written by on 24/01/2011
Although her sexism towards men annoys me at times i enjoyed many of the poems Carol Ann Duffy has put together in this book! I LOVED "Mrs Darwin"- very funny and witty!
written by on 19/05/2010
A Review of "The World's Wife" by Carol Anne Duffy Adderson Hawdon The world's wife is an anthology of poems that subvert the meanings of stories throughout history bringing in female perspectives of male lead stories, or empowering the female protagonists to a much higher status. The anthology is very feminist with all women poems, all of them making choices and breaking away from the male dominant culture to create their own counter culture of strong females in order to break the stereotypical viewpoint of women in life. We could also look deeper into each poem content we could even say that it is a poetic account of Duffy's life as she grows into a woman; examples of this being Little Red Cap which sounds as if re-telling the story of her first relationship with a male partner and all the poems afterwards are situations or choices she has had to make in the aftermath of this event regarding sexuality, stance, identity and so forth. However, although we could say it is just Carol Anne Duffy's own story we could also say it is the story of all women as they grow up to become whatever they choose to be as each poem again highlights certain challenges and decisions the female must undertake as a person with Mrs. Beast being an example with maturity and experience comes sexual preference, Mrs. Beast tells us of a dominatrix who loves certain people for their sex mostly ugly people who bow down to her. Not only is this feminist but also it's a question a lot of females come to in their lifetime especially as they mature "What are my sexual preferences?" "Do I want to dominate my boyfriends' lives or be dominated in my own?" etc. The anthology is really interesting with pace changes all over the shop and imagery that simply blows the mind, however as a male reader and coming from a male perspective (as we're all close minded and bigoted or atleast that's what Carol Anne Duffy would say) reading this anthology is a very intimidating and daunting task as the hostility towards men features throughout save in one poem Anne Hathaway. I myself am put off by this and her work loses favour with me when she starts talking about biting off men's penises. Her work loses its magic due to her own, twisted bitterness towards the male culture and just shows us how unskilled she can be and only reveals her self to be a bitter man-hating lesbian poet (cause there isn't enough of them around, clearly.)
written by on 29/04/2009
The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy focuses on important socio-political issues of the 1950's and is engaging, moving and witty. Not many authors would consider giving the important women in a man's life a voice when in fact, they could have been the brains behind the actions! However, are we still living in the 1950's? and should there be some form of masculine/male dominated movement.? After all, there is some sexism towards men.
written by Sam J Quigley on 26/01/2009
I am studying The World#s wife by Carol Ann Duffy for A level at the moment and i really like the witty humor and the distasteful "slagging off" of men and I'm male which makes it odd i suppose. People are asking if the is derogatory to men which i reply to as "depends on how insecure you are" it is disrespectful to men in some parts but its disrespect is matched by its humor because i find them rather funny. If you enjoy a light read, as most of the poems are a maximum of 2 pages long, and need uplifting i would recommend this book to anyone.
written by on 03/10/2008
Delightful and different, with provocative half-rhymes. However, if you are not a fan of poetry, this book would appeal to you equally: the humor and slight distortion of reality and myth alike set in a conversational, colloquial tone render the poetry equivalent to Calvin and hobbes-esque humor. Subtle, yet satisfying. The feminist message is present but never too extreme: instead it focuses on providing perspective, which is often more important than pushing for political and social closure on one's views.
written by on 25/02/2008
The fact that this book gives women voices says it all, i am studying this book and think that Duffy is extremely talented, creating pieces of poetry with meanings and laughter.
written by on 19/02/2008
I am currently studying The Worlds Wife at A level Literature. I also studied Duffy at GCSE level and adored her poems. The book is comical and gives a voice to women who were not heard, however, at some times it can be too over powering with feministic views. Some of the poems drag on, but overall, a good read.
written by propersweeti00 on 07/11/2007
I am a student studying worlds wife for A-level.
I absolutely love this book, the range of poems is amazing, the poems are very humorous and easy to read and understand, and its not feminist, everything she makes men out to be is true!
I love her poems and I think she is an amazing writer.
written by Solitude on 10/05/2007
A lot of fuss has been made of Duffy's 'The world's wife'. Is it too sexually explicit to teach teenagers at A level? Is it sexist against men? Is Duffy really as bad as the poems make out?
I think people asking these questions are missing the point, they seem to have completely failed to see that it doesn't matter because her work is awful.
