Although written in different decades, by poets living in different countries, about different issues, there are many similarities between the poems “Healthy Meal” by Carol Ann Duffy and “Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The vivid imagery which explores the feelings of the groups described in both poems is one such similarity. This imagery gives voice to the oppressed and successfully conveys both poets’ feelings about consumerism.

“A Healthy Meal” is a criticism about the indifference of gourmet diners to the animals they are eating. Duffy uses elaborate metaphors to humanise the animals. “The secret dreams of cows” is a metaphor for cows’ brains but also suggests that cows have dreams

and therefore feelings. These metaphors show the poets’ sympathy for the animals, as she explores that they may also have had feelings. “Two Scavengers” also explores the feelings of those normally ignored as it tells of two garbage men and two “beautiful” people held together at a red light, commenting on the differences between them. Similes are used to convey the feelings of the garbage men as they are described as “gazing down/ as if from a great distance”. They are in fact close together, however this simile emphasises the huge social divide between the two groups. The verb “gazing” implies that the garbage men are looking intently, showing their feelings of longing for the life of the beautiful people. This is further emphasized by the line “in which everything is always possible”.

Both poets use imagery to voice the longing for a better life that unites the animals and garbage men, highlighting the injustice of consumerism in our society which they feel so strongly about.

The issue of consumerism is also addressed through the technique of anthropomorphism in “A Healthy Meal”. The line “these hearts knew/no love and on their beds of saffron rice they lie/beyond reproach” has multiple implications. Duffy stresses the humanity of these animals with reference to their hearts. She also implies that they are treated badly throughout their lives as they “knew no love”, suggesting circumstances which mirror that of battery hens. This sentence tells the reader that the animals had feelings and these are explored as she leads us to

believe that they wanted to be loved. There is also a great juxtaposition between the facts that people buy battery hens to save money, but are prepared to spend it on “saffron” which is an expensive herb. As Duffy relates her animals to humans, Ferlinghetti also explores feelings by relating his garbage men to a deformed figure through a simile “like some gargoyle Quasimodo”. The simile is striking as Quasimodo, in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, was kind and loving despite his ugliness. This comparison helps the reader see the garbage men in a different light as it suggest the same is true of the garbage men as is of Quasimodo. Through this simile we can see that the garbage men have feelings just like the rest of us; they are no less human because they are poor.

Both poets also describe the feelings of the antagonists in each poem; the Diners and the Beautiful People. In “A Healthy Meal” the diners are depicted unattractively as “a fat man” or “the woman chewing suckling pig”. The lack of depth used to describe them contrasts with the animals’ descriptions helping the reader to sympathise with the animals and feel negative towards the diners. It also leads us to believe that the animals’ feelings are much deeper and more important than the diners’. In the same way the colour imagery of “garbage men in red plastic blazers” in “Two Scavengers” is missing in the descriptions of the beautiful people “hip three- piece linen suit”. This colourlessness reflects the lack of colour in their lives, showing how superficial the couple are.

Contrasting to the strong colours used to describe the garbage men Ferlinghetti also seems to say that the feelings of the garbage men are more honest and interesting than that of the “cool couple”. He is certainly more interested in them. Both poets use contrast to explore the feelings of their characters teaching us a lesson which is true in our modern society; that often the disadvantaged, less interesting seeming people are the ones with the deepest feelings.

In both of the poems, “A Healthy Meal” and “Two Scavengers”, the poets Carol Ann Duffy and Lawrence Ferlinghetti criticise the injustice of consumerism in our society. Through metaphors, similes, anthropomorphism and contrast they explore the feelings of two

oppressed groups in our society, animals and the poor. These techniques also reflect the poets’ belief about consumerism and leave the reader wondering what we can do to change this.

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With close reference to at least 2 poems discuss the methods the poets use to successfully explore emotions and/or feelings.

As the wise philosopher Socrates once said, “contentment is natural wealth; luxury, artificial poverty.” This doctrine is epitomized in Carol Ann Duffy’s poem A Healthy Meal and Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem Two Scavengers In A Truck And Two Beautiful People In A Mercedes. Both poets effectively illustrate their disapproving attitude towards consumerism and excessive affluence through the perfected use of metaphors, symbolism, religious and classical allusion.

