Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy This poem is written in the form of a sonnet which was famously used by Shakespeare. He is so well known for his sonnets that the English sonnet is also often referred to as the Shakespearean sonnet. A sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines, and which ends in a rhyming couplet ( two lines which rhyme)

Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy This poem is not about the bed itself, but about what went on in the bed, and the love that the speaker, Anne Hathaway, felt for her husband, William Shakespeare. Anne describes her memories of the bed, and her passionate love with her husband. She compares his love to the words in his poems

Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy She seems to see their love as one of his plays Their guests time spent in the better bed seems inferior to the love between Anne and Shakespeare. She says she’ll always remember the love between them in that bed

Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy There are some very traditional romantic metaphors in the poem which shows how precious and amazing Anne’s time with Shakespeare was. Some of Anne’s language reminds us of Shakespeare’s own poetry, or speeches from his plays Anne compares the way Shakespeare loved her to his writing methods. Poetic techniques like rhyming and assonance are mentioned. Their love was so intense that it seemed poetic – Anne felt that she was in a play, rather than in the real world

Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy Assonance – when words share the same vowel sound but the consonants are different. Eg Lisa had a piece of cheese before she went to sleep, to help her dream Prose - Normal continuous writing; not poetry or speech Casket - Another word for a coffin or an urn

Anne Hathaway “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 we would dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; Extract from Shakespeare’s will – bear in mind that the best bed would have been the one used for guests This is how she sees the bed – not as second best Metaphor - Her experiences with Shakespeare were an exciting time for her – they meant everything to her Traditionally romantic places – they had this excitement wherever they were Metaphor – their love was treasure Metaphor – his words were rare and magical

Anne Hathaway 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. Metaphor for how well their bodies fit together Metaphor – he brought life and movement to her She imagines that their love is so perfect that it is poetry or a play he has written Metaphor – the bed they lie in becomes, for her, the page where he writes his greatest love stories

Anne Hathaway Romance and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste. In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on, Dribbling their prose. Repetition – emphasises their all-encompassing love The two ingredients of his best works Their guests – the ones in the ‘best’ bed – are dull by comparison Metaphor – others’ love-making is boring prose, not beautiful poetry like Shakespeare’s

Anne Hathaway My living laughing love – I hold him in the casket of my widow’s head as he held me upon that next best bed. Alliteration – emphasises how she remembers him His final resting place is in her mind and thoughts and in her memories of him, and the love they shared This seems ironic now that we know how Anne herself viewed that bed – she certainly didn’t see it as the second best Her memories of him and of this bed are of feeling safe and secure