Duffy Poems Flashcards
Front
Back
War Photographer – What are the key themes?
Conflict, guilt, memory, and the role of the media.
War Photographer – Name two techniques used in the poem.
Contrast (war zone vs peaceful England), vivid imagery (“spools of suffering”).
War Photographer – ‘A hundred agonies in black-and-white’ – What does it show?
The emotional impact of war, reduced to simple images the public views with detachment.
Valentine – What unusual object is used as a symbol of love?
An onion.
Valentine – What themes are explored?
Love, honesty, pain, and vulnerability.
Valentine – ‘It will blind you with tears like a lover’ – What does this suggest?
Love can be painful and overwhelming, not just romantic.
Mrs Midas – What myth is the poem based on?
The story of King Midas, who turned everything he touched into gold.
Mrs Midas – How is humour used in the poem?
Irony and domestic imagery contrast the myth with reality.
Mrs Midas – ‘I miss most, even now, his hands…’ – What does this show?
Shows loneliness and loss of intimacy.
Originally – What is the poem about?
A child’s experience of moving from Scotland to England and losing their cultural identity.
Originally – What themes are explored?
Identity, change, and adaptation.
Originally – ‘My tongue shed its skin like a snake.’ – What does it suggest?
Shows how the speaker’s language and identity have changed.
In Mrs Tilscher’s Class – What is the poem about?
A nostalgic memory of primary school and the transition into adolescence.
In Mrs Tilscher’s Class – What does the thunderstorm symbolise?
Puberty and the disruption of childhood innocence.
In Mrs Tilscher’s Class – What themes are explored?
Growing up, innocence, experience, and change.
The Way My Mother Speaks – What does the train journey symbolise?
Transition in life; growing up and moving forward.
The Way My Mother Speaks – What themes are explored?
Family, identity, belonging, and change.
The Way My Mother Speaks – ‘Nothing is silent. Nothing is not silent.’ – What does it mean?
Suggests the emotional complexity of change; conflicting feelings of loss and comfort.