The third stanza of A Healthy Meal describes the “gourmet’s” dining where “the language of tongues is braised in armagnac.” This subtle biblical allusion illustrates the overwhelming power of consumerism. In the Bible, one who ‘speaks in different tongues’ is said to be possessed by spirits. Here, the gourmets’ speak in the “language of tongues,” symbolic of how they are becoming possessed by consumerism and selfish satisfaction. In parallel to this, Lawrence uses classical allusion to illustrate the “gulf” between affluent and underprivileged society. The “older” garbage man stands, ”hunched back looking down like some gargoyle Quasimodo.” This character reference illustrates the ‘ugliness’ of the man and his deformed and daunting appearance in stark contrast to the pretty “blonde” couple in the Mercedes. Both these allusions convey a

negative and sadistic emotion to the reader, positioning them to feel both sympathetic and guilty. Duffy forces the reader to recognize the wrongdoings of the gourmet’s who indulge in slaughtered animals whilst Ferlinghetti makes the reader to sympathize with the men of lower social standard and feel guilty by realizing that our society is materialistic, and people fall into the trap of judgmental mentality and consumerism through inbuilt instinct.

Both poets also use symbolism to epitomize their negative attitudes towards their subject matters. Duffy describes “the green door,” behind which the “swish of oxtails languish on an earthen dish.” The door represents the barrier between the horrors of butchering and preparing the animal by the chef, and the well-presented meal selfishly consumed by the gourmet’s. Its green colour is also associated with the idea of life and nature. Ironically, the door is the entrance through which the animal will lose its life and become separated from nature. These ideas have strongly attached depressing emotions and are illustrated further through Ferlinghetti’s corresponding colour symbolism. The Garbage men are in a “bright yellow truck,” attired in “red plastic blazers,” both vivid colours of summer. Red is often associated with strength, energy and power and yellow with sunlight, joy and optimism. In stark contrast, the rich “elegant” couple is dressed in a ”three-piece linen suit,” which is gray. This colour symbolizes stability, boredom and dullness. The rich couple may be financially stable, but appear to lead dull, scheduled lives. The garbage men, on the other hand, are associated with brighter colours conveying the idea of their colourful lives, despite their lower societal ranking. This portrays a sense of understanding and insight as the theme of social hierarchal systems is brought into question. This idea is developed further as the poets reveal the attitudes of the characters in their poems.

This is done through the effective use of metaphor that conveys overarching themes of arrogance and social instability. The “gourmet’s” on Duffy’s poem believe “fingerbowls will absolve guilt.” This strong metaphor contrasts guilt with the grime on the gourmets’ fingers and highlights their arrogance in believing their wealth will guarantee them a place in heaven, similar to the way in History, the Church taught people they could ‘buy’ indulgences to enter the Kingdom of heaven as a ploy to become rich. The metaphor shows Duffy’s

disgust to the arrogance of the affluent by making a stung connection to a disrespectable time in history and illustrating her opinion of their “guilt” which is smeared all over their fingers. Lawrence uses a similar technique to create a macrocosmic comparison between the illustrated microcosm and the global social divide. In his metaphor “across that small gulf in the high seas of this democracy,” the “gulf” can be seen as the literal distance between North and South America, or the deep abyss of distance which separates higher and lower class society. This clearly illustrates his dissatisfaction and infuriation to the order that global society takes in separating people according to wealth, thus evoking strong emotions of displeasure by making the reader understand the shallowness with which we judge others.

Although Carol Ann Duffy was Scottish and Lawrence Felinghetti was American, both explore similar ideas of consumerism and socials divide and their negative influence on society. The various use of techniques and their effective implementation allows both poets to evoke strong emotions in the mind of the readers, revealing key themes such as consumerism and societal hierarchy, forcing us to reconsider the world we live in today.

1. Analyse how at least two of your studied poems present idea(s) in a striking or memorable way.

The prominent issue facing our world today is the socio-economic divide among people living in different classes. This problem has become more prevalent in the current global economic crisis and the governments’ handling of it. The negative effects of wealth and consumerism are presented by Carol Ann Duffy’s poem, “A Healthy Meal,” and Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s “Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes.” The poets use vivid imagery, structure and connotations to convey their messages in an unconventional, memorable way.

