1. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy from Mean Time [1998]

2. Links Link to media presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOsmZqClgBA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1-CMmAocww Jean Simmons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-bjy28dNiQ Whole film Great Expectations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOsmZqClgBA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1-CMmAocww http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-bjy28dNiQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOsmZqClgBA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1-CMmAocww http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-bjy28dNiQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzYNG1FgMNkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzYNG1FgMNkMiss H’s Ghosts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzYNG1FgMNk

4. She was dressed in rich materials — satins, and lace, and silks — all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half-packed trunks were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on — the other was on the table near her hand — her veil was half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a prayer-book, all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass. It was not in the first moments that I saw all these things, though I saw more of them in the first moments than might be supposed. But, I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow. I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone. Once, I had been taken to see some ghastly wax-work at the Fair, representing I know not what impossible personage lying in state. Once, I had been taken to one of our old marsh churches to see a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress, that had been dug out of a vault under the church pavement. Now wax-work and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me. I should have cried out, if I could. [Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, p50]

5. Learning Intentions I will develop a knowledge and understanding of the complexities of poetic language. I will convey information using specialist terminology, analysis and evaluation of texts. I will persuade, argue and evaluate using supporting evidence from the text. I will structure a convincing analytical examination of key areas of the text. In written and spoken forms. I will make relevant notes and organise them in a coherent way to create new texts. I will read primary and secondary sources to expand my understanding of texts. I will present my ideas in a fluent way that is appropriate to my audience. I will examine the interpretation of written/spoken/ performed texts and evaluate effectiveness.

6. Collaborative Learning All must take notes. All must present findings to whole class. All must contribute to discussions and presentations. ----------------------------------------------------------- Groups could study: 1. Mood, imagery, 2. Characterisation, themes, 3. Narrative voice and tone 4. Structure and word choice. 5. Symbolism and literary devices

7. SPIRIT of poetry S = Structure P = Poetic Techniques I = Imagery R = Rhythm and Rhyme I = Ideas T = Tone

8. Introduction Restate the question in your own words. (Use key words from the task). Mention the name of the writer and the title of the text. State your intentions. (How are you going to answer the question / complete the task). FOCUS ON THREE AREAS IF POSSIBLE. [TART]

9. TART Title of text Author Response to question/topic. Techniques and aspects you will examine. ------------------------------------------------------ Attempt to be stylish and intelligent – but above all else keep your writing clear and intelligible.

10. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Write about a poem that deals with the subject of love. Examine how the poet explores the subject and explain to what extent you found the treatment effective. [You may consider: theme, structure, imagery, tone, mood, symbolism, character, narrative voice and style.]

11. Essay Question 2 Choose a poem which takes a pessimistic view of some aspect[s]of life. Briefly state what the poem is about and go on to show how the techniques used convey these pessimistic feelings. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: tone, word choice, imagery, rhythm, or any other appropriate feature.

12. Essay Question 3 Choose a poem that communicates the experience of loss or isolation. Show how the poet communicates the experience in a way you found meaningful. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: tone, word choice, imagery, rhythm, or any other appropriate feature.

13. Essay Question 4 Choose a poem that creates an interesting, tragic, sinister or humorous character. Show how the poet uses various poetic techniques to make the character feel real to you. [You may consider: theme, structure, imagery, tone, mood, symbolism, character, narrative voice and style.]

14. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy How far does the poet want us to sympathize with Havisham? [List elements of sympathy / disgust] Why does the reader have to know about Great Expectations to understand the poem? Does Havisham have a fair view of men? What do you think of her view of being an unmarried woman? Perhaps the most important part of the poem is the question “who did this/to me?” Discuss. How far does the poem show that Havisham is responsible for her own misery, and how far does it support her feelings of self-pity and her desire for revenge?

15. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Explain how the word ‘stink’ expresses self-loathing. What does it mean that Duffy has used ‘great economy of language’? How effectively does Duffy convey the idea that Havisham hates the word ‘spinster’? Discuss in turn what each colour represents and what Duffy is trying to convey through its use. Other than the wedding celebration, what could the red balloon which bursts symbolise?.

16. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy `` In your groups prepare a presentation on your stanza. Examine: 1. Mood, imagery, 2. Characterisation, themes, 3. Narrative voice and tone 4. Structure and word choice. 5. Symbolism and literary devices ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjambement, metaphor, simile, oxymoron, dark imagery, climax, Enjambement, metaphor, simile, oxymoron, dark imagery, climax, Analyse word choice and aspects of punctuation. Analyse word choice and aspects of punctuation. You should also refer to how mood is created, How Duffy uses characterisation, tone and symbolism

17. 1. ‘Alphabet Group’: Mood and Imagery Beloved sweetheart bastard. Mood starts as being loving and caring and changes almost immediately as the word ‘bastard’ is incongruous to the other words in the phrase. The mood from this word on is very sinister. (Oxymoron) ‘Love’s hate behind a white veil’: her change of emotions is instant, ‘Bang’ shows this. The love turns to hate in an anger fuelled outburst, ‘red’ symbolising this. ‘Dark green pebbles for eyes’ suggests her envy for all those who are happy in the world. The symbolic green colour, for envy, is further darkened and the stonelike pebbles represent her harsh outlook on the world. ‘Ropes on the backs of my hands I could strangle with’ suggests old age and violent intentions. She is still enraged, obsessed, insane with anger, jealousy, revenge, despair and loneliness.

18. 1. 5DMood and Imagery Twisted love letter: ‘Beloved Sweetheart Bastard.’ Ironic tone, mood is sinister due to the powerful contrasting, contradicting, oxymoronic wordchoice. Levels of malice and hatred change throughout the poem: Strangling, stabbing and praying for death are contrasted with fantasy elements of a wedding night. However the sinister mood intensifies as the ‘Bites awake’ into the reality of her loneliness and isolation. The image of ‘dark green pebbles for eyes’ is effective in conveying Havisham’s jealousy and her harsh stony outlook on the world. The symbolic green colour, representing envy, is further emphasised by using the word ‘dark’ to suggest her depth of hatred. ‘love’s hate behind a white veil’ is an oxymoron that places love and hate side by side and conceals both emotions behind the symbolic bridal veil that is ironically white. The veil also conceals her face, emotions and mental decay.

19. 2. 5Dcharacterisation and themes She has a harsh, hissing, (plosive) narrative voice. She seems to spit the word ‘Spinster’ out because she hates the idea of being unmarried, unwanted, unfulfilled as a woman of that period. ‘Ropes on the backs of my hands I could strangle with’ suggests she is physically becoming older and emotionally more hateful. The themes of love and hate are explored as binary oppositions. Her love was so intense that the rejection by her lover made her only focus in life hatred. Isolation, loneliness, revenge, self-pity, being unloved.

20. 3.5DNarrative voice and tone. ‘Cawing Nooooo at the wall’. Shows self-pity but makes the reader feel sympathy for the narrator as she appears pathetic and lost. Cawing suggests a crow sound and the use of neologism in Nooooo, to extend the word no, suggests an animalistic persona where language has broken down into a series of sounds only she can understand. ‘Bang,’ is used to show how quickly her life changed but is ironically understated as no exclamation mark is used. Her tone here seems in disbelief here and disappointed. She then turns violent and stabs the wedding cake, returning to her hateful tone.

21. 4. 5D Structure and wordchoice Contrasting wordchoice starts the poem and shocks the reader. Plosive b sounds create a menacing mood and creates a dramatic monologue that is cathartic as it reveals all the narrator’s innermost feelings and emotions. She appears hateful yet vulnerable as the poem is structured like a twisted love letter or secret diary entry and this makes the reader feel guilty or voyeuristic. Praying for death, suggests she has some form of demonic sense of injustice and wants her lover dead. Cawing = symbolic of death, crow sound, darkness, language becomes merely sounds, animalistic. Colour symbolism: Red, white,yellow, puce, green, black???? Who did this to me: central point of poem, moment of clarity. Rhetorical question, enjambment, pause from line to line make the question more dramatic. Direct speech to reader: we answer the question in our minds: she did it to herself.

