Carol Ann Duffy, The World's Wife Review

Overall Rating

I would disagree with the reading that many have taken from Carol Ann Duffy's work that it is excessive or extremist feminism. Anne Hathaway, for one, stands out from the collection as overwhelmingly positive in its depiction of Shakespeare, even submissive to his authority. Some of the apparently negative views of men presented in poems such as Queen Herod or the domination of the female sex as presented in Salome are condemned by association with their voice as an amoral or deranged character - here Duffy's presentation of anti-male views is a target for ridicule or rejection as she demonises or dehumanises their proponents.
In other cases, like Pygmalion's Bride or Eurydice, her message is undeniable: however, these and many similar poems are meant to be taken in the context of the original (typically very misogynistic) work on which they are based, as a retaliation rather than an attack.

That said, I would also take contention with the notion that Carol Ann Duffy is a skillful or interesting poet. Her structure - use of enjambment and caesura nearly every line seem to render her line breaks all but worthless - and rhythm - none - quickly become tiresome and predictable. Her themes, although occasionally thought-provoking, are similarly repetitive and tedious. Her imagery and metaphors are frequently forced and obvious, and in many cases she does not seem to credit her readers with the intelligence to pick up on implicit references or ideas. In Little Red Cap, as an example, she provides the image of a bird as a metaphor for her innocence, but makes quite sure to specify that it is a white dove, and that the wolf kills it, and that the wolf is killing her innocence, you see, because there's this dove that she found, and he ate it and doesn't feel remorse, look, he thinks it's just breakfast... Duffy seems morally opposed to subtlety and frequently comes across as the condescending and superior literati who allows us uneducated types to bathe in a little reflected glory.

So, don't be too quick to condemn Duffy as a militant or a sexist. Utterly unforgivable, however, is the quality of her poetry and her treatment of her readers.

Members' Comments onGuest's Review

• Dutchcourage on 21st Oct 2008

  Retaliation is not something to be glorified - when two belligerents attack each other in turn, regardless of the reason or the source or blame, it is called a war. If Duffy truly wants equality and harmony, this is not the way to go about it.