Carol Anne Hathaway

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In Carol Anne Duffy’s sonnet, “Anne Hathaway,” she reveals the hidden, compassionate love story between Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare. As the wife of Shakespeare, Anne reveals the truth behind the second best bed that Shakespeare gave her in his will. Even though, this portrayed their marriage without love and happiness, the second best bed saw and felt the real passion and love during their marriage. Through the mind of the Anne Hathaway, Duffy exposes the truth about Shakespeare and Hathaway’s relationship, while emphasizing the mutual respect and love the two felt. Anne Hathaway recalls the true love that Shakespeare felt for her, juxtaposing the rumors of a troubled relationship. As husband and wife, William and Anne shared a …show more content…

Together in the second best bed, it was “a spinning world of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas...” in which “[they] loved in.” Turning the mundane bed into a fantasy world indicates that their love was out of this “world.” Isolated with no distractions in the bed having sex, the “spinning” displays their love as disorienting, since it is constantly moving from a “forest” to a “castle,” and whenever their love may take them. No matter how chaotic life was for the two, their love was always a fantasy world they escaped too. Undeniably, Anne infers that their love was a magical journey, in which “[her] lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips,” and “[her] body now a softer rhyme to his, now echo, assonance.” While referring to Shakespeare’s poems, his “words” represent “stars” the world can see and read, however, to Hathaway the “words” are more private and intimate. While the “words” he reveals to the world through his poetry is untouchable, to Hathaway the “words” symbolize the kisses only she can feel from Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s poetry connects the two in a relationship that is an experience only Hathaway feels and witnesses. However, comparing

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