I chose to analyze the poem, “Miles Away,” for the way I felt that it in some ways contrasted and in other ways somewhat neatly tied off the narrative of Carol Ann Duffy’s, Selling Manhattan. I say this because many of the poems in this collection have to do with the idea of language and… Read more » Read more →
The MARBL exploration of “An Old Atheist Places His Last Bet”
Previously, I explored the idea of what the Carol Ann Duffy poem “An Old Atheist Places His Last Bet” means depending on who’s narrating it (atheist or god). Studying Duffy’s notebook where drafts of the poem are written gave insight into my… Continue Reading → Read more →
Communication
In our last class on Thursday we all discussed our uneasiness with analyzing poetry. One thing that Dr. Croxall mentioned was that when looking at poetry, an easy and overlooked method is to look at a collection of poems in relation to each other. A book of poetry gives a totally different context than […] Read more →
Language and Dialogue
While finishing up Selling Manhattan, I noticed many poems where conversation and language are crucial and emphasized. “Postcards” and “Telegrams” are only two of the many poems that exemplify the importance of speech in Carol Ann Duffy’s poems. “Postcards” seems like it is a poem about two lovers that are separated by a large amount of distance; they send each other postcards to stay in touch. Carol Ann Duffy mentions… Read more →
CORRESPONDENCE
During our last class meeting, we complied a short list of themes that permeate Duffy’s work in Selling Manhattan. The list included death, language, and meaninglessness among other concepts. Now that I have finished the second half of her poems in the book, I would add communication and distance to the list of themes. Of the twenty-two poems that occupy… Read more →
Model Village
I did some external research on Carol Ann Duffy and saw her described as a ventriloquist and after reading the first half of Selling Manhattan I found three poems that stuck out as prime examples of Duffy’s unique style as a ventriloquist. The poems Dies Natalis, Model Village, and Psychopath have characters that range from … Continue reading Model Village Read more →
Loneliness and Depression
As I read Carol Ann Duffy’s Selling Manhattan, I was amazed at how many times her poems mentioned death and tragedy; it made me wonder if some tragic event had taken place in Duffy’s life that had led her to reference sad occasions so frequently. One of my favorite poems from the first 35 pages was “The Dummy.” While reading it, I felt like the poem was hinting at domestic… Read more →
Speaking in Riddles
When approaching Carol Ann Duffy’s, Selling Manhattan, my very first thought questioned the title of the book which I thought showed promise. Twenty poems later (one entitled “Selling Manhattan” itself), I’m still clueless as to why she chose this title. But on to the actual poetry! For the most part, I generally hate poetry. Why? […] Read more →
Carol Ann Duffy: Selling Manhattan
I’m an English major because I am passionate about searching for the deeper meaning in a seemingly simple piece of writing. And for this reason, poetry is fascinating to me. A poem appears to be just a short, simple expression or thought, but is in fact packed with underlying meaning and symbolism. And discovering these […] Read more →
Duffy’s Poems
Although I’ve only read the first 35 pages of her collection of poems called “Selling Manhattan”, I was struck by the melancholia of her poems. From “Homesick” to “The Dummy” to “The Brink of Shrieks”, Duffy’s poems took themes such as death and abuse and told them from unusual perspectives and in fragmented language. Two poems… Read more →