1. Anne Hathaway Learning Intention: to develop our understanding of the poem

2. The poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXUFjvU Rnxs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXUFjvU Rnxs

3. Anne Hatha way 1555/56 – 6 August 1623 ? Drawing of Anne Hathaway by Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 1708

4. Background Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare. She was nine years older than her husband, who married her when she was pregnant with their first child. They spent long periods of time apart; he went to London to work in the theatres whilst she stayed behind in Stratford upon Avon. When Shakespeare died, the only present he left his wife in his will was the second best bed in the house. Many scholars have seen this as confirmation that the couple had become estranged, and that this parting gift was meant to be a snub on Shakespeare’s part. There has been much speculation about the great loves and muses in Shakespeare’s life but very few people think that Anne Hathaway was one of them. Carol Ann Duffy uses her poem to try and challenge these stereotypical assumptions about Shakespeare’s wife. She reimagines the gift of the second best bed, not as a petty demonstration of marital discontent, but as the place where husband and wife experienced their most romantic and intimate moments. By doing so, she makes us question the relationship between Anne Hathaway and Shakespeare, and the wife’s contribution to the work of her husband.

5. Duffy’s view Carol Ann Duffy uses her poem to try and challenge these stereotypical assumptions about Shakespeare’s wife. She reimagines the gift of the second best bed, not as a petty demonstration of marital discontent, but as the place where husband and wife experienced their most romantic and intimate moments. By doing so, she makes us question the relationship between Anne Hathaway and Shakespeare, and the wife’s contribution to the work of her husband. ‘Anne Hathaway’ – a sonnet that gives voice to Shakespeare’s ‘neglected’ wife. Here she tells her romanticised version of their relationship.

6. Symbol ism: The bed shared by Shakesp eare and Hathawa y here become s a potent symbol for love, passion and loss.

7. Narrator Duffy creates the persona of Anne Hathaway and portrays her remembering having a loving, sexual relationship with him and how she misses his love. The readers are the witnesses to their love. We know how she is feeling because of her strong description describing her love and love life. Dramatic Monologue

8. Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. The poem is written as a fourteen line sonnet (as Shakespeare used to write). However it does not follow the rhyming structure Shakespeare would employ of ababcdcdefefgg. However it does end with a rhyming couplet.

9. Form and structure Duffy employs the sonnet form so adored by Shakespeare. This 14-line structure is often associated with love poetry, and is highly appropriate given the subject matter of the poem. Shakespearean sonnets contain three quatrains and a couplet. Shakespeare’s most famous poems about love were written in this form, and Duffy’s choice here suggests that this poem is both a homage to Shakespeare’s romantic sonnet and at the same time a re-examining of the poet and playwright from a different angle. The quatrains usually present the key ideas explored by the poet with the resolution or 'volta' (an Italian term. Whilst Duffy keeps the rough outline of the sonnet, she does not use the traditional rhyme scheme that all Shakespearian sonnets follow; ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. She keeps the rhyming couplet at the end, but otherwise her lines are only loosely joined together through assonance, for example “world” and “words”. The lines are softly and subtly joined together, as if to echo the physical relationship between Anne and Shakespeare, the deliberate choices of assonance and alliteration are designed to imitate the random touching made during love making, so that it is almost as though the words themselves are grazing each other. Her frequent use of enjambment in the poem to show how freely and without obstruction love flowed between the couple, as well as to place emphasis on important words or phrases. Duffy’s choice to subvert the form of the sonnet emphasises that these are the words of his wife and represent her own insight into her husband, an insight that cannot be shared or replicated by anyone else. The entire poem is a metaphor comparing the couple’s love making to the process of artistic and poetic creativity.

10. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch Lines 1-7: Anne describes her memories of the bed. She associates it with fond memories of her passionate love with Shakespeare. She compares his love to the words of his poems.

11. a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. Lines 8-10: she seems to see their love as one of Shakespeare’s plays.

12. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – Lines 11-12: The guests’ time in the better bed seems inferior to the love between Anne and Shakespeare.

13. I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. Lines 13-14: She says she will always remember the love between them in that bed.

14. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed.

15. Opening lines ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The poem begins with this actual extract from Shakespeare's will. Although many critics consider this legacy an insult to Hathaway, Duffy uses it as the catalyst for the poem and imbues the bed with a much more magical and sensual meaning.

