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Monday 15 th November Title: Starting Literature. What has happened to this old lady? What is her story?. GCSE Literature Poems Learning Objectives: To read and understand the basic themes and poetic techniques in Carol Anne Duffy’s poem Havisham .
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Monday 15th November Title: Starting Literature What has happened to this old lady? What is her story?
GCSE Literature Poems • Learning Objectives: • To read and understand the basic themes and poetic techniques in Carol Anne Duffy’s poem Havisham. • 2. To be begin to understand the basic principles of feminist literary theory. • Lesson Outcomes: • For everyone to have read and understood the basic themes of the poem • For everyone to have made some rudimentary annotations • For most people to understand the basics of feminist theory
As we read the poem think about the following questions: Who is speaking in the poem? Who is the speaker speaking to? Why are her eyes ‘hard pebbles’? How might you best describe her mental state?
Who is Havisham? • Miss Havisham is character from Charles Dickens “Great Expectations” • She was jilted at the altar in the book • This poem is an outpouring of her bitterness and resentment • Why do you think Duffy dropped the Miss?
Havisham • Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since thenI haven't wished him dead. Prayed for itso hard I've dark green pebbles for eyes,ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. • Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole daysin bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dressyellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe;the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this • to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words.Some nights better, the lost body over me,my fluent tongue in its mouth in its earthen down till suddenly bite awake. Love's • hate behind a white veil; a red balloon burstingin my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding cake.Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.Don't think it's only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.
Oxymoron Expressing her violent emotions Metaphor Reference to age, but not having lived Her Victorian label, suggesting she will never marry Reference to the wedding dress and to her own sense of decay Onomatopoeia Bird imagery Red is a passionate colour Enjambment links stanzas 2/3 3/4 The reflection shows a devastated state So emotional she emits only sound Sexual fantasy Oxymoron Violent & disturbing images Her language echoes her pain Havisham Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since thenI haven't wished him dead. Prayed for itso hard I've dark green pebbles for eyes,ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole daysin bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dressyellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe;the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words.Some nights better, the lost body over me,my fluent tongue in its mouth in its earthen down till suddenly bite awake. Love's hate behind a white veil; a red balloon burstingin my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding cake.Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.Don't think it's only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.
Meaning • what is the poem about? • who is the speaker? - are they dramatized (a character) • who is being spoken to or addressed? • what is being spoken about? • Theme(s) of the poem - what is it really about? • Setting/culture- where’s the poem set? Culture it is from/about? • where does the poem “get to” from start to end? MITSLMeaning, Imagery, Tone, Structure, Language (My Itchy Toes Smell Loads) Always link everything to meaning. Ask yourself how does this contributes to the meaning? Why has the poet used this technique? • Tone • How would the poem be spoken? (angry, sad, nostalgic, bitter, humorous etc) • Structure • Rhyme - is there a rhyme scheme? Couplets? Internal rhyme? • Rhythm - how many syllables per line? Is it regular or free verse? Why are some different lengths? • Stanzas - How many? How do they change? Is there a narrative? • Lines - how many are their in each verse? Do some stand out? • Enjambment - do the lines “run on” to the next line or stanza? • End stopping - does each line finish at the end of a sentence? • Form - does the poem have a shape to it? • Language • What kinds of words are used? • Puns- a pun is a play on words - “Shear Class!” if Shearer scores. • Connotation - associations that words have (as "stallion" connotes a certain kind of horse with certain sorts of uses)? • Double meanings - “butts in” - putting bottoms in or interrupting. • Ambiguity - is the word or phrase deliberately unclear? Could it mean opposite things or many different things?. • Word order- are the words in an unusual order – why? • Adjectives - what are the key describing words? • Key words and phrases - do any of the words or phrases stand out? Do they shock? Are the words “violent” or “sad” etc? • Slang or unusual words and misspellings - Does the poet use slang or informal language? Are American words used? • Intertextuality - does the poem reference another text? • Style - does the poet copy another style? (Newspaper, play etc) • Characters - if there are characters how do they speak? • Imagery • Alliteration- the repeating of initial sounds. • Assonance- is the term used for the repetition of vowel sounds within consecutive words as in, 'rags of green weed hung down...'. • Metaphor - comparing two things by saying one is the other. • Simile - comparing two things saying one is like or as the other. • Personification - giving something non-human human qualities. • Onomatopoeia - words that sound like the thing they describe. • Repetition - does the poet repeat words or phrases?
Questions to consider • Why does the poet omit Miss Havisham's title and refer to her by her surname only? • Why does the poet write ‘spinster’ on its own? What does Miss Havisham think about this word and its relevance to her? • What is the effect of “Nooooo” and “b-b-breaks”? Why are these words written in this way? • What is the meaning of the image of ‘a red balloon bursting? • Does Miss Havisham have a fair view of men? • What do you think of her view of being an unmarried woman?
Perhaps the most important part of the poem is the question ‘who did this/to me?’ • How far does the poem show that Miss Havisham is responsible for her own misery, and how far does it support her feelings of self-pity and her desire for revenge?
Consider the way Carol Ann Duffy presents the speaker of the poem.
Sample introduction to your answer • In the poem ‘Havisham’ Carol Ann Duffy presents Miss Havisham as bitter and twisted through her use of language. She shows her as wanting revenge on her finance who left her on her wedding day. However Miss Havisham also seems confused at times.
