POETRY. HILARIOUS. • IS DUFFY SAYING THAT PRIOR PERFORMANCE AND TRADITION IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE THINK • A POETIC MANIFESTO (CHECK YOUR NOTES)

ELEGIES DUFFY CONCLUDES THE COLLECTION WITH A NUMBER OF ELEGIES ARE SAD, MOURNFUL PIECES OF WRITING WHICH COMMEMORATE OR EXPRESS REGRET FOR SOMETHING LOST (ESP USED WHEN PEOPLE DIE) ELEGIES ARE A FORM OF REMEMBRANCE AND GIVE ‘LIFE’ TO THE PERSON WHO HAS DIED. THIS IS A TRADITION EXPLORED BY WRITERS SUCH AS SHAKESPEARE IN HIS SONNETS

• WISH ELEGIES • NORTH-WEST • DEATH AND THE MOON

TASKS • FEMINISM STATES THAT THE “PERSONAL IS POLITICAL”. TO WHAT EXTENT IS THIS TRUE OF DUFFY’S ELEGIES?

AO 1 THE EXAM AO 2 Terminology Accurate, coherent expression A grade Sophisticated, mature writing Appropriate terminology Analysis of: • Imagery • Techniques • Structure AO 3 Comparison Connections Explore how writers use Illuminating debate; specific aspects of alternative interpretations form/structure/ language & original links for specific effects Sophisticated means: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. High levels of accuracy. Use of mature vocabulary A sense of purpose (beginning, middle, end) Clear connections between ideas Increasingly ambitious evaluative/analytical phrases

Type 2: Debate a statement Type 1: Discuss one poem in relation to the collection

HOW TO CHOOSE POEMS Women’s Bodies: The Diet The Woman Who Shopped The Map-Woman Women’s Voices: Anon The Virgin’s Memo White Writing A Dreaming Week Loud Gambler Motherhood: The Light-Gatherer The Cord Work Transformation: Tall Loud History Thematically Biography: Wish Death & The Moon North-West Women’s History: The Long Queen Beautiful Sub History The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ Hight

• WHAT YOU MUST INCLUDE: ANALYSIS OF POETIC DEVICES (AT LEAST 1 -2 PER POEM) • COMPARISON • EXPLORATION OF THE POETIC FORM. THINK: LINE LENGTH, RHYMES, GENRE CONVENTIONS • CONSIDERATION OF STRUCTURE- YOU MAY WANT TO THINK OF THE ORGANISATION OF STANZAS/THEMES OR EVEN THE COLLECTION ITSELF • DUFFY’S PURPOSE(S) AND METHODS • EVALUATION • DISCUSSION OF THE PRINCIPLES/POLITICS DUFFY IS TRYING TO PRESENT

CHOOSE ONE OF THESE TITLES TO ANSWER IN FULL (POEMS IN BRACKETS ARE SUGGESTIONS ONLY!) • ‘FEMININE GOSPELS PRESENTS SUFFERING AS A KEY ELEMENT OF FEMALE EXPERIENCE. ’ DISCUSS. (HISTORY, TALL, LOUD, THE DIET) • ‘EACH OF OUR AGES HAS ITS OWN IDEA OF BEAUTY, ITS OWN SYMBOLIC WOMAN. ’ IS FEMININE GOSPELS TRYING TO PRESENT WOMEN WHO REPRESENT ALL WOMEN? (THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED, BEAUTIFUL, WORK) • DUFFY’S POETRY IN FEMININE GOSPELS PRESENTS WOMEN AS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. DISCUSS. (‘THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED, THE DIET, WORK)

HOW TO ‘STUDY’ A POEM • DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS ABOUT MEANING • READ IT MANY TIMES (INCLUDING ALOUD) • WHAT IS THE TONE OF VOICE/MOOD? • IS THERE AN ARGUMENT/DEBATE? • IS IT DESCRIPTIVE? • IS THE VOICE THE POET’S OWN OR IS IT A PERSONA? • WHICH WORDS STAND OUT AND WHY? • WHICH ELEMENTS ARE USED? CONSIDER: ALLITERATION, ASSONANCE, RHYME, RHYTHM, METAPHOR • DO THE IMAGES SUGGEST OR SYMBOLISE ANYTHING? • ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT ABOUT ARRANGEMENT OF LINES? • DO NOT CONSIDER THE POEM IN ISOLATION. HOW CAN YOU COMPARE/CONTRAST IT WITH OTHER WORK BY THE POET? • WHAT IS THE POEM ABOUT? • SUPPORT IDEAS WITH QUOTATIONS AND EXPLORE LANGUAGE, STRUCTURE AND FORM