22. 2. 5A Character and theme The theme of despair is explored and can be seen in the line ‘Cawing Nooooo at the wall’. She seems isolated, alone and deperate, her language has become a series of animalistic sounds due to the character’s, self-imposed, lack of human contact. The main themes of the poem are the binary oppositions love and hate. The love turns to hate as ‘a red balloon bursting in (her) face’ quickly changed her emotions and focused her life in a very negative way. ‘Bang.’ is understated as no exclamation mark is present and suggests her isolation, disappointment, disgust and tragic resignation to her fate. Anger is shown when the narrator ‘stabs at a wedding cake.’ This is a metaphorical murder of marriage and the love she once had. Her aspect on the world seems clouded by jealousy as she has ‘dark green pebbles for eyes’. The word ‘dark’ intensifies the symbolic green for envy into a malicious outlook that saw no value in the world.

23. 3. 5A Narrative voice and Tone Tone is bitter at the start, ironic, angry and hateful words are placed in juxtaposition to loving words. A structure similar to a love letter starts the poem but the narrative voice creates a bitter tone and bitter irony, as we soon realise that the narrator is writing a cathartic letter or diary entry that we are not supposed to read. This makes the reader feel awkward and isolated as they are viewing something they should not be, but it also attracts them to the narrator’s world and situation. ‘Spinster.’ shows the narrators self-hatred and this is emphasised through the hissing ‘s’ sound. She seems to spit the word out at the world, rejecting it and herself as it seems to personify her existence. The ‘yellowing’ dress, the ‘slewed mirror’ show her as she really is; aging, decaying and not recognisable to her own visions of herself. She tragically asks: ‘who did this to me’ and the reader must decide who is to blame for her situation. This use of direct speech is very effective and haunts the reader as they answer the question: it is her fault!

24. 5.5A Symbolism and Literary devices. Metaphors are used ‘sounds not words’ suggests that, in her isolation, language has become a series of animalistic sounds that reflect her erratic, unstable, despairing, self-loathing mental state. The oxymoron: ‘love’s hate behind a white veil’ conceals the impact of her being rejected. ‘A red balloon bursting…’ symbolises love and hate in this context as her emotions seem to become combined as she realises her fate. She fantasises of her wedding night and dehumanises her lover by calling him ‘it’ and then states she desires a ‘male corpse for a long slow honeymoon’, this shows that the narrator has had a long slow life, dressed in her wedding gown and decaying physically and mentally as a corpse may. She sees her lover as corpse as he symbolically died the day of their wedding. Colour symbolism is used throughout and Duffy subverts our normal perceptions of these colours. ‘Don’t think it’s only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.’ Ambiguity is used to offer many interpretations of the ending. The repeated ‘b’ sound could be the last beats of her breaking heart, it could be her voice breaking as she remembers her fate, it could be her last words as she finally emotionally and physically breaks.

25. 4. Structure and word choice Spinster is a one word sentence and emphasises her sense of isolation. ‘Who did this to me’ is an epiphany. It shows a moment of rare clarity for Havisham, as she realises that she is the cause of her own suffering. It may be seen as the turning point of the poem as it links past with present. Two stanzas past (one line present- who did…) Two stanzas past (one line present- …heart that b-b-b-breaks) Her violence is present right to the end of the poem as she stabs at the wedding cake, metaphoricaly killing the concept of marriage.

26. 5.Symbolism and literary devices

27. Mood, imagery, 5D1Tristan, Matthew, Jack Beloved Sweetheart bastard [oxymoron] hateful mood established. Ropes [death/strangulation/murder] dark green pebbles, sickly colour, decay. Jealousy, stone like gaze, windows to the soul and Havisham has closed her soul to the outside world. Medusa connections as her harsh gaze could turn you to stone. Spinster. Minor sentence implies self-loathing, solitude and loneliness. Sounds menacing due to hissing s. Cawing NOOOO at the wall. Crowlike sound, connotations of death, decay. [onomatopoeia] [Neologism = new word] Dehumanises her sounds/language. In denial of her loneliness. Image of a tragic, lonely, desperate, bitter character, who relives her pain in isolation every day. Image of a tragic, lonely, desperate, bitter character, who relives her pain in isolation every day. Lost body… fluent tongue… Bite Awake. Fantasy imagery, dreamworld is where she sometimes feels ‘better’. Sexual connotations of wedding night that never was. Puce curses that are sounds not words – sibilance creates menace, hissing s sound. Her evil intent cannot be voiced through language and becomes unintelligible sounds of bitterness and despair. Yellowing dress, white wedding dress becomes a symbol of decay and decomposition as opposed to love and unity. Love’s hate behind a white veil. [oxymoron] Red balloon. Symbolises her heart breaking/exploding. Bang! Onomatopoeia to emphasise the impact on her. Stabbing a wedding cake seems a violent attack on the concept of marriage. Male corpse… long, slow honeymoon. Images of death and isolation create a sinister, murderous mood. B-b-b-breaks, mind, body and heart breaks. Image of broken woman, solitary and isolated. We sympathise

