English Literature Poems
Duffy, Armitage, Pre-1914
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- Created by: Lauren
- Created on: 08-04-11 16:23
Havisham - Carol Ann Duffy
Structure
- 4 stanza of 4 lines; wants to be organised, is superficially
- Enjambment; fragmented mind
- Caesura; slow down poem
- Cyclical; begins and ends in 'B'
Language
- 'Beloved sweetheart *******'; oxymoron, alliteration, plosive
- 'green pebbles for eyes'; metaphor, jealousy, cold
- 'spinster'; outcast, never married, sibilance, caesura, fragmented, isolated
- 'stink and remember'; observation, present tense
- 'Nooooo'; neologism, new word created to express pain, negative imagery
- 'white veil'; innocence, purity, concealed
- 'a red balloon bursting'; her heart, violent, plosive, shattered dreams
- 'b-b-b-breaks'; heart beating, onomatopoeia, crying breakdown, cyclical
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Havisham - Carol Ann Duffy
Attitude
- Angry
- Aggressive
- Bitter
Purpose
- Shows her deterioration
- Mental affect
Themes
- Anger
- Revenge
- Hatred
- Depression
- Death
- Women
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Anne Hathaway - Carol Ann Duffy
Structure
- Epigraph
- Like a sonnet; 14 line but no rhyming couplet
- 1 stanza
- Enjambment
Language
- 'we loved...we would'; past tense
- 'clifftops'; peak of sex, excitement
- 'dive for pearls'; explicit act of love, metaphor
- 'shooting stars'; sibilance, smooth, dreamy
- 'my body now a softer rhyme' metaphor, sex
- 'by touch, by scent, by taste'; sensory image
- 'living laughing love-; rule of three, alliteration, caesura
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Anne Hathaway - Carol Ann Duffy
Attitude
- Soft
- Loving
- Reflective
Purpose
- Remembering her husband
Themes
- Love
- Romance
- Dreams
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Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy
Structure
- 4 stanzas of 5 lines
- Enjambment
- Caesura
Language
- 'I'm'; first person narrative, personal tone
- 'Marilyn'; Marylin Monroe = glamour, fame
- 'right walk of home could bring'; thrill of unknown
- 'Ma'; mums mum/nan, tradition, family pattern
- 'my hands in those high heeled red shoes'; memory, poet as a child, sentimental
- 'relics'; symbolic, old
- 'whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?'; love bites, passion, role reversal, rhetorical question
- 'That glamorous love lasts where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine'; repetition, Marilyn Monroe
5 of 24
Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy
Attitude
- Assertive
- Affectionate
- Tender
Purpose
- What her mother did before she was born
- Family traditions
Themes
- Trust
- Generosity
- Happiness
6 of 24
Stealing - Carol Ann Duffy
Structure
- Dramatic monologue
- Enjambment
- Post modernism style
Language
- 'The most unusual thing I ever stole?'; kleptomaniac, post modernism style, rhetorical question
- 'Midnight'; romantic, mysterious, scary, evil
- 'Midnight...magnificent...mute...moon...mate...mind...my'; alliteration
- 'I started with the head'; clinical, obsessive
- 'giving...taking...piercing...knowing'; verbs, violent, cruel
- 'a fierce chill'; contradicting
- 'Again, again'; repetition, malicious, premeditated
- 'sick of the world'; displacement, childhood trigger
- 'eat myself'; cannibalism
- 'You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?'; vague, mysterious
7 of 24
Stealing - Carol Ann Duffy
Attitude
- Isolation
- Depressed
- Colloquial language
Purpose
- Childhood problems
- How he feels stealing makes it better
Themes
- Boredom
- Anti-social behaviour
- Possessions
- Incoherence
8 of 24
Mother Any Distance - Simon Armitage
Structure
- Dramatic monologue
- Enjambment
- Split in 3rd stanza
Language
- 'Mother'; archaic, formal, respectful, direct address, ultimate force
- 'windows, pelmets, doors'; metaphor for features of life, imagery
- 'unreeling'; leaving gradually, less dependent
- 'Anchor. Kite' opposites, free, protective, oxymoron
- 'breaking point'; tension between them, split is inevitable
- 'sky'; freedom, opportunity
- 'hatch'; life outside, real world
- 'fall or fly'; on his own
9 of 24
Mother Any Distance - Simon Armitage
Attitude
- Unemotional
- Tension
Purpose
- Moving out
- Independence
Themes
- Relationships
- Love
- Independence
- Domestic role
10 of 24
Homecoming - Simon Armitage
Structure
- Enjambment; unsure
- Stanzas vary in length
- Caesura; final word
Language
- 'Think'; imperative verb
- 'trust'; abstract noun-cant be touched
- 'free-fall backwards, blind, and those behind take all the weight.'; lack of control, alliteration, internal rhyme, physical and psychological pressure
- 'canary yellow cotton jacket'; fashion icon once, now outdated, extended metaphor for support
- 'model of a model of a mother'; mocking, trying to be perfect
- 'You seeing red. Blue murder.'; juxtaposed colours, primary colours, cold
- 'Bed'; caesura, imperative verb, mother has final word
- 'Step backwards'; trust exercise, lack of trust
- 'It still fits'; nothings changed, support is always there
11 of 24
Homecoming - Simon Armitage
Attitude
- Supportive
- Calming
- Observational
Purpose