HOW YOU ARE ASSESSED

WEIGHTINGS

UNPICKING THE QUESTIONS

INTRODUCTION: SETTING OUT YOUR STALL • IN YOUR INTRODUCTION, SET UP DEBATE BY ENGAGING WITH THE QUESTION. STATE TO WHAT EXTENT YOU AGREE WITH THE ASSERTION AND, IF YOU DISAGREE, BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHY. DON’T SAY ‘IN THIS ESSAY I WILL LOOK AT…’ AND LET THE REST OF YOUR ESSAY DO THE TALKING

Analyse Evaluate Debate Exhibits noteworthy Perhaps, possibly, potentially Exposes substantial conversely Presents weighty feasibly Reveals focal conceivably displays central paradoxically Connectives to DEVELOP ideas ‘Concluding’ sentence starters Avoiding the ‘I think’ Furthermore Ultimately, it is evident One could consider. . Moreover In conclusion, one can infer A reader senses that. . additionally In summation, I consider My reflection on this. . Likewise In closing, A clear consideration is. . Consequently With reference, then, to my initial Readers may deliberate postulation that. .

PLANNING “DUFFY’S TALENT IN FEMININE GOSPELS IS TO SHOW US CLEARLY WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST” HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW? INTRO: 1 2 3 4 5 CONCLUSION

PLANNING “DUFFY’S TALENT IN FEMININE GOSPELS IS TO SHOW US CLEARLY WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST” HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW? INTRO: TO A SLIGHT DEGREE (STEREOTYPICAL WANTS) BEAUTY, CLOTHES, THINNER BODIES WHICH COME AT A COST. HOWEVER, ALSO SHOWS THE ‘WANTS’ OF SOME WOMEN, NOT ALL: (MOTHERHOOD, HOMOSEXUAL LOVE) 1: BEAUTIFUL: ASPIRATIONAL, FAMOUS WOMEN BUT CONSEQUENCES 2: THE WOMAN WHO SHOPPED (ENJAMBMENT, METAPHOR) 3: THE DIET: (APHORISTIC, BATHETIC, ALLUSION) 4: THE CORD (MOTHERHOOD- PERSONALLY REWARDING. DUFFY NOT NECESSARILY SAYING ALL WOMEN WANT THIS 5: WHITE WRITING: AS ABOVE. DEBATE WITH THE QUESTION. DON’T AGREE. CONCLUSION: DUFFY HIGHLIGHTS WHAT SOME WOMEN WANT, BUT IN THE DIVERSE RANGE OF FEMALE EXPERIENCES SHE DRAWS ON, SHE HIGHLIGHTS THERE IS NO ONE OR TWO THINGS WOMEN WANT.

PLANNING “DUFFY’S TALENT IN FEMININE GOSPELS IS TO SHOW US CLEARLY WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST” HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW? INTRO: TO AN EXTENT. DUFFY IS SHOWING THAT WOMEN WANT MOST IS EQUALITY AND A ‘VOICE’ WHICH HAS BEEN DENIED THEM FOR MANY YEARS AS EXEMPLIFIED IN POEMS SUCH AS SUB, TALL, LOUD, HISTORY AND ‘THE VIRGIN’S MEMO’. 1: SUB: EXPLORES A RANGE OF ROLES DENIED WOMEN. RE-WRITES HISTORY WITH WOMEN IN FAMOUS POSITIONS- WOMEN WANT OPPORTUNITY AND RECOGNITION 2: TALL: TRANSFORMATION TO THE EXTREME. METAPHOR OF GROWTH BUT MAYBE LESS ABOUT ALL WOMEN AND MORE ABOUT DUFFY’S POETIC PERSPECTIVE. MORE REFLECTIVE 3: LOUD: TO BE LOUD IS A FEMALE TABOO BUT DO ALL WOMEN WANT TO BE HEARD? 4: HISTORY: PERSONIFICATION. WOMAN IS HISTORY 5. THE VIRGIN’S MEMO: LISTING, INTELLIGIBLE/ILLITERATE WRITING REFLECTS VOICELESSNESS BUT MARY DID WANT TO BE HEARD CONCLUSION: THE NATURE OF THIS COLLECTION MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GENERALISE WHAT WOMEN WANT MOST; DUFFY REFLECTS THAT THERE ARE COMPLEX HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON WOMEN AND THAT THERE IS NO SINGLE DEFINITION.

