Stanza 3 Flashcards
‘To me?’
This is an enjambment. It is at the beginning of the stanza to show she is focusing on herself and refusing to accept any responsibility for what she has become. She blames others and sees herself as the victim, so she does not blame herself for being stuck in the past.
‘Puce curses’
‘Puce’ is an unpleasant brown/red colour that suggests blood and bruising. She is physically harming herself.
‘Sounds not words’
Links back to the idea that she was ‘cawing’ rather than speaking earlier in the poem. This shows her mental deterioration because she is unable to speak and her language is breaking down.
‘the lost body’
‘Lost’ is a reference to him leaving her. ‘Body’ suggests she has become emotionally detached from him and no longer sees him for his personality. ‘Its’ reinforces this idea because it dehumanises the body. Duffy is suggesting the only way she can cause him harm is to not think of him fully, so perhaps she still feels affection towards him.
‘Fluent tongue’
In her sexual dreams she can communicate easily and is back to her normal self. She can communicate through her sexuality, however the absence of a lover means she is now unable to communicate completely.
‘Suddenly bite awake’
She wants to emasculate him and remove his manhood, just like he removed her femininity by making her a ‘spinster’.
