1662072
Description
Mind Map by slatter.e07, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by slatter.e07
almost 10 years ago
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Coursework
- First stanza
- In the first stanza of the poem, we immediately learn about
Miss Havisham through her gritty honesty. She is expressing
the pain of being jilted at the altar as she reveals her personal
feelings of the man she was about to marry.
- 1. “Beloved sweetheart bastard.” Here we see Duffy opening the
poem in an oxymoronic way. She uses this technique to entise
us in to the poem and to emphasise the contrast of her hectic
feelings towards her ex-lover. This is also a very controversial
way of opening the poem, possibly throwing us in at the deep
end right at the start to establish what type of person
Havisham is and to prepare us for the roller-coaster ahead.
'Beloved' being the man she once loved, 'Sweetheart' a word
we typically call our loved ones and 'Bastard' an offensive
swear word. All highly contrasting words which makes us feel
disturbed as we enter the poem. This opening of the poem is
very abrupt and it's almost as if we've walked in on Miss
Havisham in the midst of a breakdown. It's also climatic,
something in which we'd typically see at the end of a poem,
building tension but controversially Duffy opens in this way to
lead us in to the scheming mind set of Havisham.
- 2. “Not a day since then I haven't wished him dead” The more
animalistic side of Havisham is apparent in these lines. The
man she so loved, she is now wishing death upon. This
conveys Havisham as a heartless and conniving person. To
wish someone dead is disgustingly disturbing and not
something someone of a normal state of mind would do,
these ideas all conclude Miss Havisham as being very
unpleasant.
- 3. “...ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.”
This is one of the most alarming lines of the poem where
repetition is present as Havisham is once again plotting more
revenge on her ex-fiancé. Duffy's use of imagery is dark and
torturous making it uncomfortable for us to read as we
imagine the long, rough and ugly ropes strangling a man from
the hands of a widow (Havisham). The fact that she wants to
beset this man suggests that her hatred towards other men
could be more widespread opening up the idea that Havisham
may not just hate one man but many.
- 4. “Prayed for it so hard I've got dark green pebbles for eyes.”
The colour green is typically associated with symbolisms of
envy and this suggests that Miss Havisham is jealous of every
happy person in the world. Her dreams of marrying a man
were destroyed so she wants to eradicate everyone else’s
happiness including everyone around her. The imagery Duffy
has created provokes disturbing images of horror and
something almost alien like about this deranged woman. One
connotation of bright green is prosperity, Duffy uses 'Dark
Green' which creates the oppositional effect that maybe
Havisham is not prospering in life but instead she is envious
and miserable to not only herself, but to others around her.
- 1. “Beloved sweetheart bastard.” Here we see Duffy opening the
poem in an oxymoronic way. She uses this technique to entise
us in to the poem and to emphasise the contrast of her hectic
feelings towards her ex-lover. This is also a very controversial
way of opening the poem, possibly throwing us in at the deep
end right at the start to establish what type of person
Havisham is and to prepare us for the roller-coaster ahead.
'Beloved' being the man she once loved, 'Sweetheart' a word
we typically call our loved ones and 'Bastard' an offensive
swear word. All highly contrasting words which makes us feel
disturbed as we enter the poem. This opening of the poem is
very abrupt and it's almost as if we've walked in on Miss
Havisham in the midst of a breakdown. It's also climatic,
something in which we'd typically see at the end of a poem,
building tension but controversially Duffy opens in this way to
lead us in to the scheming mind set of Havisham.
- In the first stanza of the poem, we immediately learn about
Miss Havisham through her gritty honesty. She is expressing
the pain of being jilted at the altar as she reveals her personal
feelings of the man she was about to marry.
- Second stanza and onwards
- In the second stanza of the poem, Miss Havisham's erratic
and lonely behaviour is continued.
- 1. “Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall;” Firstly, the
word 'cawing' is very striking. Duffy is comparing Havisham to
a crow crying out raucously. This is greatly effective because it
helps to build Miss Havisham's demented characteristics as
crows are seen to be Godess' of war and death. This line of
the poem also paints a picture of Havisham lying in a bed
lonely, perhaps without a man. It also emphasises the cruel
reality of her life, emphasising the fact that she will never get
over this. 'at the wall' suggests that Havisham is always
surrounded by four walls and that she has always been
reclusive since her wedding day.
- “Love's hate behind a white veil;
a red balloon bursting in my
face. Similarly to the beginning
of the poem. Duffy opens the
last stanza oxymoronicilly.
