● Feminine Gospels presents suffering as a key element of female experience. Discuss
○ LQ- uses italics to highlight intrinsic parts of the female experience 'childhood'
'blood' 'tears' 'childbirth' - mirroring of 'childhood' and 'childbirth' represents
cyclicity of female experience
■ women who are powerful are destined to be miserable - 'cold weight of
the crown' Beautiful also reflects this: Duffy also employs mirroring
between 'beauty is fame' to 'beauty is fate' to imply a vicious cycle of
abuse and pressures suffered by women in the public eye. Sense of
cyclicity combined with use of present tense= if audience don't take
action, society's best loved women will continue to suffer.
■ Contrast to Beautiful- placed right after it, indicating a shift from public
to private suffering as it follows one unnamed woman rather 4 famous
figures- protagonist of The Diet remains unnamed throughout the
poem, reflecting how common eating disorders are in women- could
be everyone. Duffy implying that all women are suffering in their
struggle to conform to patriarchal beauty standards? Echoes LQ ,
present suffering from eating disorders as a universal female
experience, even though Diet is isolated- uses fairy tale language to
portray alienation from reality 'doll-sized' 'height of a thimble' its more
relatable for 2002 audience using maxim 'inside every fat woman is a
skinny woman trying to get out' reference to 'dream' diets typically
preached in women's lifestyle magazines promising rapid weight loss
in short spaces of time. Less isolated in LQ- 'no girl who was growing
wasn't the apple of the Long Queen's eye' 'all who were there' during
childbirth.
■ Thesis statement: Duffy suggests that suffering is an inevitable part of
the 21st century female experience, due to the patriarchal structures
of society that continue to oppress women/ keep them in cycles of
self-deprecation. Especially emphasized through The Long Queen
(LQ), which tracks the relationship between suffering and femininity,
Beautiful , which tracks the suffering of 4 famous women at the hands
of the patriarchy, and The Diet **which similarly follows the journey of
a woman with anorexia.
● Auden said poetry makes nothing happen. But I wonder if the opposite could be true?
It could make something happen. What do Duffy's poem want to"make happen"?
● Each of our age has its own idea of beauty, its own symbolic woman. Is Feminine
Gospels trying to present women who respect all women?
● 'In each poem, I'm trying to reveal the truth, so it can't have a fictional beginning.'
Discuss the view that Duffy, in Feminine Gospels, presents real women and real lives
● 'It's the sadness of the real world that gives her words weight.' Discuss the view that
Duffy's main purpose in Feminine Gospels is to expose suffering in the world.
● Duffy's poetry in Feminine Gospels presents women as partly responsible for their
own problems. Discuss.
● Duffy views poetry as taking risks with words
● Feminine Gospels presents numerous women who have no voice in the world. Do
you agree with this view?
○ LQ- uses italics to highlight intrinsic parts of the female experience 'childhood'
'blood' 'tears' 'childbirth' - mirroring of 'childhood' and 'childbirth' represents
cyclicity of female experience
■ women who are powerful are destined to be miserable - 'cold weight of
the crown' Beautiful also reflects this: Duffy also employs mirroring
between 'beauty is fame' to 'beauty is fate' to imply a vicious cycle of
abuse and pressures suffered by women in the public eye. Sense of
cyclicity combined with use of present tense= if audience don't take
action, society's best loved women will continue to suffer.
■ Contrast to Beautiful- placed right after it, indicating a shift from public
to private suffering as it follows one unnamed woman rather 4 famous
figures- protagonist of The Diet remains unnamed throughout the
poem, reflecting how common eating disorders are in women- could
be everyone. Duffy implying that all women are suffering in their
struggle to conform to patriarchal beauty standards? Echoes LQ ,
present suffering from eating disorders as a universal female
experience, even though Diet is isolated- uses fairy tale language to
portray alienation from reality 'doll-sized' 'height of a thimble' its more
relatable for 2002 audience using maxim 'inside every fat woman is a
skinny woman trying to get out' reference to 'dream' diets typically
preached in women's lifestyle magazines promising rapid weight loss
in short spaces of time. Less isolated in LQ- 'no girl who was growing
wasn't the apple of the Long Queen's eye' 'all who were there' during
childbirth.
■ Thesis statement: Duffy suggests that suffering is an inevitable part of
the 21st century female experience, due to the patriarchal structures
of society that continue to oppress women/ keep them in cycles of
self-deprecation. Especially emphasized through The Long Queen
(LQ), which tracks the relationship between suffering and femininity,
Beautiful , which tracks the suffering of 4 famous women at the hands
of the patriarchy, and The Diet **which similarly follows the journey of
a woman with anorexia.
● Auden said poetry makes nothing happen. But I wonder if the opposite could be true?
It could make something happen. What do Duffy's poem want to"make happen"?
● Each of our age has its own idea of beauty, its own symbolic woman. Is Feminine
Gospels trying to present women who respect all women?
● 'In each poem, I'm trying to reveal the truth, so it can't have a fictional beginning.'
Discuss the view that Duffy, in Feminine Gospels, presents real women and real lives
● 'It's the sadness of the real world that gives her words weight.' Discuss the view that
Duffy's main purpose in Feminine Gospels is to expose suffering in the world.
● Duffy's poetry in Feminine Gospels presents women as partly responsible for their
own problems. Discuss.
● Duffy views poetry as taking risks with words
● Feminine Gospels presents numerous women who have no voice in the world. Do
you agree with this view?
