‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Ann Duffy

1. ‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Ann Duffy Starter: • The poem is written from the point of view of a character. What is this type of poem called? dramatic monologue • Who was Anne Hathaway, the speaker of the poem? Shakespeare’s wife

2. ‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Ann Duffy Starter: • What item did her husband leave her in his will and why? The second best bed, because it is a symbol of his love and devotion to her • What form is the poem written in? A sonnet • How many lines are in a sonnet? 14

3. ‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Ann Duffy • We are going to explore Duffy’s choice of form and metaphors in ‘Anne Hathaway’ We will read through the poem again first.

4. ‘Anne Hathaway’ The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover's words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses5 on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he'd written me, the bed a page beneath his writer's hands. Romance10 and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love - I hold him in the casket of my widow's head as he held me upon that next best bed.

5. Form sonnets • Shakespeare was known for writing plays and poems called _________. • These have _____ lines. • They are usually about ______. • The first twelve lines are divided into three __________ with four lines each. • The last two lines are the ________. 14 love quatrains couplet

6. Form a theme or problem 6. The first 12 lines establish ____________________ 7. The last two lines offer a ____________ 8. The rhyme scheme is usually: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ resolution g g a b b a e f e f c d c d

7. Form softer 9. Duffy’s sonnet has a _______ rhyme scheme than Shakespearian sonnets. 10. She uses a lot of ___________ and ___________ designed to imitate the random touching made during love making. 11. Why do you think Duffy chose to use the sonnet form for this poem? assonance alliteration

8. Metaphors in the poem Metaphors describe one thing as if it were something else. What metaphor is used to describe the following: Extension: Can you find any other metaphors in the poem?

9. ‘Anne Hathaway’ The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover's words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses5 on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he'd written me, the bed a page beneath his writer's hands. Romance10 and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love - I hold him in the casket of my widow's head as he held me upon that next best bed.

10. Metaphors in the poem Metaphors describe one thing as if it were something else. What metaphor is used to describe the following: ‘a spinning world’ ‘shooting stars’ rhyme, echo, assonance - poetry verb a page Extension: “the casket of my widow’s head”

11. Why has Duffy used these metaphors? • What do all these metaphors have in common? • Who is she talking about? • What connects him to these metaphors? All the metaphors relate to Shakespeare’s writing – scenes from his plays, his poetry, the fact that he was such a good writer.