Duffy and Larkin - Themes Flashcards
How is mortality shown in Duffy and Larkin?
Inescapable, casting a shadow over life with its constant presence
How does Duffy present mortality?
Emotional and melancholic, expressing the finite nature of joy and the inevitability of time and relating this theme to every aspect of life
How does Larkin present mortality?
Cold fear, distances himself in an impersonal way and expresses philosophical views reflecting his phobia
Which Duffy poems show the theme of mortality?
Never Go Back and Mean Time
How does Never Go Back present the theme of mortality?
- Imagery of disease and decay presents the passage of time and inability to return to the past
- Extended metaphor of the house presents the death of a relationship
- Personification characterises the death of the former way of life
How does Mean Time present the theme of mortality?
- Time as an extended metaphor for powerlessness
- Imagery of darkness presents an eventual end for everything and a constant theme of death
- Metaphorical death of relationship presenting it as a constant in life
Which Larkin poems show the theme of mortality?
Ambulances and An Arundel Tomb
How does Ambulances show the theme of mortality?
- Supernatural/ethereal language relates ambulances to an inescapable and grim-reaper like presence
- Domestic imagery reflects inescapability
- Depersonalising language distances speaker and presents universal nature
How does An Arundel Tomb present the theme of mortality?
- Cold stone and blurred faces presents loss of identity and legacy after death
- Change is the only constant
- Presents love as the sole survivor of humanity
How do Duffy and Larkin present the theme of failure and pessimism?
Both present an inability to find a silver lining, often subverting traditionally positive ideas such as love into something depressing or infiltrated with loss. Often either explore or embody the socially discontented.
How does Duffy present the theme of failure and pessimism?
Often presents a resounding sense of bitterness and resentment in association with failed relationships and a subsequently bleak outlook
How does Larkin present the theme of failure and pessimism?
Takes a cynical and realist perspective, neglecting sentimentality and self-pity resulting in cold pessimism, particularly toward post-war Britain and its social conventions
Which Duffy poems present the theme of failure and pessimism?
Havisham and Before You Were Mine
How does Havisham present the theme of failure and pessimism?
- Wedding imagery presents the failure of the relationship and its subsequent dominance in her life
- Oxymoron presents conflicting feelings and the pessimistic view of love as leading to anger
- Onomatopoeia, plosive alliteration and non-standard English presents the emotion and rage resulting from unrequited love
How does Before You Were Mine present the theme of failure and pessimism?
- Motif of time presents degradation of age and loss of youth
- Glimpses of past self exaggerate the destruction of time and motherhood as a burden
- Possessive language presents a loss of self and responsibility overcoming freedom and identity
How does Mr Bleaney present the theme of failure and pessimism?
- Symbols of potential vs neglect displays the theme of lost opportunity
- Bleak and depressing imagery presents a failed existence and lack of meaningful legacy
- Pathetic fallacy and symbolism reflects the man onto the room
How does Whitsun Weddings present the theme of failure and pessimism?
- Romantic pastoral ideal sullied by the modern industrialised age
- Speaker presents a pessimistic view on the commonplace nature of marriage and the insignificance of love in the modern age
- Themes of manufacture suggests a cold artificiality of modern life
How do Larkin and Duffy present the theme of humanity and culture?
Both display a distaste for social convention and a criticism of their respective eras of writing, communicating humanity and culture in a generally pessimistic light
How does Duffy present humanity and culture?
While she criticises some aspects of social convention, she does recognise the virtues of society with an involved and intimate perspective, using dramatic monologues to give voices to the voiceless. She does also highlight societal decay and neglect
How does Larkin present humanity and culture?
Comments on society’s duplicity from a distances and impartial perspective, using a cynical and sarcastic tone of distaste. Larkin’s poetic voice often isolates itself as a social outsider and presents a clear dissatisfaction with modern society
Which Duffy poems present the theme of humanity and culture?
Litany and Valentine
How does Litany present the theme of humanity and culture?
- Cultural references present the uniformity of convention and the concealment of reality
- Figurative language reflects underlying tensions and reality peeping through social convention
- Comments on the subjugation of women particularly in marriage and domestic expectations
How does Valentine present the theme of humanity and culture?
- Bluntly mocks consumerist and modern notions of love, using binary opposition
- Extended metaphor of an onion highlights the complex reality of human relationships
- Abstract imagery reflects a distance between the speaker and societal convention
Which Larkin poems present the theme of humanity and culture?
The Whitsun Weddings and Mr Bleaney
How does The Whitsun Weddings present the theme of humanity and culture?
- Distanced observation from the train carriage presents a bleak outlook on modern life
- Stereotyping and imagery of artificiality highlights the all-consuming convention that destroys individuality
- Criticises the convention of marriage
How does Mr Bleaney present the theme of humanity and culture?
- Expresses and existential epiphany on the value of human lives and legacy based on passive observation of the character
- Depressive mundanity and isolation of the human condition
- Suggests an extent of social neglect and the concept that we are defined by how we live
How do Duffy and Larkin present the theme of time and nostalgia?
Time is an inescapable passage to death, effecting identity and personality and destroying promises and memories of the past. Both warn readers that time is faster than we think, and a sense of disappointment in unsatisfying futures and nostalgia for the past
How does Duffy present time and nostalgia?
Duffy is more nostalgic, mournful and emotional concerning the passage of time, noting its effects on love and relationships and its ability to bring everything to a close
How does Larkin present time and nostalgia?
Pinpoints a sense of disappointment and a sense of regret in the passage of time, through failing to accomplish social expectations.
Which Duffy poems present time and nostalgia?
Nostalgia and The Captain
How does Nostalgia present the theme of time and nostalgia?
- Sensory imagery and illness present the physical and mental decay that comes with time and aching for the past
- Concluding sense of tragedy in the inability to revisit the past
- Synaesthesia creates a connection and melancholic relation with memories
How does The Captain present time and nostalgia?
- Archaic cultural references presents an identity stuck in the past
- Bitterness to the passage of time emphasised in fractured memories
- Regret and arrogance is reflected in isolation and displacement of modern society
Which Larkin poems present time and nostalgia?
Love Songs in Age and An Arundel Tomb
How does Love Songs in Age present time and nostalgia?
- Presents how time limits love and highlights empty promises
- Diminishes the value of memories and presents their fading and loss
- Enjambment presents inescapable flow of time in conjunction with music
How does An Arundel Tomb present time and nostalgia?
- Time equates to loss of identity
- Enjambment presents continuous flow of time
- Intention and symbolism is lost to time and changing perceptions
How is isolation shown in Duffy and Larkin?
Both present essentially isolated characters, revealing their outlook on society and the effects of loneliness. Present isolation and lack of fulfilment as dominating modern life
How does Duffy present isolation?
Criticises the effects of loneliness and their continual presence in modern life, but holds a more sympathetic view of victims of loneliness. Challenges of relationships and complexities of modern life
How does Larkin present isolation?
Far more personal perspective, having been almost chronically lonely himself. Presents disconnect and disillusionment as an inevitability of the human condition
Which Duffy poems present the theme of isolation?