Verses and stanzas are arranged pretentiously, enjambment is milked dry, full stops and punctuation are like oasis's in a desert in this collection. The jokes are obvious with puns that one sees coming like trains in the night, the themes are repeated to death with man bashing becoming inoffensive by means of sheer repetition.
There are moments of brilliance, the chilling 'the Devil's Wife' is written with all the violent madness of George Bataille, the claustrophobia of Kafka and the sense of doom of Camus. It written like a Play with five separate parts and a fantastic de noumont. However even this stroke of Brilliance cannot save Duffy
Yes there is a lot of sex and violence in the book. Yes it isn't fair that Sade is a dirty word and Duffy is not. Yes, duffy's poetry probably is 'threatening' to any really weak males among her readers.
However none of this should really be emphasised because its all about the poetry and the poetry is appalling
Written on: 11/05/2007
Not Carol Ann Duffy; we're studying her work at GCSE and it's nothing special at all.
Written on: 06/05/2009
Carol Ann Duffy has a lot in common with John Prescott - she is full of bitter and pointless anger.
Written on: 20/04/2008
I believe that this is a very inspiring set of Poems. For my A level coursework I have transformed a handful of these poems into a playscript, and to really see her attitudes and values in the piece is to extract the material and interpret it differently, as I have done. Many of her points are really vivid with wonderfully vivid description throughout many of her poems. Even though she may be considered feminist, this is only one of her collections, based on the spouses' and lovers' of great historical men, and her other collections should never be turned down because of any preassumptions from this collection.
Written on: 06/04/2008
Well said. Ms Duffy began with a potentially excellent way of restoring social balance between genders and paving the way for a more open and tolerate society; but through a strict regime of reusing low-quality literary techniques and warping progressive sentiments into mindless rants she has rendered this book unreadable. I consider hatred of this book to be an excellent indicator of intelligence and sympathy toward mankind.
(That is not necessarily to say Duffy fans are stupid or misanthropic, which would actually reflect much of Ms Duffy's own opinions).
Written on: 10/06/2007
I actually really enjoyed this collection and I am studying it at A level at the moment. Carol Ann Duffy proves that she has an original talent for word play and her use of tone of voice makes her one of the best poets of our time. My favourite poem has to be Queen Kong in this collection along with Mrs Midas - both are feminist yet not too harsh towards men! However, I absolutely loathe Mrs Aesop - it literally sets out to castrate all men and strip away masculine strength.
written by samina on 10/05/2005
I am reading Carol Ann Duffy, The World's Wife for my A level - Lively and full of witty comments and humour Duffy brings out the voice of women in myth, however it can be too unrealistic, sometimes I can feel sick with the dirty comments and feel that the poet is too extreme.
written by rimpz on 02/06/2004
Carol Ann Duffy's collection, The World's Wife has a lot going for it, there's a lot of enlightening views and I particularly like the way in which Duffy has modernised traditional myths. Poems that I enjoyed most were Demeter, Mrs faust, Queen Kong and The Devils Wife. However...there is always a however and this is it. I'm sure most of those who have read it will agree with me that it's extreme to the point that is not even funny after a while. I'm sure we all love the odd gender joke but she does go on a bit. We all know that there have been great inequalities for women and they have had to and still do endure a lot of suffering. But being a member of the female species, even I found some of the poems shocking...in fact they're all fantastic if read separately but as a collection they are a bit OTT. I first discovered Duffy at GCSE level with Onion and other poems...I loved them and so was delighted to learn that she would be part of my course at A-Level but despite my inspiring teacher trying to change my views, I was not impressed. Still, good old Ross didn't fail completely and I would recommend reading the poems but as I said early don't try and take them all in at once.
Written on: 20/05/2005
I agree, 'finds a good joke and tells it over and over again,' sums it up nicely.
Written on: 15/12/2008
I disagree with this review because... as a strong feminist i think it's about time someone spoke up and the poems are emphasised dromatically but this has more effect as people understand how females have been a victim of patriarchal society!
Written on: 31/10/2005
Well, no offence or nothing, but I have to disagree that it is "too feminist" because Carol Ann Duffy is known in her poetry and literature to be a feminist writer. So, you would find a lot of feminist content in her work.
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Guest's Comment
Written on: 09/04/2012
She isn't just critical of men, she also belittles women. take 'Mrs Faust' for instance, Duffy doesn't at any point make Mrs faust out to be all sweet and innocent, her path is just as crude as Faust's. They both seek power, they are both selfish, but they do it in different ways. Before you make such a statement, you should analyze the poems, and look at what Duffy is really saying, or you could even look at her interview with Barry wood in 2005.