25th November
Feminine gospels – Carol Ann Duffy
Structure
- Sestets, equal line stanzas
- No rhyme schemes
- Each stanza so end stopped
- Poses question and then responds
- Uses asyndeton, lists words without conjunction
Meaning
- About queen Elizabeth
Stanza One
- Chose reigning the country over men
- Prolongs the reign
- ‘time’ is being personified
Stanza Two
- She was a role model for women
- Queen of women
Stanza Three
- How she reigned
- Mythical imagery of Elizabeth
Stanza Four
- Young girls can look up to her
Stanza Five
- Periods are natural, no cause for complaint
- Tears linked with feminine emotion
Stanza six
- Destigmatising childbirth
- ‘Sore flowers’ – an oxymoron
Stanza seven
- Queen listening in on her subjects
- Enjoys their stories and hearing from them
The poem is a celebration of femininity.
History is a theme in this poem, by using queen Elizabeth, a symbolic figure in the history of England.
The narrator admires Elizabeth, using a positive tone and language to describe her – written by a
subject
Feminine gospels – Carol Ann Duffy
Structure
- Sestets, equal line stanzas
- No rhyme schemes
- Each stanza so end stopped
- Poses question and then responds
- Uses asyndeton, lists words without conjunction
Meaning
- About queen Elizabeth
Stanza One
- Chose reigning the country over men
- Prolongs the reign
- ‘time’ is being personified
Stanza Two
- She was a role model for women
- Queen of women
Stanza Three
- How she reigned
- Mythical imagery of Elizabeth
Stanza Four
- Young girls can look up to her
Stanza Five
- Periods are natural, no cause for complaint
- Tears linked with feminine emotion
Stanza six
- Destigmatising childbirth
- ‘Sore flowers’ – an oxymoron
Stanza seven
- Queen listening in on her subjects
- Enjoys their stories and hearing from them
The poem is a celebration of femininity.
History is a theme in this poem, by using queen Elizabeth, a symbolic figure in the history of England.
The narrator admires Elizabeth, using a positive tone and language to describe her – written by a
subject
