Skip to main content

Analysis of Adultery

Synopsis= Its clear to see that this poem is based off a relationship that has been crushed through one partners decision to be deceitful and commit adultery against their partner. As a result the speaker of this poem demonstrates the effects, both short term and long term, that this act of deceit has

Key Quotations + Analysis= 
"Wash Themselves. Now"

  • This line conveys the sense that the speaker is trying to cleanse herself of her husbands deceit from her body, it could also portray that her husband is attempting to wash himself clean of the guilt caused from his sins. 
  • "Now" implies that she must constantly cleanse herself to feel sane and her mind must be washed frequently as the thoughts of her husbands deceit fill her mind.
"Sweet Darkness"
  • Here Duffy's use of an oxymoronic phrase links to the similar phrase 'ignorance is bliss' , connoting that when the speaker was unaware of her partners deceit it was much better, she would prefer to be kept in the dark where it is bliss rather than be confronted with the ugly truth of her partners adulterous behaviour. This line could also convey that her partner is finding his "sweet fix" by sleeping with someone else, so it is a sinister way of achieving it.
"Crumbles like a Wedding Cake" 
  • Here the use of wedding related imagery conveys the speakers distrust of marriage and relationships since her partners deceit. The verb choice "crumble" is a slow process implying that the marriage has gradually crumbled since the wedding day and without either person in the relationship noticing it has descended to rubble. 
"Tell tale clock, wiping the hours from its face"
  • The speakers depiction of time in this line is negative which indicates that time is running away from them and they cant catch up with it. It could also connote that they feel as if since his deceit the time spent in a relationship with her partner is nothing but a waste. 
  • "wiping" also suggests that whilst committing adultery the partner loses all track of time, "its" is an impersonal word choice which conveys that the stranger involved in this adultery is impersonal. 
"Turn on your beautiful eyes"
  • The tone of this line is filled with bitterness as the speaker is resentful that the eyes that her partner used to charm her have been used to charm others.
  • It could also imply that her partner is very on and off with his emotions with the speaker which is putting her through emotional torment, she does not know where she stands with him.
Links to other poems
Havisham= Both have a distorted perception of their marriage, we can see this as both speaker use wedding imagery in a negative light "stab at a wedding cake"
Disgrace= both speakers have a bitter portrayal of love and relationships 

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. Tonig
Post a Comment
Read more

Analysis of Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team

Synopsis= The programme "Top of the Form" was a BBC radio and TV quiz for secondary schools in the UK running from 1948-1986. Therefore this poem is based upon a speaker who was on this programme during the 60's and won, however since this victory they have been unable to move past this moment of their childhood and this theme is prevalent throughout the poem. Key Quotations + Analysis= 1.) "Fizzing hope" "Fizzing" has connotations of sugary/fizzy drinks such as coke, which has further allusions to childhood as this was a drink commonly consumed during our school years.  The word choice fizzing also suggests that the speaker believes his youth was so special it was worth celebrating as champagne bottles are also known as "fizz". However it is significant that over time a fizz dies out and becomes flat, which mimics the significance of his memories. They are still "fizzing" to him but to everyone else they are flat.  2.) &
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