'Loves hate' are complete
opposites of each other. Perhaps
they are both on different
stanzas to emphasise how
different they are and to also
express the confusion is
Havisham's mind also
emphasising Havsisham's hate
for love but drive for revenge.
'white veil' obviously describing
the veil that she's wearing, Duffy
adding to the setting to create a
wedding type atmosphere. The
third stanza also opens with
enjambment which is a
technique used to create tension
or to interest/attract the reader,
breaking up lines to make the
brain respond better to a poem.
'a red balloon bursting in my
face' is however the most
interesting line of the stanza
opening many ideas for imagery.
Balloons are typically associated
with celebrations and parties,
this creates the impression that
Havishams celebration was
destroyed like the burst balloon.
It coul
- “Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon. Don't
think it's the only heart that b-b-b-breaks.” Duffy started off
the poem in a very enticing and abrupt way, but she evidently
ends the poem in a very disturbing way. 'Give me' is a very
casual way of asking for something, understanding that
Havisham is very rude. Havisham's psycho nature is also very
present as she asks for a 'male corpse'. She is so affected by
this man that she is asking for a dead corpse to take for 'long
slow' honeymoon. For the third time, Duffy has used an
oxymoronic technique, contrasting two different words. In the
last line of the poem, the poet uses onomatopoeia
disturbingly to mock the sound of a heartbeat or the heart
slowly b-b-b-breaking in to pieces.
- 1. “Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall;” Firstly, the
word 'cawing' is very striking. Duffy is comparing Havisham to
a crow crying out raucously. This is greatly effective because it
helps to build Miss Havisham's demented characteristics as
crows are seen to be Godess' of war and death. This line of
the poem also paints a picture of Havisham lying in a bed
lonely, perhaps without a man. It also emphasises the cruel
reality of her life, emphasising the fact that she will never get
over this. 'at the wall' suggests that Havisham is always
surrounded by four walls and that she has always been
reclusive since her wedding day.
- In the second stanza of the poem, Miss Havisham's erratic
and lonely behaviour is continued.
- Through out the poem, Duffy has re-created the character
that Dicken's began. Here, we get a more in-depth feeling
to this very vulnerable and troubled woman. We follow
her through a journey in which Duffy has created through
the use of techniques being repeated, Oxymoronic being
the most used technique, enjambment falling ever so
slightly behind. Duffy's simple but complicated imagery
establishes the mind set of Miss Havisham and makes the
reader disturbed and uncomfortable. By the end of the
poem we feel drained but in a satisfying way.
- Themes:
- Love: Miss Havisham is jilted by her fiancé Compeyson and
spends the rest of her life obsessing over her horrible love
story and is incapable of moving past her sadness, anger,
and vengefulness. Her love is juxtaposed with hatred, to
show her twisted state of mind and her mixed feelings.
- Marriage: Another theme is marriage, because the poem is
based off of Miss Havisham's failure of a marriage. Miss
Havisham is surrounded by aspects of a wedding--such as the
decaying wedding dress she never changes out of, the
wedding cake, and honeymoon. She is defined as a spinster
who is incapable of ever moving past her failed marriage.
- Madness: The prominent theme throughout the poem is
defined by Miss Havisham's mentality. She is in misery
because she was jilted, and she is also vengeful towards
Compeyson. She thinks dark thoughts such as death and
murder. Miss Havisham is also continuously in her wedding
dress and thinks violent thoughts. She is malicious and
throughout the poem, she supports the idea that she has
gone mad and is psychologically broken.
- This poem is not a traditional love poem. The poem presents
love in many different ways but is very unique in its
interpretation of love. Havisham is a poem written in 1998 by
Carol Ann Duffy. It responds to Charles Dickens’ character
Miss Havisham from his novel Great Expectations, looking at
Havisham’s mental and physical state many decades after
being left standing at the altar, when the bride-to-be is in her
old age. It expresses Havisham’s anger at her fiancé and her
bitter rage over wedding-day trauma and abandonment.
Duffy’s use of language is very powerful and passionate.
Throughout the poem oxymoron’s such as “Beloved
sweetheart bastard” and “Love’s hate” portrays the
ambivalence and restless uncertainty of the character, while a
sexual fantasy reveals both the unrequited love and the
passion that remains within Havisham following the wedding,
a devastation from which her heart has never recovered.
