Duffy Poetry:
The Long Queen:
A personification of the untold rules and expectations put upon women in society. Duffy
subverts the typical renaissance idealisation of Queen Elizabeth I and women by allowing
women to break free of patriarchal ties and celebrate the female cycle of life w/o
undermining men
Themes: motherhood, identity, resistance, social expectations, insecurity, legay/history
Quotes:
“the long queen couldn’t die” -legacy
“woman, girls, spinsters and hags … witches, widows, wives, mothers of all these” – negative
connotations of women’s occupations
“all who were there to swear the pain was worth it” – idea of sacrifice/women can’t have
both independence/strength/power and be a mother
HMT links: rebellion/resistance, sacrifice, preservation of identity
Map Woman- provides a perspective on women in the world and their relationship with
their identities
Themes: bodies, place, identity, memories, insecurity, control
Quotes:
“she covered it up with… and fingertip-sleeved” becomes increasingly concealed
“But- birthmark, tatoo- the A-Z street map grew, a precise second skin” the places you have
been imprint your identity
HMT link: woman’s body used against her/disempowers her, patriarchal influence, desire
for change
Beautiful- explores how beauty, fame and the media can inevitably lead to women’s
demise. 4 women appear to be manifestations of the same being- all icons of beauty,
dangerous affiliations to males, defined only by the ability to please men or be desirable for
them. Beauty can be fatal for those who are captivated by it and those in possession of it.
Themes: exploitation, emptiness of modern life, sexuality, social expectations, insecurity,
history, oppression, gender, passivity
Quotes:
HELEN “kept a little bird inside a cage” lack of freedom
CLEOPATRA “she reached and pulled him down” used sex as a tool to control men
P DIANA “beauty is fate” destined suffering that descends on women famed for beauty
P DIANA “act like a fucking princess, give us a smile” aggressive offensive phrases
The Long Queen:
A personification of the untold rules and expectations put upon women in society. Duffy
subverts the typical renaissance idealisation of Queen Elizabeth I and women by allowing
women to break free of patriarchal ties and celebrate the female cycle of life w/o
undermining men
Themes: motherhood, identity, resistance, social expectations, insecurity, legay/history
Quotes:
“the long queen couldn’t die” -legacy
“woman, girls, spinsters and hags … witches, widows, wives, mothers of all these” – negative
connotations of women’s occupations
“all who were there to swear the pain was worth it” – idea of sacrifice/women can’t have
both independence/strength/power and be a mother
HMT links: rebellion/resistance, sacrifice, preservation of identity
Map Woman- provides a perspective on women in the world and their relationship with
their identities
Themes: bodies, place, identity, memories, insecurity, control
Quotes:
“she covered it up with… and fingertip-sleeved” becomes increasingly concealed
“But- birthmark, tatoo- the A-Z street map grew, a precise second skin” the places you have
been imprint your identity
HMT link: woman’s body used against her/disempowers her, patriarchal influence, desire
for change
Beautiful- explores how beauty, fame and the media can inevitably lead to women’s
demise. 4 women appear to be manifestations of the same being- all icons of beauty,
dangerous affiliations to males, defined only by the ability to please men or be desirable for
them. Beauty can be fatal for those who are captivated by it and those in possession of it.
Themes: exploitation, emptiness of modern life, sexuality, social expectations, insecurity,
history, oppression, gender, passivity
Quotes:
HELEN “kept a little bird inside a cage” lack of freedom
CLEOPATRA “she reached and pulled him down” used sex as a tool to control men
P DIANA “beauty is fate” destined suffering that descends on women famed for beauty
P DIANA “act like a fucking princess, give us a smile” aggressive offensive phrases