28. Mood/Imagery. 5A1 Omar, Nicola Amy Opening lines suggest anger in the narrative voice. Cathartic/dramatic monologue. Hatred against men/marriage. Dark Green Pebbles – Jealousy, cold stone like view the world. Ropes I could strangle with – violent death connotations, Tied to the situation. Suggests old age also. Sinister mood, Gothic imagery. Stanza 2 continues to be sinister and introduces personal bitterness from the character/narrator. Sexual fantasy that is dreamlike. Lost Body. Bite Awake!!! Reality and allusion Cawing NOOOO at the wall. Neologism= creating new words for situations. Negative wordchoice and sound effect [hyperbole] enhances the menace in the statement Puce curses [S sounds hissing alliteration/sibilance] No language can turn the ‘sounds’ into meaning. Her evil intent is expressed in sounds only. Mood changes in last stanza to sympathy due to the change in tone. The harsh tone is replaced by what appears to be the narrator b-b-b-breaking down Almost like a letter at start and end.

29. Characterisation, themes, 5D1Abbie, Sheraine, Emma Title Havisham is her family/maiden/single name. Her title would have been ‘Miss’. She omits this as she is embarrassed by her rejection and isolation. She is decomposing as a person physically and mentally. [Yellowing, spinster, stink.] She is lonely and isolated. [Gothic figure] Stuck in time and place, she looks into her wardrobe ‘trembling’. She gazes into the past to remember how things could have been. Ropes suggest murderous intentions. Who did this to me? Self-denial? Blaming someone else? Central question of the poem. She is responsible for her current situation but circumstances from the past influenced her decisions and her behaviour. B-b-b-breaks signifies her breakdown emotionally and mentally. Themes: Anger, aggression, embarrassment, isolation, suffering, love, hate and despair. Death, betrayal, embitterment, FEAR!!!!!!

30. Characterisation, themes, Polly, Susan, Jodie, Ilona Havisham – title suggests no gender, possibly a place or object. We consider ‘Miss’ as having connotations of youth, unmarried status. The narrator is old, was jilted at the alter and is now embittered and driven by hatred. CA Duffy removed the prefix Miss to add mystery and menace to the character. Not a day since then… Shows she lives in the past and dwells on the incidents that made her what she has become. Wishes/prays for death!!!! [word choice/imagery] Spinster. Word seems spat out in disgust. It makes her feel unloved, betrayed, unwanted. She becomes something she never wanted to be, ALONE!!!! The word sounds like a curse to HERSELF. Hissing ‘s’ sounds sinister and shocking. I stink and remember… suggests her physical and emotional decay and the fact that she can only live in the past. She sees no happy future. Whole days in bed cawing NOOOO at the wall. Dream world is where she feels sometimes ‘better’. She dreams of her lover: [‘lost body’ corpse like image] Bites awake: violently she is jolted back to reality. Stabbed wedding cake – metaphor for killing her memories of her wedding day. She may also be killing all things associated with the institution of marriage: including the man! Theme of confusion, as ironically she wanted to be married and is now alone. THEMES: revenge, self-hatred, self-destruction, isolation, jealousy, separation, desperation, death. Poem is a statement of grief.

31. Narrative voice and tone 5D1Zoe, Matthew, Nicola, Lorna, Zoe Strong and violent word choices create a aggressive, violent and disturbing tone. Stab, strangle, dead, ropes. 1 st person narrative [cathartic, personal, emotional.] Dramatic monologue tells her story. Stream of Consciousness = thoughts, memories, actions, speech and observations creating a rambling, garbled effect. [Suggests narrator may be mentally disturbed in this context.] Where we may expect exclamation marks there are none. This gives the poem a harsh, matter of fact tone that creates a disturbing mood and narrative voice. Tone changes – Spinster. Stink, NOOO at the wall. Suggests she cannot identify herself in a positive way. She describes herself using abstract nouns [her, spinster] that emphasises her loneliness, her lack of companionship, her isolation from society. Tone is bitter and pessimistic. ‘Who did this/to me? [Rhetorical question] tone is tragically pitiful, she knows the answer is herself. The reader sees her now as a victim rather than a potential killer. Dream world takes her away from reality. Bites awake. Violent image jolts her back to reality. She has to escape and dreaming still reminds her of her situation. Tone in last line changes from bitter, violent and aggressive to sad and afraid. The repetition may suggest her heart breaking repeatedly, day after day and every day. It may suggest the last beats of her heart.

