Three analyses of Carol Ann Duffy poems. A comparison of Stafford afternoons and Litany, Cliche kid and close and Beachcomber and nostalgia. All A* graded, close to full marks. Exemplar essays useful for analysis of poetry in the poetic voices unit of the english language and literature A level.
In both Beachcomber and Nostalgia, Duffy presents the concept of memory as painful and
cruel. In Nostalgia memory is portrayed as a painful and disease like affliction that is
haunting and damaging to those who are afflicted. In Beachcomber, memory is presented as
something sinister and foreboding, like a lasting threat.
In Beachcomber, Duffy presents memory as a sinister force that hangs over the persona in
the poem. Duffy does this through her use of sentence moods. Imperatives such as ‘Get it in
your head’ and ‘Go for the sound of the sea’ present a sense of tension, specifically the
imperative ‘Don’t move’ suggests there is an element of danger to this memory, subtly
hinting that memory, in this instance, poses a threat to the persona. To further exemplify
that memory is threatening and dangerous, Duffy uses frequent caesura throughout the
poem. This caesura results in a chaotic structure, this sense of chaos suggests unease at the
memories, thus extending to suggest that these memories are threatening enough to cause
a sense of unease and chaos. The short and disjointed lines may also portray panic, rapid
thoughts, this panic portrayed is indicative of something more sinister or threatening behind
the memories in this poem. Duffy further implies these memories are dangerous through
the image of “the red spade”. The colour red is synonymous with danger or a threat, the use
of this to pre-modify a child’s beach toy, a spade, something innocent and harmless,
demonstrates that there is a threat and a danger hidden behind the innocent. Furthermore,
pre-modifying pejorative adjectives such as “alarming” and “shaking” also suggest that
something more sinister and darker is hidden behind the innocent childhood memories
being recalled in this poem.
In Beachcomber, the poetic voice is authoritative and direct, almost callous in how
disconnected it is from the emotions in the poem. Imperatives throughout such as “don’t
move” and “don’t try to describe it” demonstrate the voice is authoritative and direct, the
further use of simple stative sentences such as “This is about something” and “now she is
kneeling.” portray the voice as direct. Duffy has perhaps portrayed the voice in this way to
demonstrate her intentions for the poem. The poem, in my interpretation, is about hidden
trauma. Duffy’s use of this disconnected authoritative and direct voice which provides little
emotional flowery description demonstrates how trauma sufferers may receive memories of
their trauma, becoming cold or distant towards their memories and not dwelling on the
emotional trauma of them. The use of the 2 nd person pronoun “you” instead of the 1st
person “I” shows even further how the voice has separated itself from these memories,
putting another in place of themselves in their recollection.
In Nostalgia, Memory is presented as a cruel affliction, almost like a disease which causes
misfortune and pain to those which it affects. Duffy uses the triadic repetition of the
pejorative “wrong” to suggest that regardless of what possessions or memories a person
possesses, that memory inevitably leaves a person with a sense of dissatisfaction and
prevalent disappointment, nothing is ever able to be anything more than ‘wrong’ and Duffy
suggests therefore through the repetition of this pejorative that memory causes those
afflicted to be locked in a state of perpetual ‘wrongness’ thus is a cruel and torturous
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