Work - Feminine Gospels

Work 

Women are a victim of capitialism but they also contribute to it. Personal & political poem - effects of urbanisation & a woman's role in this. 

Micro and macro poem of the world.

Duffy is perhaps criticising women for the state that the world is in - usually the blame is taken by men. 

Structure: 

Enjambment adds to the sense of working constantly & building up - never ending 

The layout of the last stanza is longer than the rest, suggests that the woman and infact everyone around the world will never stop working or slow down, stanza has has a breathless quality. 

Techniques/Language/Themes: 

"To feed more, more / she dug underground, tunnellled," = The woman is reproducing children "more, more" and is therefore a victim of capitialism as she needs to work harder. Yet Duffy may also be making the statement that the woman is a contributor to capitialism. The effects of capitalism are…