Anne Hathaway

Question 1

‘Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed ….’

from Shakespeare’s will

Answer 1

Viewed as negative/insulting

Duffy gives new meaning that the bed is a metaphor for their love

Question 2

Spinning world

Answer 2

Metaphor

Direct reference to bed

Describes how he made her feel

Dizzy, the love was all encompassing

Question 3

Forests, castles, torchlight, cliff tops, seas

Answer 3

Fairytale/fantasy

Describing scenery and setting of his famous plays

List shows how expansive his writing was

The intensity of love making also produced a creativity that Anne inspired, she is his muse

Question 4

Dive for pearls

Answer 4

Pearls:

Literally - precious jewel, valuable

Metaphorically - represents the precious and intense quality of their love

Question 5

Shooting stars

Answer 5

Metaphor

Everyone can see them like Shakespeare’s plays

Inspiring and admired

Question 6

Earth as kisses

Answer 6

Romantic notion links plays to Anne

The plays are a tribute to Anne

Anne seduced by her lovers language and poetry

Question 7

Softer

Softer rhyme

Answer 7

This quatrain presents the softer female perspective compared to the more masculine previous quatrain (forest/castles)

Contrast in perspective

Question 8

Rhyme

softer rhyme

Answer 8

Lovemaking and poetry are intertwining

Question 9

Assonance

Answer 9

When vowel sounds are elongated for poetic affect

suggests the physical aspect of their lovemaking (lips/mouth)

Question 10

A verb dancing in the centre of a noun

Answer 10

The linguistic terms are used to playfully suggest physicality of their love

His touch is introduced as dancing which suggests movement and partnership

Question 11

I dream and he’d written me

Answer 11

This suggests she is an integral part of his creative work

The bed is compared to the parchment on which the passion and excitement - associated with the playwright - was written

Question 12

The bed

A page beneath his writers hands

Answer 12

Page represents the bed

The bed, then is the catalyst for the creativity

Question 13

By touch, by scent, by taste

Answer 13

List of the senses

A sensual and romantic experience

Drama and romance being essential to Shakespeare’s plays

Question 14

Our guests dosed on dribbling their prose

Answer 14

Alliteration

The dull consonant ‘d’ and the word choice combine to make a disparaging comment on the guests lovemaking and ability to be creative

Poetry symbolises the most skilful and creative use of language while prose by comparison is ordinary, utilitarian and an exceptional

Question 15

My living laughing love -

1)(2)(3

Answer 15

(1) He remains alive in her heart and mind
(2) playfulness and joy of relationship
(3) The final word before the rain in couplet - highlights importance

The alliteration emphasises the ‘l’ sound and the movement of the mouth whilst also incorporating assonance which evokes the earlier quatrain

The – represents the turn (Volta) of pool

Question 16

Casket of my widows head

Answer 16

Urn/coffin

Declaration of her status as widow but that instead of grieving to a headstone or an urn she keeps him alive in her mind

Question 17

That next best bed

Answer 17

Embodiment of their love – the extended metaphor ends in the final few words, sense of conclusion

Question 18

Compare Anne Hathaway with Havisham

Answer 18

Both take perspective of a woman living without her lover

Havisham was jilted at the altar where Hathaway was widowed

Question 19

Describe the form of Anne Hathaway

Answer 19

Sonnet form

14 line structure often associated with love poetry

Shakespearean sonnet contains three quatrains and a couplet

The entire poem is a metaphor comparing the couples lovemaking to the process of artistic and poetic creativity

Question 20

Structure of Anne Hathaway

Answer 20

Less restrictive rhyme scheme combined with overtly sensual, erotic language and imagery

Use of assonance and alliteration are designed to imitate the touching made during lovemaking and it is almost as though the words themselves are grazing each other

Question 21

Use of enjambement in Anne Hathaway

Answer 21

Shows how freely and without obstruction love flows between the couple

Question 22

Main themes of Anne Hathaway

Answer 22

Passion

Sensual erotic love

Death and remembrance