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She was dressed in rich materials — satins, and lace, and silks — all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half-packed trunks were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on — the other was on the table near her hand — her veil was half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on. But, I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its luster, and was faded and yellow. I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone. IMAGINE THIS WOMAN
‘Havisham’ Learning Objective: To be able to explore and explain the way in which relationships are presented through language in ‘Havisham.’
Background • Miss Havisham is a character from ‘Great Expectations’; • She is jilted by her scheming fiancé before they are married; • She remains in her wedding dress for the rest of her life whilst plotting her revenge on all men.
Questions... • What is this poem about? • 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? • How far does the poem show Miss Havisham as being responsible for her own misery? How does it support her feelings of self-pity and revenge?
Stanza 1 • Look at the title of the poem. Why do you think it only uses her surname? • Comment on the oxymoron ‘sweetheart bastard’ of the first line. • How is envy suggested in the first stanza? • ‘Prayed for it/ so hard I’ve had dark green pebbles for eyes…’ What do these images suggest about Miss Havisham’s feelings?
Stanza 2 • ‘Spinster.’ Why does this word get its own sentence do you think? • ‘I stink …’ What is the effect of this strong verb? • ‘Whole days/ in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall;’ - what does this image suggest about the woman? • What’s the double meaning of ‘trembling’ in line 3? • ‘her, myself’ – what do these pronouns show us about Miss Havisham’s view of herself? • Look at the enjambment on the last line of the stanza. What is the effect of this and what does it add to the poem here?
Stanza 3 • ‘Who did this/ to me?’ Who did? Him, or her, do you think, and why? • ‘… the lost body over me,’ – whose body does this line refer to? What is happening here? • On line 3, in what sense is Miss Havisham’s tongue fluent? • Comment on the use of the phrase ‘bite awake’.
Stanza 4 • ‘Hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting/in my face.’ What do these violent images suggest about her view of love? • What is the effect of the use of the onomatopoeia ‘bang’? • ‘Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.’ What is she imagining here? • Describe the effect of the strong plosives in ‘b-b-b-breaks’. What has broken?
Final thoughts • Why do you think the poem is unrhymed? • How does the lack of end-stopping affect the fluency and pace of the whole poem? • Pick out the places where you feel sympathy for Miss Havisham and then pick out the places where you feel disgusted by her? (You could construct a simple table in order to help you pin particular lines down.)
Oxymoron shows combination of feelings Enjambment Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes, ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Metaphor Her means of revenge. Metaphor used to emphasise strength of hands.
One word sentence is what society sums her up as She sees her life as decay and memories Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dress yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe; the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this Makes her sound like an animal Turning or twisting Sounds like she no longer recognises what she has become
Suggesting that at night she is able to dream Purplish-red 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 ear then down till I suddenly bite awake. Love’s The man she might have married She asks who has made her this way What is the effect of ‘bite awake?’
Use of oxymoron to show unstable mixture of Havisham’s feelings. Suggests celebrations that did not take place. What else might ‘red’ suggest? hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting in 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. Combines both love and revenge Stammered words to suggest a kind of collapse