Violence is a common theme in this poem which is rare for a
love poem, once aga
- The opening line portrays the order of events. “Beloved
sweetheart bastard.” The man she describes was someone
special but soon became Carol Ann Duffy Havisham How Love
is presented in Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Havisham’someone she
hated. She shows that love is conflicting by using alliteration
of “beloved” and “bastard”. She has longed for revenge on her
fiancé for leaving her as the reader is told, “Not a day since
then I haven’t wished for him dead.” The words “prayed” also
tie in with this deep seated longing for change. The imagery of
her eyes being like “Dark green pebbles” hints to the hardness
of stone but also the green is jealousy. She has become
trapped by obsession thinking, praying and waiting for her
fiancé. The last line of this stanza is a very meaning full one.
“Ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with”. It uses
a metaphor to signify that she “ties her hands”. Also how she
uses the word “strangle” shows that she is a violent person.
This is important to her persona
- The second stanza starts with a single word sentence.
“Spinster.” This word is an old-fashioned expression for a
woman who has never married; when it was commonly used,
it carried a negative connotation, since women back then
were expected to have a husband. Calling a woman a spinster
meant she was considered too old, outside the “normal” age
for marriage. This demonstrates her hatred and bitterness for
the character. The way she continues to say “I stink and
remember”. She uses the word “stink” because she has been
in her wedding dress since the day she was supposed to get
married and hasn’t washed since then. Duffy puts an image
into the readers’ head of how old Havisham is; she does this
by explaining that her dress is “yellowing”. Also in this stanza
she briefly mentions about how Havisham has gone insane
while she has been staying in the same room for so long.
- Stanza three is a very simple but effective stanza in the
poem. I think this is key to the structure of the poem and with
all of the poetic devices used in the first, second and forth
stanza it was important to have a stanza where it is all calmed
ready for the forth stanza to be very over dramatic and
revenge driven. The last line prepares the reader for the
stanza to come as she uses the theme of violence again.
Ending the stanza with an enjambment and an oxymoron to
start the next stanza is a very common way of making the
reader want to continue reading.
- Starting stanza four with the word “hate”
confirms that the whole poem is a
contrasting love hate poem. The whole of the
closing stanza is full of poetic devices
especially metaphors and alliteration such as
“red balloon bursting”. When she says this it
makes the reader think literally of a red
balloon bursting. I think that Duffy was trying
to present this idea as her heart has broken.
This fits in with the end stanza as the whole
of the ending is about her wedding day and
honeymoon. You can tell this by how Duffy
used literal phrases like “white veil”,
“wedding cake” and “honeymoon”. I assume
Duffy did this because she wanted to make it
clear to the reader that Havisham was not
happy about being left on the day of her
wedding day. You can tell this because she
uses these phrases or words with others
such as “stabbed”, “behind” and “long slow”.
By saying “hate behind a white veil” it once
again shows the reader that she has been in
her wedding dress since the wedding was
called off an
- Starting stanza four with the word “hate”
confirms that the whole poem is a
contrasting love hate poem. The whole of the
closing stanza is full of poetic devices
especially metaphors and alliteration such as
“red balloon bursting”. When she says this it
makes the reader think literally of a red
balloon bursting. I think that Duffy was trying
to present this idea as her heart has broken.
This fits in with the end stanza as the whole
of the ending is about her wedding day and
honeymoon. You can tell this by how Duffy
used literal phrases like “white veil”,
“wedding cake” and “honeymoon”. I assume
Duffy did this because she wanted to make it
clear to the reader that Havisham was not
happy about being left on the day of her
wedding day. You can tell this because she
uses these phrases or words with others
such as “stabbed”, “behind” and “long slow”.
By saying “hate behind a white veil” it once
again shows the reader that she has been in
her wedding dress since the wedding was
called off an
- She also gives the impression of Havisham going insane by
having her say “her” instead of me or myself which she does
afterwards. This shows that she is detached from herself as if
she is in disbelief about her life.
- Stanza three is a very simple but effective stanza in the
poem. I think this is key to the structure of the poem and with
all of the poetic devices used in the first, second and forth
stanza it was important to have a stanza where it is all calmed
ready for the forth stanza to be very over dramatic and
revenge driven. The last line prepares the reader for the
stanza to come as she uses the theme of violence again.
Ending the stanza with an enjambment and an oxymoron to
start the next stanza is a very common way of making the
reader want to continue reading.
- The second stanza starts with a single word sentence.
“Spinster.” This word is an old-fashioned expression for a
woman who has never married; when it was commonly used,
it carried a negative connotation, since women back then
were expected to have a husband. Calling a woman a spinster
meant she was considered too old, outside the “normal” age
for marriage. This demonstrates her hatred and bitterness for
the character. The way she continues to say “I stink and
remember”. She uses the word “stink” because she has been
in her wedding dress since the day she was supposed to get
married and hasn’t washed since then. Duffy puts an image
into the readers’ head of how old Havisham is; she does this
by explaining that her dress is “yellowing”. Also in this stanza
she briefly mentions about how Havisham has gone insane
while she has been staying in the same room for so long.