PLANNING LOOK AGAIN AT THE POEM ‘THE VIRGIN’S MEMO’. HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THIS POEM IS OF CENTRAL IMPORTANCE TO THE COLLECTION? INTRO: TO A DEGREE. CHOICE OF MARY- ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST FAMOUS YET UNKNOWN WOMEN IS GIVEN A VOICE. AS THE MOTHER OF JESUS SHE HAS HUGE SIGNIFICANCE. POSITIONED CENTRALLY IN THE COLLECTION- SYMBOLICALLY AT THE CORE OF ALL FEMALE EXPERIENCES. BUT IN AN INCREASINGLY SECULAR SOCIETY IS SHE STILL SO SIGNIFICANT? PERHAPS EXPERIENCES OF MOTHERHOOD, HISTORY AND WOMEN’S RESPONSE TO THE WORLD AROUND THEM ARE EXPLORED MORE POWERFULLY IN OTHER POEM’S WITHIN THE COLLECTION 1: ‘ILLEGIBLE’ AND ‘UNTRANSLATABLE’- VOICELESSNESS/WOMEN FORGOTTEN IN HISTORY IS A CENTRAL THEME. ALSO SEEN IN ‘ANON’ WHICH IS NEXT TO ‘MEMO’ IN THE COLLECTION 2: LOGICAL, ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF WORLD’S ILLS. (MALE? ) CREATION PRODUCED MANY NEGATIVES. JUXTAPOSED WITH POSITIVE CREATION (MOTHERHOOD) IN ‘LIGHT GATHERER’ 3: ‘MEMO’ IRONIC IN THIS ‘GOSPEL’ OF FEMALE TRUTH. SIGNIFICANT CONNECTION BETWEEN MARY AND ‘FEMININE GOSPELS’ 4: TOO FOCUSED ON MOTHERHOOD- ONLY ONE ROLE? LESS OF A CONTEMPORARY CONCERN THAN ‘THE DIET’ 5: ‘MEMO’ FOCUSES ON AN IGNORED FEMALE HISTORY. POSSIBLY THIS IS LESS CENTRAL THAN DUFFY’S FOCUS ON WOMEN’S INCREASINGLY VOCAL STANCE TO THE WORLD AROUND- ‘LOUD’ CONCLUSION: TO AN EXTENT THIS POEM IS THE ESSENCE OF THE COLLECTION AS IT FOCUSES ON A FAMOUS WOMAN WHO HISTORY HAS MARGINALISED. HER ROLE AS A MOTHER IS REDUCED AND REDEFINED AND DUFFY LIBERATES AND GIVES HUMANITY TO HER. SAYING THIS, MODERN READERS MAY FIND THIS FOCUS INCREASINGLY IRRELEVANT AND FIND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES SUCH AS APPEARANCE, SEXUALITY AND THE WAY IN WHICH WOMEN RESPOND TO THE WORLD AROUND THEM MORE SIGNIFICANT

E. g Paragraph: Duffy uses a listing structure in the poem ‘The Virgin’s Memo’ to convey a woman’s representation of creation and their value in society. “Maybe not rats son” The uncertainty in the language shows a hesitancy suggesting the lack of power held by women, not only in potentially the modern day, but throughout history. It also plays on existing stereotypes as the Virgin Mary’s requests for items such as rats, snakes and spiders to be eliminated from the world has patently been ignored. Her one positive, the ‘unicorn’, does not exist. The fact that Jesus ‘ignored’ his mother’s requests convey the idea that woman are not valued or listened to. The long list and use of the phrase “son” gives the impression that the list is continuous and boring and seems like a list of chores set by a mother. The reader is overwhelmed by the negativity and ugly nature of the language and ideas used and leads them to link this to society itself in the way that women are treated.