32. Narrative voice and tone 5A2 Liam, Connor, Michael, Sarah Tone seems emotional yet detached at the start due to the irony of the comment. [Oxymoron] First person narrative [I] makes it more personal and cathartic. ‘Dark green pebbles for eyes’ symbolic of jealousy. Connotations of stone give the image a harsh and menacing quality. Cawing NOOOO at the wall. Suggests self-pity. Connotations of a crow sound, links to theme of death. Neologism creates new word to signify her pain. No is a very negative word choice, and she can only scream it at the wall. This shows the reader how isolated and lonely she has become. Her tone is desperate and terrifying, but also appears afraid and vulnerable. Who did this to me? She questions her own appearance. She seems surprised and shocked by what she sees in the ‘slewed’ mirror. The distorted reflection seems to appear to her as a physical manifestation of her mental state. She has become a twisted vision of a bride and cannot comprehend how this has happened. Trembling at opening the wardrobe shows her fear and reluctance to face her reality. She looks into her past and finds disappointment and rejection. Dresses never worn remind her of her situation and isolation. Puce curses that are sounds not words. Supernatural blood coloured oaths suggest evil intent and the tone now seems murderous. Verbal poison flows from her to her ex fiance. The hissing ‘s’ sound makes the tone menacing and shows that her words are now only garbled sounds. She cannot put her feelings into words and only evil sounds come from her lips. Word choices, throughout, create a menacing, disturbing tone. Mood is sinister and tense. Corpse, Love’s hate behind a white veil. Images are dark / gothic / shocking. Tone in last line changes from bitter, violent and aggressive to sad and afraid. The repetition may suggest her heart breaking repeatedly, day after day and every day. It may suggest the last beats of her heart.

33. Structure and word choice.5D1Breagh, Lewis Rebecca 4x4 lined stanzas = very tightly controlled structure. Enjambement allows the lines to flow from stanza to stanza to create a rambling STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS effect. That is cathartic and a dramatic monologue. [ S of C= thoughts, reflections, words, actions, speech and memories to create a MONTAGE effect that compresses Time, Space and Action.] TWENTY YEARS OF SOLITUDE, HATRED AND DECAY, IN A TWENTY SECOND POEM!!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She talks about killing She talks about killing She discusses what she has done to herself She discusses what she has done to herself Fantasy scenes of what could have been for her. Fantasy scenes of what could have been for her. Anger, embarrassment and breakdown, Anger, embarrassment and breakdown, ‘Bites awake’ – moves her from dreamstate to reality. ‘Spinster.’ Minor, one word sentence. Negative connotations meaning loneliness, single life, isolation, lacking love? [Sounds menacing due to hissing ‘s’?] ‘Yellowing’ – white purity of wedding dress gone and the purity of her love. 20 years of isolation has led to her physical and mental decay. Yellow has connotations of disease. ‘Lost body over me’ – romantic dream of her ‘husband’. Suggests death, loss and, ironically, love. She still pictures herself with him as young lovers. ‘Red balloon bursting in my face’ – anger, embarrassment, humiliation. Red balloon may symbolise her heart, not just’ b-b-b-breaking’, but dramatically exploding. ‘Cawing’ – crow-like cry [onomatopoeia]. Links to her older state/death ‘Beloved sweetheart bastard.’ [start]– ‘…b-b-b-breaks.’ [end] Starts and ends on plosive ‘b’ sounds creating a cycle of her pain. Her vulnerability and fear are shown at the end and her she seems to hide behind a mask of hatred - ‘loves hate behind a white veil’ - at the start to cope with her rejection everyday.