16. First quatrain “The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where we would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses.“ Immediately the reader is transported to a magical landscape filled with metaphor, especially appropriate given that Shakespeare himself was the master of this technique. “The bed is a spinning world” suggesting their love made Anne dizzy and was all encompassing. Interestingly, despite bearing him three children, the persona of Anne created by Duffy makes no reference to this aspect of her marriage focusing on their relationship as lovers rather than as parents. recalls the setting of some of Shakespeare’s more famous works such as Macbeth, Hamlet and The Tempest, suggesting a link between these iconic works of literature and the poetry which together are echoes of the excitement that took place in this bed. “The forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas” In their lovemaking, the couple found something precious and valuable, as implied by the “pearls” in line three. This intimate, sensual tone is continued in the metaphor comparing her lover’s words to shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses. Hathaway was seduced by her lover’s language and poetry, which literally seems to fall from the heavens as though a gift from the gods before transforming into the physical touch of a kiss. In this opening quatrain then, Duffy clearly illustrates the intensity of the romantic, passionate relationship of the two lovers.

17. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. Intensity of their romantic and passionate relationship

18. Second quatrain “On these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed." In this quatrain, Duffy extends the language metaphor - Anne's body is a softer rhyme to her husband's harder, more masculine body, while the erotic touch of his hand on her body is described as a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. This deliberate comparison elevates their lovemaking to something poetic and, in doing so, literary or linguistic terms become loaded with sensuality. Anne imagines too that, like the characters in his plays, Shakespeare has 'written her', suggesting that it is only when she regards herself through his eyes and imagination that she feels fully alive. The reference again to the bed at the end of line eight creates a link to the opening line of the poem and reinforces the symbolic significance of the bed as a representation of their love.

19. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. Intensity of their romantic and passionate relationship Their lovemaking is poetic and sensual

20. Third quatrain “A page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love." The enjambment from line eight continues the extended metaphor from the previous quatrain as the bed is compared to the parchment on which the passion and excitement so associated with the playwright was written. All the romance and drama contained in these pages was played out or begun on their bed, and again Duffy implies that the inspiration for his characters and plots came from their lovemaking. The word romance is deliberately placed at the end of line nine to emphasise that this is what she most associates with their relationship. The senses touch, scent, and taste are employed to reinforce just how vividly she can still recall their lovemaking, as though through immersing herself in these memories she can experience this passion once more In a marked contrast, she compares the poetry and sensuality of their lovemaking with those who slept in the other bed. In a withering, disparaging comment she asserts that they are only capable of dribbling their prose. The implication is clear - poetry symbolises the most skilful and creative use of language while prose by comparison is ordinary, utilitarian and unexceptional. At the end of this quatrain, Duffy employs elongated assonance in the phrase My living laughing love to emphasise again how vividly and clearly the speaker can recall their passion, suggesting that her lover continues in some ways to exist and survive in her memory. The dash creates a pause to allow us to reflect on this idea and prepare us for the resolution and the final couplet.

21. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. Intensity of their romantic and passionate relationship Their lovemaking is poetic and sensual Comparison of their lovemaking with those who slept in the other bed

22. The couplet I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head as he held me upon that next best bed." The final couplet ends with the masculine full rhyme of head and bed to provide a defined conclusion to the poem. The metaphor of holding her lover in the protective casket of her imagination reiterates the idea presented in the previous line that, in our way, our memory of a deceased loved one allows their continued existence. Duffy seems to suggest that this is much more fitting than an urn or coffin which, although they may contain the physical remnants of a body, can never capture the energy or vitality of the person's character. By remembering her husband, and replaying her memories of their passion, the speaker is really honouring his true legacy and repaying him for the way that he held her in that next best bed.

23. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. Intensity of their romantic and passionate relationship Their lovemaking is poetic and sensual Comparison of their lovemaking with those who slept in the other bed the speaker is really honouring his true legacy and repaying him for the way that he held her in that next best bed.

24. What have you learnt so far? 1. From whose perspective is the poem written? 2. Who is Anne Hathaway? 3. Why is the image of the “second best bed” important in the poem? 4. Is this poem more about Anne or her husband, or is it about them both, as a couple? 5. Why is the sonnet form suitable? 6. How does the poem fulfil the requirements of a Shakespearean sonnet. 7. What is the effect of this chosen form? 8. In what way is the poem a dramatic monologue? 9. Why is this effective?

25. Language Lexical sets: Make a list of words that can be connected under the following headings Affection Body parts Verbs Value Linguistic and poetic terms What is the effect of each group?