- The opening line portrays the order of events. “Beloved
sweetheart bastard.” The man she describes was someone
special but soon became Carol Ann Duffy Havisham How Love
is presented in Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Havisham’someone she
hated. She shows that love is conflicting by using alliteration
of “beloved” and “bastard”. She has longed for revenge on her
fiancé for leaving her as the reader is told, “Not a day since
then I haven’t wished for him dead.” The words “prayed” also
tie in with this deep seated longing for change. The imagery of
her eyes being like “Dark green pebbles” hints to the hardness
of stone but also the green is jealousy. She has become
trapped by obsession thinking, praying and waiting for her
fiancé. The last line of this stanza is a very meaning full one.
“Ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with”. It uses
a metaphor to signify that she “ties her hands”. Also how she
uses the word “strangle” shows that she is a violent person.
This is important to her persona
- This poem is not a traditional love poem. The poem presents
love in many different ways but is very unique in its
interpretation of love. Havisham is a poem written in 1998 by
Carol Ann Duffy. It responds to Charles Dickens’ character
Miss Havisham from his novel Great Expectations, looking at
Havisham’s mental and physical state many decades after
being left standing at the altar, when the bride-to-be is in her
old age. It expresses Havisham’s anger at her fiancé and her
bitter rage over wedding-day trauma and abandonment.
Duffy’s use of language is very powerful and passionate.
Throughout the poem oxymoron’s such as “Beloved
sweetheart bastard” and “Love’s hate” portrays the
ambivalence and restless uncertainty of the character, while a
sexual fantasy reveals both the unrequited love and the
passion that remains within Havisham following the wedding,
a devastation from which her heart has never recovered.
Violence is a common theme in this poem which is rare for a
love poem, once aga
- Madness: The prominent theme throughout the poem is
defined by Miss Havisham's mentality. She is in misery
because she was jilted, and she is also vengeful towards
Compeyson. She thinks dark thoughts such as death and
murder. Miss Havisham is also continuously in her wedding
dress and thinks violent thoughts. She is malicious and
throughout the poem, she supports the idea that she has
gone mad and is psychologically broken.
- Marriage: Another theme is marriage, because the poem is
based off of Miss Havisham's failure of a marriage. Miss
Havisham is surrounded by aspects of a wedding--such as the
decaying wedding dress she never changes out of, the
wedding cake, and honeymoon. She is defined as a spinster
who is incapable of ever moving past her failed marriage.
- Love: Miss Havisham is jilted by her fiancé Compeyson and
spends the rest of her life obsessing over her horrible love
story and is incapable of moving past her sadness, anger,
and vengefulness. Her love is juxtaposed with hatred, to
show her twisted state of mind and her mixed feelings.
- Tone:
- The tone of the poem is very dark and vengeful, but there
is an underlying sympathetic/empathetic tone for Miss
Havisham. Duffy uses violent diction and dark figurative
language to depict Miss Havisham's disturbed mind, but as
the poem continues, there is a growing sympathy towards
Miss Havisham. Duffy conveys Miss Havisham as a mentally
distorted woman yearning for revenge and death upon
Compeyson and Duffy shows her sympathy as she further
develops Miss Havisham's madness and by conveying that
her madness is rooted in her heartbrokenness and
loneliness.
- The tone of the poem is very dark and vengeful, but there
is an underlying sympathetic/empathetic tone for Miss
Havisham. Duffy uses violent diction and dark figurative
language to depict Miss Havisham's disturbed mind, but as
the poem continues, there is a growing sympathy towards
Miss Havisham. Duffy conveys Miss Havisham as a mentally
distorted woman yearning for revenge and death upon
Compeyson and Duffy shows her sympathy as she further
develops Miss Havisham's madness and by conveying that
her madness is rooted in her heartbrokenness and
loneliness.
- Mood:
- Fear: As a result of Duffy's depiction of Miss Havisham, there is a sense of fear is created
for the reader. Miss Havisham's distorted mind and mental instablity have caused her to
become a monstrous figure who is obsessed with the idea of revenge. The readers
cannot help but fear Miss Havisham, who has been shaped by anger and hatred towards
the man who left her.
