Carol Ann Duffy, The World's Wife

The reviews I've read sum up, for me, why this collection is so amazing.

Whilst many are complaining that the collection is basically just a 'how to' guide on man hating, they ignore the fact that the situations that the men are placed in within the collection are the situations that women have been placed in for centuries. All Duffy has done is subverted the gender roles.

We're referred to as clingy, we're arm candy, we're used for cooking, in the past women worked hard and created amazing works, but because of the oppression of women the credit was given to men, historically we're depicted as seductresses, liars, distractions. All of these images are presented in the collection, the only difference being that men are the subject of these labels instead.

Many of the images seem bizarre, a man sheepishly bringing food to a woman, a man being mocked, a man being called animalistic names, but these bizarre images make up the daily lives for so many women, especially out of the Western sphere. As I said, this witty collection simply puts men in the place of women, and it is one of the most empowering collections I have read.

I enjoy poetry and not just traditional poetry, so am open-minded about the genre it is written in. But, I was disappointed with Carol Ann Duffy's 'The World's Wife'.

I thought it interesting how she had selected historical people or fairy tales or Biblical aspects. But, for me what Duffy has then done and how she has used them does not work. This may be controversial as poetry is according to the author - true. But, still to be successful surely the reader has to enjoy it, gain meaning from it etc. I personally found it really challenging to keep going with the book - in parts offensive and in other parts lacking meaning. Sorry - Carol Ann Duffy - but not convinced.

Studying Duffy's The World's Wife at A Level, I have learnt how phenomenal she is as a poet, not only because her feminism is brave and ruthless but because her truth and grit is empowering. In none of her poems does Duffy shy away from confronting the male gender, but there is no problem with that and it should not be considered sexism. Females are constantly belittled and degraded by men but thanks to Duffy's power and strength, she can liberate women as well as inspiring them.

Every student should study Duffy's The World's Wife, it not only exposes the reader to significant figures in history, Greek mythology and the media but opens up your mind to feminist opinions. Duffy teaches women to be themselves, take control and not to back down, she breaks convention and represents a new role model for women, desperately needed in the 21st century.

Any criticisms should be disregarded in my opinion.

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!

Hmm Cannot believe how people don't like Pope Joan. In fact this is my favourite poem out of the whole collection. Im sure youll have to be a woman to truly love it's significance and it's message.

Isnt it ironic how some men don't like the poem Pope Joan?

But overall any sex can enjoy any of the poems in the great collection. Lets stop being so harsh, she can write poems better than any of us can!

Absolutely horrendous. A terrible collection by a terrible poet who makes me angry just looking at the vile book. Though its not fair to suggest it is a complete attack on men, it is safe to say its pretty damn close. Deeper analysis may reveal a mixed view on the sexes but i deeply suggest you don't even bother.

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.)

I had previously disliked her work, but upon reading these poems I found that I liked her works very much. Some of the poems are a little slow to read, but others are very witty and take an interesting view on men of the world. My favourite poem was Mrs Aesop, a very witty and sexy poem which tells of the famous fable writers wife's view on his work. I recommend this book to anybody who likes her work, poetry and humourous light reading.

THATS ALL I CAN SAY.. WAYYYYYYYYYYYY TO EXPLICIT FOR GCSE/A LEVEL REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY BIASED TOWARDS MALES !! SPITEFUL WOMAN WITH NOOOOOOOOOOOO TALENT ...

Carol Ann Duffy's The World's Wife explores the finitude and silences of romantic love narratives. The Collection's glittering monologues testify to the pathos and irony of 'enduring' affection, particularly marital affection, which historically and culturally have dispossessed women of their identity and speech. The reader's journey through Duffy's World's Wife is witty, uncomfortable and liberating. And then finally, just when we have become acclimatised to a 'worldly' acceptance of love unmasked and dissembled, Duffy offers the reader a profoundly intimate gift. This gift celebrates once more what we thought was irretrievably lost; the resurrection of a truly loving communion. Thus The World's Wife ends with her sonnet to 'Demeter'; possibly I feel her most brilliant poem, a poem which significantly celebrates an emotionally redemptive connection between two mother and daughter.

The poem revisits the myth of the Greek Goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone and explores the isolating privacy of mourning. The original story centres on Demeter's loss of her daughter Persephone to Hades, the King of the Underworld. Demeter in her abject maternal grief and anger plunges the world into everlasting winter until her daughter is returned to her for part of the calendar year by Hades after pressure from other Gods.

Duffy takes the sonnet, a rigorous and formally constraining poetic form associated with love, to explore the tension between loss and resurrection; between abject despair and the consummate revelation of love returned.