"The World's Wife" by Carol Ann Duffy
Introduction to Carol Ann Duffy,
The World's Wife : blurb
Carol Ann Duffy's virtuoso fifth collection, and her first themed, is undoubtedly one that brought her to a wider readership than any other contemporary poet. As the saying goes 'behind every famous man is a great woman' - and from the sharp-tongued Mrs Darwin to the lascivious Frau Freud, from the adoring Queen Kong to the long-suffering wife of the devil himself, each one steps from her counterpart's shadow to tell her side of the story in this irresistible collection.
First published in 1999 and at once lauded as original, full of imagination, and radical wit, The World's Wife remains a feminist classic.
The collection is made up of 30 poems, 15 of which will be studied in class.
each poem takes a famous myth, fairytale, christian character or famous figure, and twists the story, writing them from the perspective of the women in those tales.Â
Carol Ann Duffy's goal was to allow us to think about the way we percieve the author's voice in the texts we read.
The world's wife takes on themes of gender politics, sexual identity, love, marriage, motherhood, time, loss, religion, and the nature of language itself, covering many powerful, universal topics. Carol Ann Duffy believes that poetry is "the music of being human" , that poetry is an expression of emotion, and the intensity of life: "When people get married or have a bereavement, they turn to poetry in those intense moments of being human".Â
Table of contents :
Body of Work Analysis
"Salome" :The biblical story of SalomeÂ
Salome was a character in the bible. She's a dancer, daughter of Queen Herod and both niece and stepdaughter of King Herodias ; When her father, the king, died, Queen Herod married his brother, king Herodias making her both his niece and step-daughter. John the Baptist condemns this union, and is later killed for his disapproval, when, prompted by her mother, Salome wishes for his head to be served to her on a platter.
The story was used and twisted in Oscar Wilde's play, who changes the story significantly, making it so that Salome is attracted to John the Baptist, and has his head served to her on a platter out of person hatred, because he rejected her.
Salome is one of the more complicated works in the world's wife. The poem begins in Salome's bedroom, where she vaguely talks about doing something bad; "I'd done it before, (and doubtless I'd do it again, sooner or later)". She carries on with her morning, tired, hungover, calling for the maid, and talking about going clean ; stopping drinking, sex, cigarettes. The text makes references to one night stands.Â
"It was time to turf out the biter, the beater or biter / who'd come like a lamb to the slaughter / to Salome's bed" creates a considerable shift in tone; Salome becomes menacing, worrying. The final stanza reveals the head bloody of John the Baptist in her bedsheets, propped onto a platter, referencing the original myth.Â
Carol Ann Duffy uses the trope of the femme fatale, by creating a modern version of Salome's character, inspired by Oscar Wilde's play, where Salome kills the men she seduces. The underlying idea is that she kills men out of a dislike for them, as though to atone for the "sins" of the male sex- "lamb to the slaughter" being an allusion to jesus dying for other's sins.
"Mrs Midas" : The greek myth of king MidasÂ
King Midas, in greek mythology, is the famous story of the golden touch, a cautionnary tale about greed. King Midas asks Dionysus to grant him the wish of having everything he touches turn to gold. There's two different endings ; either Midas starves, due to all his food turning to gold, or nearly starves, and gets granted mercy by Dionisus, who releases him by having him bathe in the Pactolus river (explaining why this river has a lot of gold).
King Midas is the second work we've studied in the world's wife. I personally find it easier than Salome, because the message is more clear, and perhaps because I've been able to get used to poetry again through studying Salome.
The poem begins in a traditional, peaceful domestic scene where Mrs Midas is cooking, and looking out the window. This modern retelling makes the couple into an average middle/upper middle class family, in a suburban setting. The poem grows more unsettling as Mrs Midas spots her husband snapping the twigs of the pear tree they'd grown together. From then on the poem gets darker ; the once happy couple is kept apart by the golden touch, Mrs Midas grows lonely, Mr Midas eventually succumbs to madness, and he eventually leaves home to live isolated in the forest.
The poem treats universal themes of greed, materialism, and selfishness. King Midas' destrcutive desire for gold and lack of thought for his wife drove him to ruin their relationship and lives, and hurts both of them. Carol Ann Duffy makes her point about materialism clear with the single line : "It [gold] feeds no one".Â
"Little Red Cap" : The tale of Little red riding hood
little red cap poetry worksheet
little red cap poetry worksheet (2)
" Queen Harod" : The story of King Harod
"Medusa" : The greek myth of Medusa
medusa poetry worksheet
"Demeter" : The Greek Goddess Demeter
Demeter is the greek goddess of seasons. When her daughter persephone is kidnapped by Hades who marries her, and tricked into eating a pomergranate fruit making her trapped in the underworld, she plunges the world in a harsh and unforgiving winter. Crops die, people are in famine, and Demeter is heartbroken at the disappearance of her daughter. Its agreed that Persephone returns to her mother for 6 months of the year, and spends the other 6 with Hades. This was the greek mythology exaplanatin for seasons.Â
"Thetis" : The greek goddess Thetis
THETIS_MATTEO___LUCAS_PRESENTATION_.pptxstudent presentation about poem "Thetis"
Pope Joan, the mythical female pope
"Mrs Beast" and the tale of the beauty and the beast
Mrs_Beast.mp4student presentation on he poem "Mrs Beast"
"Anne Hathaway", William Shakespeare's wife
Anne_Hathaway-Beatrice_Isabel.mp4student presentation about the poem "Anne Hathaway"
"Mrs Lazarus"
"Circe", the greek myth enchantress
William and Nil Circe Presentation.pdfstudent presentation on the poem "Circe"
"Pygmalion's bride", and the greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion_s_Bride_Maxime___Titouan.pdfstudent presentation on the poem "Pygmalion's bride"