Carol Ann Duffy Poem Analysis

Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. Duffy began to write poetry from the age of 11, and was encouraged by two English teachers to develop her literary talent.

At the age of 15, Duffy had a few of her poems published, and she went on to study at the University of Liverpool. In 1977 she received an honours degree in philosophy. During her time at university Duffy also had two plays performed at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Duffy was appointed as Poet Laureate on May 1st 2009. Children studying for their G.C.S.E’s, and A levels have also studied her poems. Many older children and adults of this generation hold Duffy’s poetry dearly; perhaps it is Duffy’s honest exploration of everyday experiences in scenes from adult life, childhood,

Perhaps this is because a person’s youth can never be relived. Throughout the poem it asks the reader would or could you change anything if you were given the opportunity. Duffy writes the poem in the form of a narrative dialogue; this technique is used in a variety of Duffy’s poems. In this particular poem the dialogue takes place between an old person and a narrator. As the poem is read, the old person never seems to reply, but seems to follow the narrator’s instructions. This technique allows Duffy to talk straight to the reader, who is being asked to take part in questioning his or her own childhood memories.

The beginning of the poem takes on a sarcastic almost ironical approach, “If you think till it hurts you can almost do it without getting off that chair” this is addressed to the person who has become older mentally as well as physically. “Prompt of a word” signifies the way in which a single word can trigger an abundance of

There are some dis-jointed sentences in the second stanza, “fell to the bleak streets” followed on the next line by “where I felt my heart gnaw” ended by the sentence “at all our mistakes.” In doing this Duffy allows the reader time to think and feel what the writer is going through. Where I felt my heart gnaw refers to the anxiety and grief he/she feels over mistakes made in the relationship.

Duffy uses personification again in the first line of the third stanza “If the darkening sky could lift”. Here lift is referring to the writers wish to have his/her mistakes taken away.

“But we will be dead, as we know” shows that death is a certainty to everyone, and wasting time mourning is possibly pointless. This is where readers can relate to Duffy, as these emotions, mistakes, that are explored through the poem could happen to