Sub - Feminine Gospels

Sub

The speaker highlights to challenges faced by women: 

1. male dominated society

2. motherhood not regarded as an achievement 

3. women expected to do the same things as me but with added difficulties (e.g. periods) 

4. isolation when entering masculine cultures 

All the things/achievements mentioned have all been done by men, Duffy is arguing that women could have done the same (whilist also going through periods etc) but have been denied the opportunity 

The woman in the poem is unnamed = represents all women 

Title: 

Subsitute like in a football game 

or 

Subordinate which means lower in rank or positition 

Structure/Tone: 

Tone = more upbeat in terms of the first section of the collection, perhaps because it is coming towards the middle of the collection/end of the first section - suggests a celebration of female achievement expect it isn't because none of the things in the poem were achieved by women 

Each stanza presents the woman's life experiences developing (from…