34. Structure and word choice. Lauren M, Sophie, Laura, Lauren H Start and end of poem appear climactic. Plosive ‘b’ sound creates a dramatic impact on the reader. It sounds harsh and emphatic and creates a cyclical effect. Starts with an oxymoron [beloved sweetheart bastard] and ends with mentioning the heart that b-b-b-breaks. By using references to ‘hearts’ at the start and end we see how CA Duffy creates a unity in imagery. A ‘sweetheart’ and a broken heart create a symmetry to the poem and puts the heart as a symbol of love in different contexts. Green pebbles suggest jealousy, decay, disease. Spinster. Isolation / loneliness / lack of identity / completion. Harsh violent words – dead, ropes, strangle, corpse, stabbed, bang. 4x4 line stanzas- 1 she discusses the man who left her. 2 Describes herself. 3 Fantasy world. 4 She describes her decline into despair and relates to the circumstances that led to her isolation.

35. Symbolism and literary devices Jed, Grant, Euan, Jordan Green pebbles – symbol of jealousy, envy, decay, disease. Stonelike eyes, harshness of her glare on the world. Death drives her purpose, it is her reason for living. Ropes = old, death, strangling, Yellowing = old, decaying, Stink connotations of decay, self loathing, awareness of her decline. [Physical and emotional] Trembling = ambiguous, she/dress trembles. Cawing NOOOO – image of isolation, sadness and fear. Spinster. Symbolic of single female. Tone is disgusted and afraid. Her identity is consumed by her unmarried status. Hissing s sound makes this minor sentence sinister. Sibilance. She may be in denial that she will never be married and that is the cause of her emotional turmoil. PATHOS = suffering grief Gk. Evoking strong feelings of pity or sorrow. Who did this/to me? [ambiguous] Confronting herself for her position and condition? In denial of the fact that she is responsible? Colour symbolism: Puce curses. Blood colour, Wedding cake, symbolises the institution of marriage. Stabbed = she murders the concept of marriage. PATHOS – pathetic lonely figure, we feel deeply sympathetic even though she appears hateful, bitter and murderous to us. Her heart breaks constantly. The bbbbreaks may be the last beats of a tragic, lovelorn heart.

36. Symbolism and literary devices: Bonnie, Michelle, Jodie, Danielle, Jordan Start is dramatic! Alliteration, Harsh b. Wish him dead/prayed for it… Metaphorical murder is desired by H. This murder only takes place in H’s mind, her life is played out in the past: in her mind. This suggests her mental instability and her lack of action, as she seems to be a total recluse. Colour symbolism [Green= jealousy symbol. puce= sibilance hissing s, white = purity, IRONY, oxymoron on love, red= metaphor for her life exploding/heart bursting, yellow= age, decay, decline] Rope = death, age, wringing emotions. SYMBOL Spinster. Minor sentence. [A title of a single woman. Just as miss is - the word CA Duffy omitted from the title.] Her identity is embodied in this word. She is the word she hates most. She appears to spit the word out at the world!!!!! Cawing [crow sound, onomatopoeia, NOOOO neologism, creates the sound of despair and isolation. At the wall – no one to speak to illustrates solitude and loneliness.] IMAGE OF FEMALE ISOLATION AND PATHOS!!!!!!!!!!!! Lost body… Bite awake. Fantast IMAGERY. Dream world, escape. Love’s hate behind a white veil. She is a personified as a symbol of ‘love’: as a bride. This changes to ‘hate’ as the ‘red balloon’ of her hopes explodes in front of her when she is rejected at the alter Wedding cake symbolises marriage. Stabbed – suggests her killing the concept of marriage.

37. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes, ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dress yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe; the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words. Some nights better, the lost body over me, my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear then down till I suddenly bite awake. Love’s Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes, ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dress yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe; the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words. Some nights better, the lost body over me, my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear then down till I suddenly bite awake. Love’s hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding-cake. Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon. Don’t think it’s only the heart that b-b-b-breaks. hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding-cake. Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon. Don’t think it’s only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.

38. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Background: This poem is a monologue spoken by ‘Miss’ Havisham, a character in Dickens' Great Expectations. Jilted by her scheming fiancé, she continues to wear her wedding dress and sit amid the remains of her wedding breakfast for the rest of her life, while she plots revenge on all men. She hates her spinster state - of which her unmarried family name constantly reminds her (which may explain the choice of title for the poem).

39. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Summary of Poem: She begins by telling the reader the cause of her troubles - her phrase “beloved sweetheart bastard” is a contradiction in terms (called an oxymoron). She tells us that she has prayed so hard (with eyes closed and hands pressed together) that her eyes have shrunk hard and her hands have sinews strong enough to strangle with - which fits her murderous wish for revenge. (Readers who know Dickens' novel well might think at this point about Miss Havisham's ward, Estella - her natural mother, Molly, has strangled a rival, and has unusually strong hands.)

40. Characterisation. Havisham is aware of her own stink - because she does not ever change her clothes nor wash. She stays in bed and screams in denial. At other times she looks and asks herself “who did this” to her? She sometimes dreams almost tenderly or erotically of her lost lover, but when she wakes the hatred and anger return. Thinking of how she “stabbed at the wedding cake” she now wants to work out her revenge on a “male corpse” - presumably that of her lover.

41. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Structure: The poem is written in four stanzas which are unrhymed. Many of the lines run on, and the effect is like normal speech. The poet uses many adjectives of colour - “green”, “puce”, “white” and “red” and lists parts of the body “eyes”, “hands”, “tongue”, “mouth”, “ear” and “face”. Sometimes the meaning is clear, but other lines are more open - and there are hints of violence in “strangle”, “bite”, “bang” and “stabbed”. It is not clear what exactly Miss Havisham would like to do on her “long slow honeymoon”, but we can be sure that it is not pleasant.

42. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Questions: Why does the poet omit Havisham's title and refer to her by her surname only? Why does the poet write “spinster” on its own? What does Havisham think about this word and its relevance to her? What is the effect of “Nooooo” and “b-b-breaks”? Why are these words written in this way? What is the meaning of the image of “a red balloon bursting”?

43. Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy How far does the poet want us to sympathize with Havisham? Does the reader have to know about Great Expectations to understand the poem? Does Havisham have a fair view of men? What do you think of her view of being an unmarried woman? Perhaps the most important part of the poem is the question “who did this/to me?” How far does the poem show that Havisham is responsible for her own misery, and how far does it support her feelings of self-pity and her desire for revenge?

44. Stanza 1 The opening line portrays the order of events. "Beloved sweetheart bastard." The man she describes was someone special but soon became someone she hated. She has longed for revenge as the reader is told, "Not a day since then I haven't wished for him dead." The words "prayed" also tie in with this deep seated longing for change. The imagery of her eyes being like "Dark green pebbles" hints to the hardness of stone but also the green is jealousy. She has become trapped by obsession: thinking, praying and waiting for her fiance.

45. Stanza 2 The word "Spinster" is a minor one word sentence, almost spat out in distaste. Havisham describes her condition "I stink and remember" the words refer to her smell from wearing the same clothes but also the stench of the terrible thing that has happened to her. The events have changed her and there is real sadness and fear behind the words. Her wedding dress is described as "yellowing" as she questions how she has ended up in this situation. wedding dresswedding dress

46. Stanza 3 The final part of the previous stanza merges into this third verse and the disjointedness reflects Havisham's own distress. This stanza hints that sometimes she can feel happy and when she is bed asleep for a moment it as if she is still with her lover, but the strong words "bite awake" describe the gnawing pain of having lost a loved one. The dream is only a dream and life is difficult to live with.

47. Stanza 4 Love is personified and the narrator describes herself as "Love's hate behind a white veil" Love enjoys hurting her and again this is emphasised with her description of the balloon "bursting in my face." Balloons are supposed to be fun like love but in this instance it becomes something shocking ready to spoil her happiness. Havisham also describes at destroying her wedding cake, "I stabbed at a wedding-cake." This describes not only her pain, but the pain she would like to inflict on someone else. The imagery of a honeymoon is coupled with the words "male corpse" this also shows her unfeeling towards men. She doesn't want something living, she wants something dead. The very last word comes out in a stutter when she talks about how a heart "b-b-b-breaks" this shows sadness and madness at the same time. When she talks about her heart not being the only one that is broken it reminds us of Pip from "Great Expectations", she's been hurt and knows how to break a man's heart. In the case of Pip, she wanted to crush his dreams of gaining an education. Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations