The Biographer- Carol Ann Duffy

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  • The Biographer
    • Stanza 1
      • "because"
        • Implies the writer is there because the author is dead. Causes: bitter/negetive tone. Subordinate clause.
      • "desk" "echo"
        • Noun-The biographer mentions that the author initials are in the desk - links with past identity. Also the verb "echo" implies that the biographer is merely repeating of the words of the more successful writer. Enforces a sense of bitterness.
      • "like a hood and a cloak of light"
        • Hoods and cloaks are used to disguise and hide suggesting that the biographer is hiding and is looking for the truth behind the author.
    • Stanza 2
      • "I' slept alone in your bed"
        • Metephor- connatations of warm- could represent a burning love for the author
      • "Who's loved your work since he was a boy"
        • Suggests that the man had had a relationship with the dead author of many years, and it emphasises importance of the past.
      • ""guilt and rage"
        • Abstract noun- idea he hasn't gone anywhere without him. Fragmented structure different memorys/emotions
      • "your wallpaper green and crimson and gold"
        • represents colour imagery- green being eny and gold being the success of the dead author- syndetic listing.
    • Stanza 3
      • "I" and "your"
        • Personal pronoun- link to importance of identity
      • "lively, eager and lightly-pitched"
        • Intexuality- familiarity but another writer puts it better. Adjectives used to describe the dead author, which links it to the biographer
      • "shadow"
        • Repetition of the noun shadow. Could reflect the biographers feelings towards his own life.
    • Stanza 4
      • "Maestro.Monster.Mummy's Boy. My Main Man."
        • Minor sentences- highlighting speakers disapointment/negetive self perception. Begins with alliteration.
      • "I print it out, I print it out"
        • Emphasises the biographers actions and role in this relationship. Also links with the perceived obsession with the biographer.
      • ""it's talentless, dustjacket smile"
        • Contradicts himself- suggestion that underneath his facade he is empty and a failure.
    • Themes- Identity/Disapointment/admiration/the past/obsession

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