In “A Healthy Meal,” Duffy shows us the flaws of society by her description of the lavish “gourmet” that “tastes the secret dreams of cows.” This opening line contains both sensory and animal imagery, creating a repelling

contrast that would deter most empathetic people. In this way she points out the blindness of the wealthy, not seeing past the “power of words” to think about the animals. This becomes a parable of the way they treat the less fortunate in society; not thinking about those who cannot afford to eat, while they “chatter” about things as meaningless as their expensive meals. Ferlinghetti uses imagery give solidity to the division in society, presenting the increasing gap between people’s income as a literal “great distance.” He takes this imagery further with his striking metaphor comparing “democracy” to a “great gulf” with “high seas.” This image ends the poem and stays in our minds as the poet’s final thought and social criticism, strengthening his purpose in condemning society’s acceptance of human-classification.

The natural equality of humans is reinforced by Ferlinghetti’s parallel structure and connotations. In this way he highlights the similarities between the garbage man and the rich man. Both have “sunglasses and long hair” and the garbage man is also “about the same age as the Mercedes driver.” Their basic appearances are the same, yet they are separated by the qualities that accompany the social symbols of the “garbage truck” and the “elegant open Mercedes,” and the equally symbolic “plastic blazers” and “hip three-piece linen suit.” The adjectives are placed in parallel and have strong, contrasting connotations that help us to understand the division between these men who are naturally the same but socially opposite. Duffy uses structure in a similar way, ending the first four stanzas with religious allusion, relating each course to a stage in the Catholic mass, presenting the meal as a sacrilegious ceremony for the rich. They have “fingerbowls” to “absolve guilt” of eating so selfishly and “napkins to wipe the evidence.” The “claret” like “blood” resembles the fruit of the vine of Eucharist and the “pure white cloth” alludes to the alter cloth. Duffy’s most striking use of imagery occurs when she describes the eating of a lamb’s “leg, saddle and breast;” Christians identify the lamb as a symbol of Jesus, and Satanic rituals use a goat as mockery. In this way the poet connects the wealthy to worshippers of false gods, praising money and eating lamb despite its biblical significance.

The poets’ striking connections help us share in their distaste for wealth consumerism. The strong imagery

and recurrent literary techniques create memorable impressions on us to deny the lure of the class-system. Their poetry has remained applicable to society since they were written, and seems even more daunting in today’s harsh economic climate.

Focus on excellence1. Analyse how at least two of your studied poems present idea(s) in a striking or memorable way.

Society has witnessed the emergence of multiple anti-social citizens over history whose actions have caused widespread distress and danger. Carol Ann Duffy’s “Education for leisure” and “Stealing” are both social criticisms of the eras in which they were both written. Through Duffy's use of first person narration the ideas of violence, anti social behaviour and disillusionment are presented in a striking way.

Both “Stealing’ and “Education for Leisure” persona’s are used as catalysts to convey the theme of violence. In both poems Duffy uses first person narration to tell the reader of the events as they unfold. Both poems open with the persona's telling of their desire “to kill something” and “the most unusual things I ever stole”. In “Stealing” the persona derives pleasure from gratuitous acts of burglary knowing “that the children would cry”. The persona in “Education for leisure” on the other hand receives pleasure from plotting murder and terrifying his animals. The poem concludes with his chilling final words “I touch your arm”. These haunting words leave the reader wit the impression that he is about to commit murder reminding the reader it could be them. Both of the poems were written by Duffy to raise social awareness of the increase in random acts of violence that significantly grew in Britain during the 1970s. The poems also provide the reader with a reminder that dangerous people such as these persona's are present in our society and we must be vigilant and cautious of them.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a significant change in the British education system which led to the emergence of a new class of unemployed youth. The two persona's in “Education for leisure” and “Stealing” personify this social group and the associated anti-social behaviour that developed alongside it. The persona in “stealing” is so anti social that he stole a snowman as he “wanted it

a mate” as he had become so isolated and disillusioned from society that he perceived the snowman as a friend. The separation and disillusionment from mainstream society in “Education for leisure” is so great that the persona perceives him self as a “superstar and “God” causing him to believe he is superior to the world so can do what he wants with no regard to anyone else. Both persona's fail to recognise that their failure in life is not societies fault but they’re own. They believe that “they don’t appreciate my autograph” and that “I could have been anything at all with half the chance” but as society and the school system has failed them they must pay the price. Both persona's have obviously slipped through the education system and due to their subsequent lack of education or employment are able to have “leisure time” to contemplate and partake in anti social crimes. Duffy frequently uses her poems as an opportunity to voice her opinion on the failings of society and in this case the failings of comprehensive schools.

