The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy*

Genre: Feminist Poetry (Total of 30 poems)

Publication place: Britain

Publication year: 1999

Main Linguistic Style: Dramatic Monologue

Narrative: perspectives of the forgotten or unheard wives of famous, fictional and historical men – Each poem is inspired by an existing fictional, mythical, biblical, or historical figure, most often a male figure, to which Duffy creates a female counterpart.

Contention: Rewriting stories and narratives – provide decentralised view; different morals; making women’s voices heard (female counterparts)

Reviews:

Duffy’s book “explores contemporary and historical scenes from surprising and unexpected viewpoints. Written from the perspective of the wives of famous and often infamous men.”

*Poet Laureate appointed in 2009: eminent poet officially appointed by a government, monarch, or institution to compose poems for special events and promote poetry appreciation; the responsibility is to act as a literature ambassador to bridge communities, engage in outreach, and create a lasting cultural legacy, with roles ranging from national to local city positions

Socio-Cultural Context:

• Late 20th-Century Feminism: Published in 1999, the work reflects increasing social awareness of gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s roles in society.
• Feminist Critique of Patriarchy: The collection challenges the “great man” myth, demonstrating that traditional historical narratives are largely “HIS-story,” which Duffy reinterprets as “HER-story”.
• Postmodern Techniques: Duffy uses intertextuality, parody, and satire to deconstruct classical myths (e.g., Medusa, Eurydice) and fairy tales, making them accessible and relevant to a modern audience.
• LGBTQ+ Perspective: As an openly gay woman and later the first female Poet Laureate of the UK, Duffy’s work often challenges traditional gender norms, bringing themes of queer desire and alternative identity into the canon

Thematic Approach:

• Female Empowerment: Celebrates women’s strength and resilience; challenges traditional gender roles.
  • Reclaiming Narrative: Challenges patriarchal narratives by giving voice to silenced, marginalized women, levelling out the representation of women culturally and historically
  • Gendered Power: A powerful critique of historical and ongoing gendered power dynamics, broadening interpretations on male dominated narratives in systemic and legal fields
  • Re-evaluating History: Invites readers to reconsider history and the role of women within it
• Relationships: Subverts traditional narratives of male-female relationships, offering nuanced views on love and intimacy
  • Foil for Women: Men serve as foils or counterpoints to the female protagonists.
  • Wide Range of Portrayal: Takes on various depictions of men – from sympathetic to critical; addresses the marital responsibilities, stereotypes and domestic/public roles of the opposite genders
  • Highlighting Dynamics: Foregrounds how gender roles and power dynamics shape relationships, exposing toxic masculinity and internalised patriarchy
  • Challenging Norms: Challenges traditional notions of masculinity and femininity.
• Identity & the Body: Explores identity, sexuality, and the female body as central to women’s experiences.
  • Redefine personal agency: Half of the poems are titled “Mrs” to ironically expose the stripping off individuality by framing the figures as female counterparts
  • Physical and Spiritual Emancipation: Advocates that sexuality and physical body as personal rights and choices, refusing the objectification of female body and decimation of lust and desires
• Poems covered in Past Paper
• 2025: (Section A) Little Red Cap (Section B) Mrs Sisyphus, Medusa, Penelope
• 2024: (Section A) Eurydice (Section B) Mrs. Faust, Circe, Demeter
• 2023: (Section A) Anne Hathway (Section B) Mrs. Aesop, Mrs. Lazarus, Pope Joan
• Poems not yet covered (highlighted in blue): ‘Little Red-Cap’, ‘Queen Herod’, ‘Mrs Midas’, ‘Mrs Aesop’, ‘Mrs Darwin’, ‘Mrs Sisyphus’, ‘Mrs Faust’, ‘Anne Hathaway’, ‘Medusa’, ‘Circe’, ‘Mrs Lazarus’, ‘Mrs Icarus’, ‘Eurydice’, ‘The Kray Sisters’, ‘Elvis’s Twin Sister’, ‘Pope Joan’, ‘Penelope’, ‘Demeter’

Poetic Devices

Language Device	Definition	Example
Alliteration	Repetition of initial consonant sounds.	‘While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping’ Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
Anaphora (Repetition)	Using a word previously used in the poem	‘From the memories of the bird that chanted to me, / From your memories sad brother, from the fitful risings and fallings I heard’ Walt Whitman, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds.	‘In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes?’ William Blake, The Tyger
Cliché	An overused phrase or idea	‘All that glitters isn’t gold’ William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Consonance	Similar sounds between multiple words.	‘Though at next door we might meet’ John Donne, Song
Irony	A distance between what is said and what is meant	‘Water, water everywhere, And not a drop to drink.’ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Metaphor	A form of comparison where one thing is said to be another.	‘All the world’s a stage’ William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Onomatopoeia	When the sound of a word echoes its meaning.	‘There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling’ Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamlin
Oxymoron	Contradictory words used for effect.	‘O brawling love! O loving hate!’ William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Pathetic Fallacy	Giving human feelings to aspects of nature.	‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ William Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
Personificiation	Describing a nonhuman thing as if it were a person.	‘Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me;’ Emily Dickinson, Because I could not stop for Death
Persona	The speaker of a poem who is separate to the poet.	‘That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall’ Robert Browning, My Last Duchess
Plosive	Abrupt sound made with consonants /b/, /p/, /t/ and /d/.	‘bitter as the cud’ Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum Est
Semantic Field	Words that relate to each other.	‘‘Bed’ seemed a curious name for those green spears, That regiment of spite behind the shed’ Vernon Scannell, Nettles
Sibilance	Repetition of hushing or hissing sounds.	‘Sweet dreams of pleasant streams’ William Blake, A Cradle Song
Simile	A form of comparison where one thing is said to be like another.	‘And daisies be showing / Like stars on the ground’ Thomas Hardy, Rain on a Grave
Symbolism	A representation of something other than the literal meaning through words, people or ideas.	‘And tombstones where flowers should be’ William Blake, The Garden of Love