“Mrs. Icarus” is the poem I chose to focus on in The World’s Wife. When opening the composition book I was given at MARBL, I realized it was a lot more difficult to follow than the notebook that housed “The Dummy;” there was an increase in random calculations and phrases. I struggled in deciphering the first couple of pages, but soon realized the random phrases belonged to Duffy’s poem, “Snowball.”… Read more →

In examining the six drafts of “Only Dreaming,” the most substantial change I observed was to the form of the poem. While a couple lines of the poem were changed slightly though the drafts, the main aspect of the poem Duffy seemed to be trying to work out was how the poem was arranged. As […] Read more →

As promised, Carol Ann Duffy delivers in another poem inspired from a famous historical story. “Salome” is a woman known for dancing for Herod and then requesting the head of… Read more →

When I did my research on “An Old Atheist Places His Last Bet” in MARBL, I found a lot of history behind the poem, including rough drafts and predecessors that gave insight into Carol Ann Duffy’s though process when she… Continue Reading → Read more →

I had the chance to look at Carol Ann Duffy’s personal journals she used in her poetry writing. Specifically, I examined her drafts for “Mouth, with Soap”. For someone who only writes on the computer, I found the visible writing process really interesting. I also found it to humanize Duffy. Her notebook pages were filled … Continue reading Mapping Mrs. Dalloway: “Mouth, with Soap” Read more →

When we were first introduced to Carol Ann Duffy prior to reading her in class, we were told about the scenario of her switching publishers because she believed The World’s Wife was more like pop culture poetry than her previous works. After reading the first half of the book of poetry, I agree. Many of … Continue reading The Comedy of The World’s Wife Read more →

“Medusa” is an extended metaphor about the destructive nature of jealousy. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was a female gorgon whose gaze would turn onlookers to stone. Using dramatic monologues to narrate historical and fictional events, this feminist subtext can be traced in many poems within The World’s Wife. By slightly changing the narrative of […] Read more →

There’s a popular saying that says “Behind every strong man is an even stronger woman”. There’s an even better version which claims, “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes”. In my opinion this quote isn’t too far off and Duffy brings this idea to light in The World’s Wife. I personally found […] Read more →

The poem I signed up to review was “Warming Her Pearls.” After a brief search online, I learned that the poem was inspired by a conversation Carol Ann Duffy had… Read more →

Duffy’s poetry is fascinating to me. As an English major, I’ve always struggled to connect to the poems that come up in class (mostly because the poems are almost always from centuries ago). Her writing is pleasantly refreshing, especially after hearing it from Duffy herself. Her unique sense of humor combined with her storytelling voice both reveal a […] Read more →