“Education for leisure” and “Stealing” are both social criticisms of the 1960s and 1970s era. Both poems raise attention to the dangers and implications of society’s failings at the time. Through the first person narration the reader is given a glimpse into the persona's mind to convey the ideas of the poem and scare the reader into realising the potential dangers in society. The reader should take these poems as a warning of what may happen if we fail to learn from past mistakes and allow the violent, anti social behaviour of others stain the moral fibres of humanity.

Focus on excellence2. With close reference to at least two poems discuss the methods the poets use to successfully explore emotions and/or feelings.

Matthew Arnold once stated that “Poetry; a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty”. Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Healthy Meal’ and Lawrence Ferlinghettis ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes’ are a social criticism, forcing the audience to examine flaws of society, such as self obsession and materialism. The poets use metaphors and religious allusions to convey these important ideas. Through both poets distinct exploration of such themes, strong feelings of shock and guilt are laid upon the audience as

they realise their actions and others before them have helped to mould the contextual framework of the poems themselves.

In both poems, elaborate metaphors are used to examine the human condition toward fellow humans, and animals alike. Duffy uses ‘A Healthy Meal’ as a way of critiquing gross consumerism sparked by wealth. The poem opens with ‘gourmet’ diners engrossing cow brains as a delicacy. The metaphor ‘tastes the secret dreams of cows’ is suggesting that by eating the animals brains ‘tossed lightly in garlic’ the diner is being able to share in the cows dreams. Through this technique Duffy is humanising the cows, as we would not usually associate any animal to have ‘dreams’. But through an ironic twist we soon come to realise that through the diners consuming them with such little regard whatsoever, they are actually taking away the cows dreams without even one blink of an eye. The metaphor shows the poets vast compassion and sensitivity for the cows, in comparison to the aloof attitude of the gourmet diners. Our emotions are sparked through this as we start to ponder the treatment of all animals globally; and the current pressing issue of animal rights.A similar attitude of disregard is also shown through Ferlinghettis ‘Two Scavengers’. The poem describes four people held together for a moment at a red traffic light through clear juxtaposition; including two garbagemen ‘on their way home’ and two ‘beautiful people’, an elegant couple ‘on the way to his architect’s office.’ Through the simile, the garbagemen are described as ‘looking down’ into the Mercedes. This at first appears obvious as the truck is higher than the car, but yet an irony exists as the reader might have expected the rich couple to ‘look down’ on the garbagemen. Ferlinghetti uses this simile to highlight the vast societal gap that exists between the social classes. Highlighting the fact that we believe we live in a society on an equal level, when in fact there is a bold social difference between upper and lower classes. The poet’s emotions are strongly explored and conveyed as he clearly makes the point that this societal difference has been caused through peoples want for more and our worlds growing consumerist attitude.

Materialism, and the divides that are drawn from this are widely explored through both poems. In Duffy’s ‘A

Healthy Meal’, emotion is further explored through the use of religious allusion. The entire feeling of the poem comes across as such that Duffy has set the gourmet diners up as being accused of the capable slaughter of innocent animals through their blatant disregard of frivilent spending for the social label of eating ‘gourmet’. The reoccurring symbol of slaughter points to the sacrificial lamb in Christianity, and also alludes to the fact that each course of the dinners meal is actually symbolically representing a stage of a Catholic Mass. This ritual is a very spiritual and meaningful ceremony for those who commit to it, Duffy may be pointing to the fact that the diner’s lives are so meaningless and hollow due to their abundance in wealth, that they see this as their way of spiritual enlightenment. Through this Duffy’s views of materialism are conveyed as the poem points to the old cliché that ‘money isn’t everything’; and we also get the feeling that money has made these people shallow, and their lives are missing the small beauty’s of everyday life, as they have placed themselves on a level perceived above everyone else. The same ideas are similarly conveyed in Ferlinghettis ‘Two Scavengers’. The descriptions of the four people are very visual; the rich couple are acutely fashionable; he has an expensive ‘hip-three-piece linen suit’, while her blonde hair is ‘casually coifed’. On the other hand, the garbagemen are ‘grungy’. The younger one has ‘sunglasses and long hair’ just like the ‘Mercedes driver’, forcing us to ponder whether the four are any different. Through the technique of colour symbolism, a deeper meaning can be found. The garbagemen are riding ‘a bright yellow garbage truck’ and wear ‘red plastic blazers’ in contrast to this the couple in the Mercedes are almost colourless. He wears a ‘linen suit’ and both have blond hair. Ferlinghetti is highlighting the fact that even though the rich couple appear to have everything, and have all the status symbols in tow, the garbagemen have more colour in their lives; potentially because they have a greater grounding and depth to what the real world is actually about because they interact in society on a day to day basis, whereas the rich couple live in their own little world, not bothering to see how the rest of society lives. Through this poem and Duffy’s alike, we start to gain a great appreciation of what affects materialism can have on our society and how that impacts us as human beings. In ‘Two Scavengers’, Ferlinghetti is also alluding to the age old saying that ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover.’

