Skip to main content

Analysis of Litany

Synopsis= A Litany is a series of petitions for use in church service or procession, usually recited by the clergy and responded to in a recruiting formula by the people or a tedious recital or repetitive series. This poem is set in the 1960's and it is centred around a group of mothers who are conscious to protect their children from the harsh realities of the world, therefore they code their language. However the daughter, who is the speaker of the poem is knowingly aware of what they are trying to cover. 

 Key Quotations + Analysis
1.) "Certainly not Leukaemia, which no one could spell"

  • There is a clear tone of sarcasm here which implies how the child is aware of the code that the mothers use against the children, this line could perhaps be a criticism of society for restricting children from the truth only for them to be so harshly exposed to it in their adult lives.
2.) "Wasps...Butterfly"
  • The imagery used here gives a sense of an awe for nature, however the juxtaposition of the two species of wasps and butterflies is a metaphor for adults (who are wasps)  and the children (who are butterflies). The contrast of these creatures could be referring to the opposing feelings of sweet but deadly. 
  • The juxtaposing animal imagery could also be a wider metaphor for society, the wasps are the danger associated with the real world as they are capable of stinging, whereas the butterflies play the role of the coded language the mothers speak as its exterior is very pleasant.
3.) "Salted my Tongue"
  • This phrase conveys a sense of flavour, this could suggest that the speaker has added something to their monotonous surroundings so it is no longer plain. Duffy could be suggesting that putting up a facade is boring and to be real and genuine brings flavour (which ultimately makes it better).
4.) "Told me to f*ck off... Thrilled Malicious Pause"
  • The pause in between these lines highlights the horrified silence from the middle class ladies sat around the child. The use of powerful/explicit language is the child's way of breaking the monotony in their life.
  • "Thrilled" implies that the child is aware of what they have done and they are quite pleased about breaking the fake facade put up. 
5.) "The Terrible marriages Crackled, cellophane"
  • There is an inclining tension in this line which mimics the marriages of the wives in the sitting room, they are failing but they refuse to acknowledge it until it reaches its limits and explodes. 
  • "Cellophane" the cracks in the marriage are clearly visible to any eye, even a child's eye, despite its efforts to conceal and protect it with cellophane 
Links to Other Poems
  • Confession= Both poems focus on the theme of oppression but from different means, in Litany the speaker is a victim of societal repression amongst the mothers whereas in Confession the speaker is subjected to religious oppression from the church.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of First Love

Synopsis= Duffy focuses this poem on the impact that is left after going through a first love and the surreal feeling of falling in love that takes over a persona briefly. It is clear to see in this poem that the speaker is now disconnected from their first love but the memories of it are reflected on nostalgically and with pleasure Key Quotations + Analysis= Waking, with a dream of first love forming real words, as close to my lips as lipstick, I speaker your name, after a silence of years, into the pillow, and the power of your name brings me here to the window, naked, to say it again to a garden shaking with light. This was a child's love, and yet I clench my eyes  till the pictures return, unfocused at first, then almost clear, an old film played at a slow speed. All day I will glimpse it, in windows of changing sky,   in mirrors, my lover's eyes, wherever you are. And later a star, long dead , here seems precisely  the size of a tear....
Post a Comment
Read more

Analysis of Fraud

Synopsis= It is widely believed that Duffy based the poem 'Fraud' on a man name Robert Maxwell, however his prior name was Jon Ludwick Hock. Maxwell managed to carve a new identity for himself in England after moving from Czechoslovakia where he became a largely successful MP and media head. However after his death there was a burst of controversy surrounding Maxwell as it was believed that there was a lot of flaws in his finances, mainly from pensions. Key Quotations + Analysis 1.) "I spoke the English" Here the speaker is trying to affirm his English identity, however the deviant grammar contradicts this as no native English person would make this mistake. As a result this error flaws the speakers cover and almost unveils his true identity. 2.) "Politicians in and out of their pram"  This line has a lot of plosive language which can convey the speakers bitterness towards politics, his bitter tone is somewhat ironic as Robert Maxwell himself was...
Post a Comment
Read more

Analysis of The Cliche Kid

Synopsis= Duffy uses this poem to explore the themes of mental health and isolation amongst young people and could be perhaps expressing the daily pressures that young people face and the detrimental effects attached to them, shown through the speaker of the poem who is clearly in a deviated mental health state. Key Quotations + Analysis 1.) "The rustle of my fathers ballgown" This initially gives an extremely distorted image of the speakers childhood as they have obviously blurred the gender roles of their mother and father, this distortion could imply that the speaker has lost grip of their identity and do not have clear grasp on what gender role they fit in as they are so lost within cliche/stereotypical perceptions of gender that they are unaware of how to act. This further conveys the emotional turmoil of the speaker because they are confused in their own body.  The word choice "rustle" is significant as it is such a precise sound to remember yet the spe...
Post a Comment
Read more