Objectives

By the end of today’s lesson you will be able to: Complete a TSLAP analysis of the poem

Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy.

Who is Havisham?

• Miss Havisham is character from Charles Dickens “Great Expectations.”

• She was jilted at the altar in the book.• This poem is an outpouring of her

bitterness and resentment.• Why do you think Duffy dropped the

‘Miss’?

HavishamBeloved sweetheart bastard.  Not a day since thenI haven't wished him dead.  Prayed for itso hard I've dark green pebbles for eyes,ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.

Spinster.  I stink and remember.  Whole daysin bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dressyellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe;the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this

to me?  Puce curses that are sounds not words.Some nights better, the lost body over me,my fluent tongue in its mouth in its earthen down till  suddenly bite awake.  Love's

hate behind a white veil; a red balloon burstingin my face.  Bang.  I stabbed at a wedding cake.Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.Don't think it's only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.

Havisham Beloved sweetheart bastard.  Not a day since thenI haven't wished him dead.  Prayed for itso hard I've dark green pebbles for eyes,ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.

Spinster.  I stink and remember.  Whole daysin bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dressyellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe;the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this

to me?  Puce curses that are sounds not words.Some nights better, the lost body over me,my fluent tongue in its mouth in its earthen down till  suddenly bite awake.  Love's

hate behind a white veil; a red balloon burstingin my face.  Bang.  I stabbed at a wedding cake.Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.Don't think it's only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.

Oxymoron: suggests love/hate

Metaphor

Expressing her violent emotions

Reference to age, but not having lived

Her Victorian label, suggesting she will never marry Reference to the wedding dress and to her own sense of decay

Bird imageryEnjambment links

stanzas 2/3 3/4The reflection

shows a devastated

state

So emotional she emits only sound

Sexual fantasy

Oxymoron

Onomatopoeia

Her language echoes her pain

Violent & disturbing

images

Red is a passionate colour

Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then

I haven`t wished him dead. Prayed for it

so hard I`ve dark green pebbles for eyes,

ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with

Alliteration of `b’ and `p’ sound suggests ANGER

I.E. the weddingday

Image suggests hard and cruel

Veins – a metaphor

Theme of violence in poem – (compare with

Stealing/Education for Leisure/

Hitcher)

Enjambment: lines run over

Green for jealousyIndicating her Bitterness “the

Green-eyed monster –Green like a monster.

Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days

in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dress

yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe;

the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this

Single word Sentence – denotes

Her bitternessi.e. because she has never washed since her wedding

day

Image of a crow“CAWING”

WORD EMPHASISES HERGRIEF AND DESPAIR

WITH AGE

BROKEN/DESTROYED(VIOLENCE?)

AS THOUGH IT IS SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS DONE THIS. SHE CANT BELIEVE THAT THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR WOULD DO THIS.

SPLIT PERSONALITY? DISTURBED?

to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words.

Some nights better, the lost body over me,

my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear

Then down till I suddenly bit awake. Love`s

Enjambment: lines run over She cannot express her anger and bitterness in proper words

(compare line 6)

Sexual references totheir relationship

VIOLENCE

hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting

in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding cake.

Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.

Don`t think it`s only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.

oxymoronWedding dress/white

For virginity VIOLENCE

Alliteration of `b’ and `p’ sound suggests ANGER

Sobbing and suggests violence –a veiled threat

She would rather have him dead thanhave him reject her – shows how bitter

and twisted she is

StructureStructure• The poem consists of four, four line stanzas or quatrains

which are unrhymed. Many of the lines run on, and the effect is like normal speech.

• The first provides the reader with the theme of revenge:‘Not a day since then / I haven’t wished him dead’. (lines 1-2)

• Verses two and three develop a description of her life and state of mind.

• The final verse returns to the ideas of death, violent hatred and marriage:‘Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon’ (line 15)

Why the enjambment?

Themes what is the poem about? who is the speaker? - are they dramatized (a character)

who is being spoken to or addressed? what is being spoken about? Theme(s) of the poem - what is it really about?

Setting/culture - where’s the poem set? Culture it is from/about?

where does the poem “get to” from start to end?

TSLAP Themes, Structure, Language, Attitude, Personal

Response

Language techniques Alliteration - the repeating of initial sounds.

Assonance - is the term used for the repetition of vowel sounds within consecutive words as in, 'rags of green weed hung down...'.

Metaphor - comparing two things by saying one is the other.

Simile - comparing two things saying one is like or as the other.

Personification - giving something non-human human qualities.

Onomatopoeia - words that sound like the thing they describe.

Repetition - does the poet repeat words or phrases?

Attitudes How would the poem be spoken? (angry, sad, nostalgic, bitter, humorous etc)

Structure Rhyme - is there a rhyme scheme? Couplets? Internal rhyme?

Rhythm - how many syllables per line? Is it regular or free verse? Why are some different lengths?

Stanzas - How many? How do they change? Is there a narrative?

Lines - how many are their in each verse? Do some stand out?

Enjambment - do the lines “run on” to the next line or stanza?

End stopping - does each line finish at the end of a sentence?

Form - does the poem have a shape to it?

Language What kinds of words are used? Puns - a pun is a play on words - “Shear Class!” if Shearer scores.

Connotation - associations that words have (as "stallion" connotes a certain kind of horse with certain sorts of uses)?

Double meanings - “butts in” - putting bottoms in or interrupting.

Ambiguity - is the word or phrase deliberately unclear? Could it mean opposite things or many different things?.

Word order - are the words in an unusual order – why?

Adjectives - what are the key describing words?

Key words and phrases - do any of the words or phrases stand out? Do they shock? Are the words “violent” or “sad” etc?

Slang or unusual words and misspellings - Does the poet use slang or informal language? Are American words used?

Intertextuality - does the poem reference another text?

Style - does the poet copy another style? (Newspaper, play etc)

Characters - if there are characters how do they speak?

Always link everything to meaning. Ask yourself how does this contributes to the meaning? Why has the poet used this technique?