Both Duffy and Ferlinghetti have carefully crafted poems that examine society and the human condition to its core; exploring key ideas of consumerism and subsequent materialism and how they negatively impact on society, aiding and abating the growing social divide caused by wealth and human ignorance. Through the poet’s use of metaphors, religious allusion, symbolism and similes, emotion toward human and animal treatment alike is convincingly examined; leaving the reader pondering their own actions and the actions of the society that surrounds them.

Focus on excellence

1. Analyse how at least two of your studied poems present idea(s) in a striking or memorable way.

Stealing and Education for leisure:In Stealing', Carol Ann Duffy writes sympathetically in that she tries to understand this anti-social persona. Duffy uses a snowman to describe the thief's emotions, comparing how they are both cold inside. "A mate/with a mind as cold as the slice of ice/within my own brain." The persona thinks that the snowman understands and can relate to him, because the snowman reflects what he thinks about himself. The persona feels numb and cold inside, he can't feel anything. Duffy shows is not so much an intelligent criminal but someone for whom theft is just a response to boredom. Throughout the poem are hints at constructive pursuits (making a snowman) and artistic objects (a guitar, a bust of Shakespeare). The thief steals and destroys but cannot make anything.

Education for leisure:This poem illustrates to us, how socialization has changed civilization as we know it as today. It is a realistic poem, not necessarily by the events that take place but by the way in which this person has been neglected and ignored so badly that they want to get even with cruel world. This poem is based on real people and it is sad to see that now days people are so self obsessed that no one takes the time to look at someone else’s life and try to help the people who may need it, we all just turn a blind eye and let people like that get through the system. This poem also uses a personal pronoun at the end of the fifth stanza “I touch

your arm” so that we the reader can become more involved in the personas life and then we can reflect on this idea and see how we treat those whose life we may discourage and ‘look down on’.

: Focus on excellenceWith close reference to at least two poems discuss the methods the poets use to successfully explore emotions and/or feelings.

There is a Yiddish proverb that states, “The heart is half a prophet”. Poetry is an art form used by many to express emotion and feelings; the poet presents the reader with a glimpse of their mind. Some poems are a message to another, while others can be seen as a warning or lesson for our society. British poets Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage use their respective poems, ‘Valentine’ and ‘Untitled’ to explore the emotion of love and its possessive nature. To veer away from the clichéd mass of traditional love poems, they both work in an unusual twist to challenge the accepted view of love. Duffy and Armitage are both masters of their art, and show us this through their clever use of structural and language techniques.

With a title of ‘Valentine’, the reader immediately assumes that the poem will be dealing with love, and the conventional feelings and behaviours associated with it. However, Duffy surprises us with the presentation of an unusual gift, as the persona offers “an onion” to their lover. While at first we are unconvinced that an onion is a fitting gift, we are taken in as Duffy crafts a successful argument, showing us how the extended metaphor of an onion is a far more meaningful gift than a clichéd “red rose or a satin heart”. The onion is “a moon wrapped in brown paper”; concealed enlightenment that can be “undressed” like two lovers. This undressing can be viewed not only literally but metaphorically as well, as the persona strips away any lies or deceptions in the relationship leaving just the bare, honest truth. Therefore, the onion’s many layers represent the many layers of love and its complexity. The fact that the onion’s “platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring” shows the reader that the

poem contains a hidden proposal of marriage, and the depth of the passion between the two lovers in the poem. While Duffy wants us to see the positive side of love, she also presents the reader with a warning: love can be possessive and all consuming. The tone of the poem changes as she uses imperative commands such as “Here” and “Take it” to highlight the forceful, possessive side to the persona. At a first glance, a clever use of personification appears to show the intense passion of the relationship, as the onions taste is compared to “a fierce kiss that will remain on your lips”, but we realise that this is very negatively connotated. The memory and intensity of the persona will linger with the lover, even if the relationship ends. The persona will always have a form of possession over the lover. Even the marriage proposal with the symbol of the ring has a negative undertone, as the ring can come to symbolise perpetual entrapment. Due to this unusual presentation of love and its possessive nature in ‘Valentine’, we are made aware of Duffy’s personal attitude towards love. She is critical of the clichéd symbols of love in today’s society as she feels they are empty and meaningless. ‘Valentine’ is Duffy’s attempt to find a more authentic way to express emotion as well as explore the complexity of love; the pleasure as well as the pain.