26. Language Rhyme Imagery Senses Metaphors Enjambment Alliteration

27. Markup key: prosodic devices enjambment euphemism asyndeton enumeration metaphor juxtaposition allusion language references The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where we would dive for pearls. My lover's words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he'd written me, the bed a page beneath his writer's hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love - I hold him in the casket of my widow's head as he held me upon that next best bed.

28. Poetic devices The poem is rich in metaphors, such as the “spinning world” of the bed or the “lover’s words” as “shooting stars”. The metaphors allow the world of Shakespeare’s poetry to intertwine with the physical reality of his marriage to Anne.

29. Imagery Much of the imagery in this poem is sexual and allows us to see the relationship between husband and wife as one that is both spiritually and physically fulfilling.

30. Imagery – Shakespeare’s work / literature From being a mundane gift to a neglected spouse, the bed in Anne’s eyes is transformed into “a spinning world/of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas”. Duffy creates a magical world of romance and intrigue, with subtle nods towards key elements in Shakespeare’s own plays, such as the forest and castle in Macbeth or the sea of The Tempest. She creates a fantasy landscape where Shakespeare’s writing and his love for Anne are intertwined. Shakespeare’s words become “shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses/on these lips”. His words are stars up in the sky that everyone can see and admire, but his poetry is also something intimate that only Anne can experience and fully comprehend. For her, his works are something physical that she can touch, an experience of Shakespeare that nobody else can have.

31. Duffy further develops this notion by using the language of poetry to describe the lovemaking between Anne and Shakespeare. Sex and poetry are interwoven as his touch becomes “a verb dancing in the centre of a noun”. Anne imagines she is a product of her husband’s imagination, written into existence through their passionate exchanges, whilst the second best bed functions as “a page beneath his writer’s hands”. She is his ultimate muse, not just inspiring him to produce great works but actually becoming them. Rather than living in an atmosphere of hostility, the couple lives in a world of “romance and drama”, brought into being through their physical and emotional love for each other.

32. It was customary in Shakespeare’s time to give up the best bed in the house for guests. Anne imagines the guests in the next room, “dribbling their prose”, whilst herself and her husband create poetry and drama. Anne and Shakespeare inhabit a world full of senses, “played by touch, by scent, by taste”, whilst all the guests are able to do is dribble. The poem concludes with Anne claiming that all her memories of her husband are stored “in the casket of my widow’s head”. He is preserved not in a coffin or urn, not even in his writing, but in the thoughts inside Anne’s head, implying that the real William Shakespeare was a man that only his wife could ever truly know.

33. Metaphor [1]: “The bed we loved in was a spinning world / of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas” My lover's words / were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses / on these lips”

34. Metaph or [2]: “my body now a softer rhyme / to his, now echo, assonanc e” “his touch / a verb dancing in the centre of a noun.”

35. Metaphor [3]: “Some nights, I dreamed he'd written me” “the bed a page beneath his writer's hands.” “our guests dozed on, / dribbling their prose.” “the casket of my widow's head”

36. Juxtaposition: “In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, / dribbling their prose.” “I hold him / he held me”

37. Enjambment Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break. Duffy allows the sentences of the poem to end in the same place as regular line-breaks. In other terms punctuation is absent at the end of a line. Enjambment is one way of creating audible interest as it allows the flow of reading. This creates a conversational tome to the poem. This device allows the poem to carry a realistic voice, also making the poem more personal, allowing the reader to relate to the narrator and their feelings. Enjambment is used to allow the lines to flow into each other, again implying the deep and intricate connection that existed between Anne and Shakespeare. The sibilance in lines such as “shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses”, allow Duffy to evoke the sense of Shakespeare’s words sweeping across the sky in an arc that begins and ends with Anne. The alliteration in “living laughing love” allows the words to dance across the page, suggesting the effervescence of the poetic relationship between the pair and is suitably juxtaposed with the dull “dribbling” of the prose of the guests. The poem contains a great deal of verbs such as “dancing”, “dive”, “dozed” and “dribbling”. The verbs help to suggest that the couple’s relationship is an active and passionate one.

38. Alliteration The use of alliteration helps us to remember the emotions and feelings of the narrator ‘living, laughing love’. The alliteration of ‘l’ slows the reader down and helps give the phrase a warm and loving tone. It also emphasises the word ‘living’ which reminds us how alive the memory of Shakespeare is in her mind. It shows a huge amount of affection for him and indicates how much she missed him and how wonderful the memories are that she has to comfort her. She cannot forget the past moments she spent with her husband, and all the memories which will always be with her.

