An Introduction to Carol Ann Duffy

1. An Introduction to Carol Ann Duffy

2. Biographical Details • Born December 23rd 1955 in Glasgow • Scottish father and an Irish mother • Eldest child and had four brothers • Brought up in Stafford, North Midlands • Father: local councillor, parliamentary candidate 1983 & manager of Stafford FC • Raised Catholic • Education: St. Austin RC Primary, St Joseph’s Convent School (first encouraged to write poetry at age of 10), Stafford Girls’ High School • 1974 went on to read Philosophy at Liverpool University and graduated in 1977

3. Career • Worked as a freelance writer in London • Moved to Manchester: Taught creative writing at the Metropolitan University • Daughter, Ella, born in 1995 • Lived in Manchester with her partner, novelist Jackie Kay (ended in 2004 – reflected in poetry) • Won National Poetry competition in 1983 & an Eric Gregory award in 1984 • Awarded an OBE in 1995 and CBE in 2002 • May 1st 2009 became the UK’s 20th Poet Laureate

4. Poetry Collections • ‘Standing Female Nude’ (1985) – Met with acclaim ‘The debut of a genuine and original poet’ Robert Nye, The Times • ‘Selling Manhattan’ (1987) • ‘The Other Country’ (1990) • ‘Mean Time’ (1993) – Won: The Forward Best Collection Prize, A Scottish Arts Council Book Award & The Whitbread Poetry Award • ‘The World’s Wife’ (1999) • ‘The Feminine Gospels’ (2002) • ‘Rapture’ (2005) – Awarded the T S Eliot Prize • ‘Love Poems’ (2010) • ‘The Bees’ (2011)

5. Other Writing • Two English versions of Grimm’s folk tales – mother invented fairytales for her when she was young and she has always found this form and its archetypes seductive • A pamphlet: ‘ A Woman’s Guide to Gambling’ – reflects her own interest in betting • Published various books for adults & children, as well as being an acclaimed Playwright & Editor – there is a lot of overlap between her poetic & dramatic skills

6. Carol Ann Duffy on Duffy “I’m not interested, as a poet, in words like ‘plash’ – Seamus Heaney words, interesting words. I like to use simple words in a complicated way.” “I don’t mind being called a feminist poet, but I wouldn’t mind if I wasn’t. I think the concerns of art go beyond that. I think as long as the work is read it doesn’t really matter what the cover is. I have never in my life sat down and thought ‘I will write a feminist poem.’” Carol Ann Duffy, interview with Andrew McAllister, Bete Noire 6 (Winter, 1988), p.71 “Poetry and prayer are very similar. I write quite a lot of sonnets and I think of them almost as prayers: short and memorable, something you can recite.”

7. Critics on Duffy “Duffy’s poems are at once accessible and brilliantly idiosyncratic and subtle.” An Observer reviewer celebrating Duffy’s popularity and technical adroitness “The range of Duffy’s poetry is wide. She is able to engage with important philosophical concerns, write with acute wit and humour, and respond sympathetically to the isolated and oppressed members of society. Hers is a poetry rooted in common experience, but its accessibility belies its complexity and richly allusive nature.”

8. Appeal • Duffy is one of the most significant names in contemporary British poetry and is regarded as one of Britain’s most well-loved & successful poets - Appeals to those who wouldn’t normally read poetry - Appears on National Curriculum • Achieved both critical & commercial success • Has been accused of being too populist • But on the whole, her work is highly acclaimed for being both literary and accessible

9. Influences • Exploration of way in which meaning and reality are constructed through language has led to her work being linked to postmodernism and poststructuralism (thematic influence rather than stylistic – as her style is conservative not experimental) • Use of demotic, everyday language can be traced back to Wordsworth • Interest in Dramatic Monologue links her to Browning & Eliot • Nostalgia & dry humour = Philip Larkin • Elements of surrealism = Dylan Thomas • Links also with the Beat poets and Liverpool poets

10. Duffy’s Themes • Language and the representation of reality • The construction of the self • Childhood & Personal Identity • Gender Issues • Contemporary Culture • Different forms of alienation, oppression and social inequality • Giving voice • Foreignness & Cultural displacement

11. Style • Writes in everyday, conversational language which makes her poems appear deceptively simple • Using demotic form, she recreates contemporary versions of traditional poetic forms • Frequent use of dramatic monologue to explore different voices and identities • Use of Sonnet form – contains sense of the ritual of language learned in her Catholic upbringing (esp. ‘Prayer’) • Serious & humorous, mischievous, playful style • Plays with words – exploring way in which meaning & reality are constructed through language

