The Poem 'Havisham' by Carol Ann Duffy

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In 1993, Carol Ann Duffy published "Havisham," a poem that responds to the fictional character Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens' novel, Great Expectations. In it, Duffy explores the character's mental and physical state decades later, long after she left the altar. "Havisham" is a short poem of nearly a thousand lines, with each line referring to the character's life.

Throughout the poem, themes of violence and death represent madness. Lines such as "Give me a dead male corpse" demonstrate how Miss Havisham views the world and herself. Lines like "wished him dead" show that her love and hate are intertwined. At the end of the poem, however, the lines separate love from hate, displaying that the two are incompatible. Ultimately, the poem reflects the complexity of human emotion.

The poem 'Havisham' by Carol Ann Duffy is a poignant and powerful poem that depicts the inner thoughts of Miss Havisham. Duffy's vivid imagery and passionate diction give readers a real understanding of the character. It evokes the emotion and the resentment that haunts the eponymous character, and provides a richly-imagined journey into Havisham's mind.

As the suffragette Miss Havisham is a grotesque figure. The grotesque character seeks to protect her daughter, but she also teaches her daughter to hate men. Her character is so disturbing that Compeyson uses her characteristics against her. She uses her wealth to gain control and demonstrates a lack of empathy. She fails to teach her daughter how to be independent by training her to hate men.

Carol Ann Duffy's "Havisham" poem is inspired by the famous character in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations. It reflects the character's mental and physical state decades after the marriage altar. Duffy was raised in a city with many ill-advised characters and was the first female poet laureate. Her poems often take the voices of misunderstood characters. And in the case of Miss Havisham, the poem is particularly poignant.

Despite this unnerving novel, it is an engrossing story of a loveless woman living alone in a rotting mansion. Throughout the novel, Miss Havisham wears her wedding gown every day. A tragic event defines her life. Compeyson dumped her on her wedding day, and she resolutely refuses to move on from that moment. She is never able to forget her heartache.

This poem also references the idea of losing one's body in a dream, further emphasizing the gloomy mood. The word spinster is an old, outdated term for a woman who has never married. In those days, it carried a negative connotation. During that time, women were expected to marry, and to be a spinster was considered too old to be married. The words used in the poem demonstrate the author's hatred of and bitterness towards the character.

June 27, 2022
Category:

Literature

Subcategory:

Poems

Number of pages

2

Number of words

496

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86

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