39. Summarise what you now know about the poem: What is it about? (Content) What themes are covered? What tone does the poem have? What literary devices have been used? How effective is the poem for the reader?

40. Summarise what you now know about the poem: What is it about? A woman who reflects on the love shared between her and her late husband What themes are covered? Love, romance, dreams What tone does the poem have? Soft, loving, reflective What literary devices have been used? Enjambement, metaphor, caesura, rhyming couplet, simile, sensory imagery How effective is the poem for the reader?

41. ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. Past tense represents Hathaway’s loss This metaphor represents Hathaway and Shakespeare’s relationship – ‘spinning’ has connotations of dizziness and excitement while ‘world’ emphasises the idea that they meant ‘everything’ to one another. The fact that this ‘spinning world’ was their bed implies their close intimate relationship. Duffy gets us to question the judgements we make on first impressions. All these words have connotations which imply something about their relationship. Be imaginative in your response: ‘forests’: something to be explored, adventure?; ‘castles’: romance, fairytales; ‘torchlight’: idea of the unknown – an exciting relationship?; ‘clifftops, seas’: romance and adventure/ ‘dive for pearls’ again suggests the excitement in their relationship. It suggests adventure and that their relationship was filled with treasures.

42. ‘…My lover's words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun.’ Enjambment draws out attention to ‘lover’s words’ emphasising the importance of Shakespeare’s language Metaphor comparing Shakespeare’s language to stars (imagery that Shakespeare used himself in his most famous play about love!). Suggests that his language was heavenly, otherwordly, celestial, beautiful – for everyone to see. Metaphor comparing his words to ‘kisses’. Suggests Shakespeare spoke affectionately/ lovingly to Hathaway. ‘…earth’ – intimate nature of his poetry. Extended metaphor: Closeness of physical relationship compared with different poetic techniques. ‘my body… to his’ suggests closeness/ mutual understanding/ that they know each other intimately. ‘his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun’ – personification of ‘verb’ suggesting the energy/ excitement their intimacy brought her. Sibilance and assonance: soft sounds throughout the sonnet reflect the sensual nature of the relationship. Word choice: ‘softer’ ‘rhyme’ ‘echo’ add to this feeling

43. ‘ Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed A page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance And drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. Metaphor: Hathaway compares herself to one of Shakespeare’s sonnets – written through their passionate exchanges. It is almost as if she is his inspiration. She doesn’t just inspire him to create great literature – she actually becomes part of it. Word choice: Again, Duffy combines Shakespeare’s literature with his relationship with Hathaway. A sense of excitement and passion in their relationship is suggested. Word choice: Different senses appealed to indicating again the passion and sensual nature of their relationship.

44. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. Metaphor: Hathaway imagines the guests in the next room, “dribbling their prose”, whilst herself and her husband create poetry and drama. There is the sense that others’ relationships lack the passion and excitement of Shakey and Hathaway. ‘Dribbling’ implies something dull, clumsy, unattractive, while they enjoy a relationship filled with ‘drama’, ‘romance’ and is overwhelming in that it gives every sense pleasure.

45. My living laughing love- I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head as he held me upon that next best bed. Repetition of soft ‘l’ sound: Reflects the ‘poetic’ beauty of their relationship (contrasts on the same line with ‘dribbling their prose) Imagery (metaphor): Rather than being buried or cremated, Hathaway keeps Shakespeare alive in her mind/ imagination. This can be seen as a further tribute to Shakespeare’s own imagination/ creativity. It also indicates that only Hathaway ever truly knew her husband.

46. Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy ‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance; his touch a verb dancing in the centre of a noun. Some nights, I dreamed he’d written me, the bed a page beneath his writer’s hands. Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, dribbling their prose. My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head As he held me upon that next best bed. An epigraph Immediately makes reader question Exciting / dizzy Enjambement throughout Past tense reflecting death Sibilant ‘s’ reflects fireworks Sensory imagery Olfactory imagery alliteration caesura Rhyming couplet Metaphor for dreams? Also use of onomatopoeia. Describes the love making through metaphor simile Literary devices he used Small box for storing valuables therefore metaphor Their love / relationship was special / precious

47. First quatrain “The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas where we would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses.“ Immediately the reader is transported to a magical landscape filled with metaphor, especially appropriate given that Shakespeare himself was the master of this technique. suggests their love made Anne dizzy and was all encompassing. Interestingly, despite bearing him three children, the persona of Anne created by Duffy makes no reference to this aspect of her marriage focusing on their relationship as lovers rather than as parents recalls the setting of some of Shakespeare’s more famous works such as Macbeth, Hamlet and The Tempest, suggesting a link between these iconic works of literature and the poetry which together are echoes of the excitement that took place in this bed.