12. Collections Mean Time Standing Female Nude The World’s Wife The Other Country

13. Standing Female Nude

14. Standing Female Nude - 1985 • Acutely observant poet whose concerns are shared by almost everyone • Range – explorations of love and loss, politics, religion, education, art, childhood and memory • Marshals numerous voices in dramatic monologues • Commitment to giving voice to female perspectives • Not antipathetic to men but sensitive to disaffected and quick to expose unacceptably aggressive sexism of men • Unadorned, female independence stressed • Woman who stands is confident, assertive • Nudity = feels no need to cover herself in any way • Will not conform to expectations of men

15. Standing Female Nude - 1985 • Particular areas of concern relating to church • Rejecting Catholicism: restrictive, intolerant, unsympathetic and male-dominated • Issue of sexuality prominent: sexual politics, interpersonal relationships • Alludes to homosexuality which is explored more extensively in following collections • Confident employment of traditional forms demonstrated: Sonnet for both narrative and descriptive purposes

16. The Other Country

17. The Other Country - 1990 • Continues to explore personal & social themes alongside political concerns • Satirises gratuitous factionalism of politicians & gross offensiveness of tabloid press • Reminds us of power of truth & love • Overtly explores the possibilities & limitations of language • Brings range of issues in own country into sharp focus while suggesting the ‘other country’ might be a preferable place to live

18. The Other Country - 1990 • More overtly concerned with politics of Britain – addresses Thatcher years • Articulates anger & frustration at transformation of Britain into something unrecognisable • Leads us to reflect on geographical differences between countries & effects they have – language, difference & distance • L.P. Hartley ‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there’ – land of childhood & memory

19. The Other Country - 1990 • Hamlet’s words concerning death ‘The undiscovered country, from whose bourn/No traveller returns’ – Confronting death • Platonic, sexual or romantic love as another country examined • Another person’s otherness can make them seem like an unexplored country • Title offers plurality of meanings – Duffy primarily concerned with such potential in language – readers not led to seek single, reductive ‘answer’ while interpreting

20. Mean Time

21. Mean Time - 1993 • Bleakest collection – atmosphere of gloom • Focus on effects of damaged or irreconcilable relationships • Political climate and personal contexts investigated gives little room for optimism • Memory often offers temporary respite from harsh realities that are faced in present – but even these not always helpful

22. Mean Time - 1993 • Time can be ‘mean’ in the sense that it is malevolent – negative personification of time • Doing something in ‘the mean time’ – waiting for something more significant to happen • ‘Mean’ = average – Time averages out our experience & reduces us to brief interruption in world • Greenwich Mean Time – precise measurement – unable to escape tyranny of time • Losing time with changing of clocks – cannot utter anything which does not make reference to time – verbs past, present and future

23. The World’s Wife

24. The World’s Wife - 1999 • All poems are Dramatic Monologues • Involve well-known characters from myth & history • Written from female perspective – saying ‘The World and His Wife’ • Often challenges stereotypical views about women’s behaviour – placed in position of power

25. The World’s Wife - 1999 • Orchestra of individual women’s voices – collective female chorus • Voices of those either forgotten, disregarded or marginalised • Intellectually capable & aware of own potential • Hubris (excessive pride/self-confidence) in men (their fatal flaw) affects women • Predicament not just presented as a result of treatment by men – Duffy’s feminism does not deride men for being men although men do not escape criticism

26. Studying the Poems • Expert Groups = Discuss and become ‘experts’ on one poem • I will be on hand during this process to give pointers or clarify issues • Groups will then split and one member of each Expert group will join together into a new group • Each ‘expert’ will conduct a mini-tutorial to the other group members in rotation, answering questions along the way • Class will pull all this together, filling in any gaps in a summary of each poem

27. Group Discussion • As you will be participating in a lot of focused group discussion, there may be opportunities to gain some (or all) of the Talking Outcomes during this process. • I will be observing throughout, so stay focused • Be familiar with the outcomes and what we are looking for you to demonstrate • A reminder is on the next slide

28. N6 Talk Outcomes • 2.1 – Selecting significant ideas & content, using a format & structure appropriate to purpose & audience • 2.2 – Applying knowledge & understanding about language in terms of language choice • 2.3 – Communicating meaning at first hearing • 2.4 – Using significant aspects of non-verbal communication

29. 2.1 – Selecting significant ideas & content, using a format & structure appropriate to purpose & audience • Be aware of purpose/audience – demonstrate through language choice & points made • Regularly support, refute, use, develop, summarise & challenge others’ ideas • Take turns, acknowledge chair & stay ‘on task’ • Show consideration & exploration of alternative viewpoints • Structure contributions to enhance impact