- Sympathy/Pity: Although Miss Havisham is a character with a
twisted mind that lives in a distored world of her own, a sense
of pity and sympathy can be felt by the reader. The cause of
her frightening personality was extreme shock and sadness
after she was left at the altar. Her great obsession of revenge
and hatred towards the male sex indicates how much she
loved Compeyson. In "Great Expectations", she may appear as
an unpleasant character, but before that, she was a woman
who experienced betrayal in return for her love. The readers
can understand her as a victim who has been badly hurt from
her sad past.
- Sympathy/Pity: Although Miss Havisham is a character with a
twisted mind that lives in a distored world of her own, a sense
of pity and sympathy can be felt by the reader. The cause of
her frightening personality was extreme shock and sadness
after she was left at the altar. Her great obsession of revenge
and hatred towards the male sex indicates how much she
loved Compeyson. In "Great Expectations", she may appear as
an unpleasant character, but before that, she was a woman
who experienced betrayal in return for her love. The readers
can understand her as a victim who has been badly hurt from
her sad past.
- Fear: As a result of Duffy's depiction of Miss Havisham, there is a sense of fear is created
for the reader. Miss Havisham's distorted mind and mental instablity have caused her to
become a monstrous figure who is obsessed with the idea of revenge. The readers
cannot help but fear Miss Havisham, who has been shaped by anger and hatred towards
the man who left her.
- Form:
- Free verse. No rhyme scheme or formal metre and the
poem ordered into 4 4-line verses against which restraint
the violent tone and imagery of the poem push. The jerky
rhythm of the lines is dictated by the voice of the character,
a voice filled with pain and bitterness. In the opening line of
the poem the punctuation has been removed to emphasise
this passionate intensity (“Beloved sweetheart bastard...”)
and lack of control. This device is used again in the third
verse when the woman dreams of lovemaking (“...my fluent
tongue in its mouth in its ear/ then down till I suddenly bite
awake...”). Some internal rhyme or half-rhyme is used as
the poem moves towards its ending (“awake”, “hate”,
“face”, “cake”, “breaks”) to end on the chord of the final
“b-b-b-breaks”.
- Free verse. No rhyme scheme or formal metre and the
poem ordered into 4 4-line verses against which restraint
the violent tone and imagery of the poem push. The jerky
rhythm of the lines is dictated by the voice of the character,
a voice filled with pain and bitterness. In the opening line of
the poem the punctuation has been removed to emphasise
this passionate intensity (“Beloved sweetheart bastard...”)
and lack of control. This device is used again in the third
verse when the woman dreams of lovemaking (“...my fluent
tongue in its mouth in its ear/ then down till I suddenly bite
awake...”). Some internal rhyme or half-rhyme is used as
the poem moves towards its ending (“awake”, “hate”,
“face”, “cake”, “breaks”) to end on the chord of the final
“b-b-b-breaks”.
- Content:
- HAVISHAM is an exploration of love turned to hatred
through the bitterness of rejection and was inspired by Miss
Havisham, a character in Charles Dickens’ novel, GREAT
EXPECTATIONS. Dickens is my favourite novelist. Once a
beautiful heiress, Miss Havisham had been jilted by
Compeyson and had lived ever since in her wedding dress
amongst the decaying ruins of her wedding feast at Satis
House, Rochester, where she brought up her protegee
Estella to despise men. She paid for Pip’s apprenticeship
and he believed her to be his secret benefactor. He rescued
her from nearly burning to death; but when she later died
she left almost all her fortune to Estella. In my poem, the
title is HAVISHAM, to indicate a move away from “Miss”
Havisham- ie this is hery creation now, not Dickens’- and
the poem is in Havisham’s voice. Havisham is a woman
driven mad with loss and rejection and the poem is a hymn
of pain and rage as she moves in and out of dream and
awakening, always remembering the love of her
- HAVISHAM is an exploration of love turned to hatred
through the bitterness of rejection and was inspired by Miss
Havisham, a character in Charles Dickens’ novel, GREAT
EXPECTATIONS. Dickens is my favourite novelist. Once a
beautiful heiress, Miss Havisham had been jilted by
Compeyson and had lived ever since in her wedding dress
amongst the decaying ruins of her wedding feast at Satis
House, Rochester, where she brought up her protegee
Estella to despise men. She paid for Pip’s apprenticeship
and he believed her to be his secret benefactor. He rescued
her from nearly burning to death; but when she later died
she left almost all her fortune to Estella. In my poem, the
title is HAVISHAM, to indicate a move away from “Miss”
Havisham- ie this is hery creation now, not Dickens’- and
the poem is in Havisham’s voice. Havisham is a woman
driven mad with loss and rejection and the poem is a hymn
of pain and rage as she moves in and out of dream and
awakening, always remembering the love of her
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