- Story told by girls boyfriend
- Trusting others
- Support
Themes
- Relationships
- Trust
- Family
- Arguments
12 of 24
Kid - Simon Armitage
Structure
- 1 stanza
- Dramatic monologue
- 10 syllables per line
- Enjambment
- All lines end in 'er'; theme tune, fast paced
Language
- 'Batman, big shot'; plosive, aggressive, punchy, alliteration
- 'wild blue yonder'; perfect, cliché
- 'ditched me'; bitter, resentment, abandoned
- 'let the cat out'; secret affair, not a role model, retrospective, taboo
- 'Holy robin-redbreast-nest-egg-shocker!'; headline, catchphrase
- 'off the shoulder'; getting rid of identity, clothes
- 'without a shadow'; breaking away, only ghosts have no shadow
- 'winter you baby'; moving on, death, belittles Batman
13 of 24
Kid - Simon Armitage
Attitude
- Bitter
- Resentment
- Sarcasm
Purpose
- Seeing Batman in a different light
- Independent life
Themes
- Moving on
- Role models
- Growing up
14 of 24
Hitcher - Simon Armitage
Structure
- Enjambment; all events are running into each other
- 5 stanzas of 5 line; thrives on structure so when taken away because he is ill he becomes crazy
- Dramatic monologue
Language
- 'I'; first person narrative, convey feelings and emotions
- 'One more sick note mister and your finished. Fired'; fed up with job, pressure, responsibility, speech
- 'Vauxhall Astra'; cheap, popular, reliable, boring, similar
- 'west to east'; natural, casual, romantic, relaxed
- 'blowin' in the wind'; Bob Dylan, unoriginal, hippy movement, 70's
- 'I let him have it'; objectified, vague
- 'six times'; calculated, ruthless
- 'same age'; jealous of him/ his happiness
- 'moderate to fair'; feeling better, nature
15 of 24
Hitcher - Simon Armitage
Attitude
- Jealousy
- Ruthless
- Upset
Purpose
- He admits to murder
- Upset by how someone can be so carefree
Themes
- Death
- Sympathy
- Illness
- Jealousy
16 of 24
On my First Sonne - Ben Jonson Pre-1914
Structure
- Elegy; a poem mourning someone who is dead
- Epitaph; poem written on gravestone
- 1 stanza
- Rhyming couplets
Language
- 'Farewell'; closure, acceptance
- 'right hand'; Ben in Hebrew, name of his first son, close to him, precious
- 'lent to me'; belongs to God, return
- 'just day'; extended metaphor, all belong to God
- ''age'; escaped the pain of growing old, mercy, accepting
- 'Rest in soft peace'; imperative verb, death sound comforting
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On my First Sonne - Ben Jonson Pre-1914
Attitude
- Upset
- Mourning
Purpose
- Fathers pain for sons death
Themes
- Death
- Sympathy
- Mourning
- God
18 of 24
My Last Duchess - Robert Browning Pre-1914
Structure
- Monologue
- 1 stanza
- Rhyming couplets
Language
- 'That's'; objectified women
- 'alive'; dull, idle when she was alive
- 'look at her?'; rhetorical question, self obsessed, arrogant
- 'I'; possessive, protective, preserved
- 'everywhere'; lust, insecure, possessive
- 'white'; purity, fairy tale, clean
- 'thanked'; slept with men, betrayal
- 'nine-hundred-year-old name'; powerful, she has no respect, showing off
- 'I gave commands'; change in tone, control of life
- 'Then all smiles stopped together'; possessive, guilty, depressed
- 'Notice Neptune'; alliteration, power and dominance
19 of 24
My Last Duchess - Robert Browning Pre-1914
Attitude
- Possessive
- Control
- Sinister
Purpose
- Shows visitors the painting of Duchess
- Talks about her infidelity
Themes
- Trust
- Relationships
- Family
- Death
- Love
- Sympathy
20 of 24
Sonnet 130 - William Shakespeare Pre-1914
Structure
- Sonnet; 14 lines
- ababcdcdefgg rhyme scheme
Language
- 'mistress'; low status
- 'sun'; warmth, hope, light, source of life, centre of being, simile
- 'black wires grow on her head'; coarse,bland, boring, lifeless
- 'no such roses...in her cheeks'; pasty, unhealthy
- 'reeks'; disgusting
- 'treads on the ground'; heavy, not elegant
- 'heaven'; spontaneous shock, angels, love is elevated
- 'rare'; unique, hard to find, special
- 'false compare'; exaggerated, honesty, true love
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Sonnet 130 - William Shakespeare Pre-1914
Attitude
- Humorous
- Love
- Mocking
Purpose
- She is not as beautiful as nature but is only a human being
Themes
- Criticism
- Passionate
- Mysterious
22 of 24
The Laboratory - Robert Browning Pre-1914
Structure
- 12 stanzas with 4 lines; lots of punctuation, scatty
- Monologue
- aabb
- Anapaestic pentameter; jaunty
Language
- 'smokes'; mysterious, dangerous
- 'poison to poison her, prithee'; alliteration, plosive, repetition, hates mistress
- 'tears'; antisocial, sympathy
- 'Grind away'; imperative verb, regain control, relaxed
- 'taste sweetly'; trick, sensory description, imagery, exotic
- 'just thirty minutes to live'; precise, feel the pain, ordinary
- 'Let death be felt and the proof remain'; vowels to slow down poem/torture, wants him to know why she did it
- 'Kiss me'; no boundaries, respected, desperate
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The Laboratory - Robert Browning Pre-1914
Attitude
- Evil
- Sly
- Jealous
Purpose
- Speaker is killing their rival when the lover is present
Themes
- Jealousy
- Love
- Revenge
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