English Mock IO Flashcards
Essay
The global issue involving the two texts that I’ve selected is the societal expectations for women and genders. The literary poem I will be analysing is Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Salome’. Furthermore, I will also analyse a section from an opinion column written by British journalist, author and feminist, Caitlin Moran titled ‘The Leg Season’. The primary theme of both of these texts is the roles that women hold in society. With that said, the two writers tackle this issue from distinct angles. Moran highlights how women have an expectation to act passive and emotional, derived from societal expectations within our culture. Moran cleverly uses sarcasm and irony to ridicule these expectations. Duffy takes a more direct approach when challenging and defying the stereotypical and unrealistic expectations and roles of women. Gender stereotypes are presented oppositely in their works by the use of language and diction which showcases women to be either in a powerful position, defying gender roles, or not, complying with them. The affect of the two scenarios is to present entirely opposite diegesis with the same effective message about gender norms.
Salome is one of Duffy’s most popular and beloved poems in The World’s Wife Collection. Duffy uses the character of Salome to make a case for women empowerment. Her poems are dramatic monologues, which allows her to use them as a mechanism for delivering a powerful statement to wide audiences. She achieves this through the use of many linguistic devices, unique diction, and often black humour interspersed throughout her poems. On top of this, she often intersperses her poems with prodigious amounts of historical and mythological references, which together work to add layers of complexity as well as allegories, metaphors and deeper meanings throughout her poems. This particular poem relates to the concept of intertextuality. She appropriates a female figure from the bible, and switches the story to give the woman a voice, whereas previously they had none. In The poem, Salome takes on the role of a dangerous seductress (a femme fatal) and makes men the victims, reversing the traditional gender stereotypes of men taking advantage of women. Duffy employs themes of power and authority through showcasing Salome’s aggressive nature towards men. Salome’s controlling nature is immediately evident from the beginning of the poem. The first line reads “I’d done it before (and doubtless, I’ll do it again)”, already revealing her dismissive tone towards the crimes she committed. The lack of worry indicated by her unequivocal address functions to reinforce the theme that she is the one in control, rather than the men, further tying the poem to feminism. The rhetorical question “What did it matter?” also suggests a lack of guilt felt by her. All of this works to subvert the audience’s attention from how they believed a conventional female character should act (ie. caring, compassionate). We see her reiterate this motif in the line “colder than a pewter”, other than being a powerful kinesthetic image, the line compares a man to that of an inanimate object, that of a metallic alloy. The term Pewter also has an extra layer of meaning, as at the time the poem is supposed to take place, the material would have been used in large part by wealthy people, for pots and trophy artifacts. The fact that a mans head has been compared to Pewter connotes that she views the head in a similar manner to the way she views a trophy. This comparison bears great similarities to the notion of a trophy wife. In essence, Salome’s character is objectifying men, switching gender norms, as men are the ones who usually objectify women. Additionally, Duffy tackles issues within the Bible. The character of Salome’s biblical roots is often hard to avoid. For this reason, Duffy uses it as an opportunity to criticise Christianity. She does this because of the various sexist myths perpetuated by the religion. Salome remarks “What was their names? Peter, Simon, John?”. The line is particularly relevant, as not only were these figures in the Bible, they were saints. The audience is supposed to infer that they met their demise through engaging in sex with Salome, an action which is mean to call into question their reputation. Moreover, Duffy prefaces these names with a line from Salome about failing to recall these names, implying that these names are not important to her. Through this, she achieves the demotion of male characters, who held fame at an uneven extent when compared to their female counterparts, and the promotion of female characters (such as Salome) who were previously relegated to obscurity. Duffy strengthens this by having Salome immediately attend to tea time. Salomes’ calm description of the type of tea she enjoys and the names of the victims beforehand form’s a memorable juxtaposition of moods which the audience picks up on.
We will also discuss the significance of Caitlan Moran’s opinión article titled “The leg season”. Moran effectively uses tone, mood, and irony to demonstrate the ridiculous expectations held towards women in our society. How women are taught to conform and how this could be detrimental to both their confidence and emotions. Moran uses an imperative in the first sentence “It’s time to GET THOSE LEGS OUT, LADIES”. Not only is this eye-catching, it reaffirms the idea that women are still not in charge of their bodies.The bold capitalisation enhances the feeling that this is an order, rather than a choice. She goes further, to use physical attributes to hint that there exists the idea that men are only interested in women if they reveal their legs. This ties into the idea of the male gaze. That men are interested in the physique of women as opposed to forming deeper and more meaningful connections with them. This bears similarities to Salome, who showed little interest in the men’s personalities and the emotions of her victims, but was very vested in their looks. Moran talks of the breadth of rituals that must be undertaken by women to maintain their beauty, through her use of lexical fields, listing “scrubs, fake-tans, leg make-up, and pedicures”. Both the time and effort to undertake all of these activities are costly, as is the sizable impact on women’s self-esteem when not undertaking these activities. Through this, she also communicates that the societal pressure forcing them to comply strongly exists in our world. Colloquial language is also employed when she states “men don’t have to worry about this sh*t”. The phrase conveys to the audience Moran’s frustration regarding these expectations, and the unfair dichotomy between gender roles and norms in our society.
Overall, both the poem and the article convey effectively the challenges women consistently face in society. Both take salient stands regarding women’s empowerment, and are able to encourage the reader to ponder on the situation regarding gender equality, traditional gender roles and the way society treats women.