48. The theme of love "Anne Hathaway," like many sonnets, is about love and all those nice things that come along with it: sex, passion, and of course poetry. It's a message to the world from Shakespeare's wife that she and her husband were very much in love, despite the way other people might interpret his will. Their love is beautiful, romantic, sexy; sounds like a pretty good relationship to us.

49. Love This is a poem about love and one that could usefully be compared to Shakespeare’s own sonnets on the topic, in particular Sonnet 130, where he compares his mistress to the standards normally required of women in poetry, and concludes that even though she is not the divine goddess other poets write about, to him she is just as beautiful in spite of, or maybe even because of, her human imperfections. “Anne Hathaway” is about a marriage where the couple create their own romance, one that does not involve conforming to other people’s expectations. The poem allows the reader an insight into a relationship of mutual love and respect, where the couple create a retreat from the rest of the world through poetry, a world which is symbolised by the second best bed. The power of literature and the imagination is hence a central idea in the poem. The poem creates significance around the bed which can only be truly understood by the couple themselves. The poem is hence in one sense about reinventing material objects.

50. Identity Another key theme in the poem is the true identity of William Shakespeare, a man about whom scholars still know surprisingly little. By presenting this poem in the voice of Anne Hathaway, Duffy wants us to appreciate that Anne was a central part of his life, as well as a passionate, creative and articulate woman in her own right.

51. Truth In "Anne Hathaway," Carol Ann Duffy wants to set the record straight about Anne Hathaway and Shakespeare's relationship. People tend to interpret Shakespeare's will to mean that he didn't love his wife. This seems to frustrate Duffy, so she writes a poem that imagines a totally different point of view. In doing so, she questions the assumptions that we all make about other people's lives. Is it really possible to know the truth of someone else's relationship?

52. Theme of literature and writing "Anne Hathaway" is a poem about writing as much as it is a poem about love. Duffy compares sex to writing throughout the poem; sometimes it's even hard to figure out which she's talking about. Shakespeare is considered by many people to be the greatest writer ever, but in this poem, it's his wife Anne who's got the skills.

53. Death and grief Another theme that runs through the poem is Anne’s loss of her husband and her genuine grief. A reader might perhaps expect Anne Hathaway to be angry and resentful, permanently overshadowed and side-lined by her husband, but Duffy’s Anne is only full of admiration and love for her husband, cherishing her precious memories that nobody else can share. Although Duffy gives Anne a voice, she actually subverts the reader’s expectations through the emotions expressed by the character.

54. Theme questions What is the relationship between love and writing in the poem? Why does Duffy use so many metaphors to describe Anne and Shakespeare's relationship? What do metaphors have to do with love? Who has the power in this relationship? Is this a marriage of equals? What is the relationship between love and power? After reading the poem, have your thoughts about the meaning of Shakespeare's will changed? Do you think that he and Anne were really in love? Why does Duffy include part of Shakespeare's will as the epigraph to the poem? Is Duffy's poem any more true than other interpretations of Shakespeare's will by other scholars? In her poem, does Duffy say "this is how there relationship was"? Or does she say, "this is how their relationship might have been"? What's the difference? Is "Anne Hathaway" supposed to remind us of Shakespeare's writing talent, or is it more about Anne's talents? Is Anne in competition with Shakespeare in this poem? Or is her sonnet just a tribute to him? Why does Duffy compare sex to writing so often? What's the connection between the two? What effect does the final couplet have on the poem? How are memory and writing connected?

56. Comparing poems How can this poem be compared to Valentine? Think about themes, narrator, style,

57. What poem does this compare with? ‘Anne Hathaway’ can be compared to the poem ‘Havisham’, also by Carol Ann Duffy. Both poems have a female persona who has lost a man. The contrast between these poems is that ‘Anne Hathaway’ tells us about losing a loved one and remembering the good times they had together, whereas in ‘Havisham’, the persona is telling of her hate for the man who left her.