30. 2.2 – Applying knowledge & understanding about language in terms of language choice • Use detailed & complex vocabulary – for effect & appropriate to topic & context • Use rhetorical devices – climax, emotive language, hyperbole, understatement, imagery • Use a tone/register appropriate to purpose/audience • Select language to ensure ideas are expressed effectively & clearly • Use a variety of sentence structures

31. 2.3 – Communicating meaning at first hearing • Speak with expression – vary intonation & adjust pace • Speak fluently – allowing natural pauses for thoughtful discussion • Take opportunities for clarification when necessary • Communicate clearly & in a sophisticated manner

32. 2.4 – Using significant aspects of non-verbal communication • Use gesture, facial expression & eye contact to address group • Use appropriate body language to show active participation in discussion throughout

33. Expert Group Discussion • PURPOSE: To explore, discuss and analyse the poem so you can then teach it to others. • AUDIENCE: Others in the group who are also aiming to become experts and have an initial understanding of the poem. • Remember to take time to discuss the different aspects of the poem fully and then take time to record the group’s ideas so you have teaching notes for the next stage when you present to others. You will need to cover: • The poem’s context/background • A summary of the poem – what it is about and what happens in it • An analysis of the overall form & structure • A detailed analysis of the poem’s content – considering techniques used in every stanza/line (word choice, imagery, sentence structure/punctuation, symbolism, use of sound) • A clear idea of the themes and related message(s) of the poem – what is Duffy saying?

34. Expert Group Discussion Prompts • As a group, re-read the poem and begin by discussing your initial impressions, observations and context of the poem: • What does the poem explore/discuss/deal with? • What is the ‘story’ of the poem? • Who does the poem involve? • What do we need to understand about the background/context of the poem? • Was there anything you found difficult/confusing about the poem?

35. Expert Group Discussion Prompts • Go on to discuss the form and structure of the poem: • Is a specific form used e.g. dramatic monologue, free verse, sonnet and how do you know? • Why is this form used – what effect does it create? • How is the poem structured overall and why might this be – stanzas and stanza lengths? • Is the poem irregular/regular & what effect does this have? • Discuss anything unusual in the poem’s structure.

36. Expert Group Discussion Prompts • Now have a thorough discussion of the techniques & ideas in the poem by looking at the poem stanza by stanza: • What ideas are expressed – what is the meaning & what is explored in each stanza/line? • Identify key techniques used – word choice, imagery, sound techniques, symbolism, punctuation etc. • What are the immediate effects of these techniques and how is this effect achieved? • How do these techniques/effects relate to overall meaning?

37. Expert Group Discussion Prompts • Conclude your discussion by considering the overall themes/message/purpose of the poem and summarise how Duffy conveys this: • What are the key themes and issues raised/explored in the poem? • What is Duffy saying about these themes/issues? • Overall, how are these themes/messages delivered/where are they seen?

38. Teaching the Class • In preparation for teaching your poem to a small group, you must prepare and collate a teaching guide using your discussion notes. These will be uploaded on to the blog page and should include: • Poem Summary & Context/Background • Poem’s overall Form and Structure • Poem’s Themes/Purpose/Message The main analysis of techniques will be delivered during your presentation and individuals will do their own notes/annotations

39. Presentations • Each Group now has 1 expert for each poem. • Taking it in turns, each expert will teach the poem to the others. • You should cover the four main areas from your notes. • The guide through the actual poem will take the most time – and each presenter will have about 20 minutes. • Remember there will be collated notes for the summary, context, form/structure & themes section so this can be summed up fairly quickly as an introduction. • I will again be using this time to observe and listen out for talk outcomes being achieved so keep the presentations focused, formal and try to use sophisticated expression.

40. Selling Manhattan

41. Selling Manhattan - 1987 • Concern for way in which selfish pursuit of wealth by colonists swamps and effaces culture • Manhattan Island – now favoured place to live for successful writers etc. Originally dwelling place of Native American Indians • Dutch Settler Peter Minuit bought from Indians in 1626 - $24 worth of beads • Criticises Capitalist attitude to economics • Response to British political climate of 1980s

42. Selling Manhattan - 1987 • Tory article of faith that wealth was morally good and ‘profit is not a dirty word’ • Duffy did not object to healthy economy but questioned reality of increasing gap between rich and poor • Politics and power major themes • Use of DM gives voice to colonist, criminal, lover, politician, psychopath, ventriloquist & servant • Several love poems dealing with complications & consolations of relationships