Armitage also explores the emotion of love in his unconventional untitled poem. The poem is in the form of a sonnet, but Armitage plays with the structure, using it to highlight the unconventional subject matter. Sonnets typically have 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme, but ‘Untitled’ uses internal rhyme instead, linking words such as “flame/name” and “blades/played”. While this can be perceived as Armitage’s way of showing the reader that this is not a typical love sonnet, the ‘imperfect’ nature of the structure could also be his way of highlighting the realness of the people in the poem, making them believable to the reader. Armitage links this unconventional sonnet structure with a use of archaic language, alluding to Shakespearean sonnets as he describes “O the unrivalled stench of branded skin”. Like Duffy, Armitage also feels that love can be possessive and consuming. However, he does not present the possessiveness through a gift; rather he uses the persona and his cruel childish actions. The persona “brands” the young girl with a pair of scissors, leaving a mark that will remain “for eternity”. The

imagery associated with the word “branded” brings to the reader’s mind images of farm animals. The persona not only wanted to leave his mark on the girl so she would also have a reminder of him, but he viewed her as inferior and possessable. Armitage continues the idea of possession through the poignant symbolism of the “two burning rings”. He is clearly alluding to the unity of marriage, and how lovers become one another’s in the process; almost owning each other. However, the fact that she “couldn’t shake them off” shows the reader that this possession was unwanted. Armitage’s views on marriage as potentially lethal ‘entrapment’ are shown here; if the relationship sours, two people can be effectively stuck in an unwanted unity forever. While a rather comical poem, the subject matter and unwanted possession in ‘Untitled’ could be Armitage’s way of warning us of the hidden negative aspects of love and how it affects people.

Love and its possessive nature are emotions successfully explored by Duffy and Armitage in their poems ‘Valentine’ and ‘Untitled’. Both use numerous structural and language techniques to convey the depth of their poems to the reader, and show us their views on love in an unconventional way. Shakespeare once wrote, “The course of true love never did run smooth”, and in both the poems his statement is proved correct, as the poets show us not an idealised version of love, but the real, often complicated nature of it.

re: Focus on excellenceAnalyse how at least two of your studied poems presented idea(s) in a striking or memorable way.

Love is a universal idea in many novels and films. This is also true for the poems Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy and I Am Very Bothered by Simon Armitage. However, the idea of love portrayed in these poems differs from the norm; both poems portray the idea of unconventional love. Also in both poems this idea unconventional love is presented in a striking way using the symbol of a ring. Both poems also present the idea of the dangers and pain love can bring.

The idea of unconventional love is depicted in both Valentine and I Am Very Bothered, using the symbol of a ring. Although like the love, the ring is also unconventional. In Valentine, the symbol of love is an

onion – not an average “card or kissogram” for a Valentine’s Day present. The many rings of the onion “shrink to a wedding ring”. Similarly, in I Am Very Bothered, the ‘ring’ is branded into the girl’s finger using a the heated handle of a pair scissors, “marked...for eternity”, just like a wedding ring. Both these depictions of a ring are striking as they are so unsual and unconventional, just like love.

“Love can blind you with tears” and has the “unrivalled stench of branded skin”. Another side of love that the authors portray in Valentine and I Am Very Bothered is the dangerous and painful side of love. Valentine uses the symbol of the onion to portray this. “I give you an onion. Its fierce kiss will stay on you lips... its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.”The onion connects the kiss, which is a gesture of love, and a knife, which can be “lethal”. This connection reiterates the idea of the dangers of love and pain. Simon Armitage also uses pain to show the dangers of love. By having tthe persona burn rings into his crush’s fingers, it shows the pain we must endure to make love work, and how much pain a broken heart can cause. This also, like Carol Ann Duffy’s poem reiterates the idea of painful and dangerous love. The pain and negative connotations presented in these poems present the idea of the dangers of love in a striking way.

Both Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage present the idea of love in a striking way. While both poems deal with love, it is the idea of unconventional love, and the dangers and pain love can bring. The symbols of the onion, the knife and the rings all highlight this idea, and portray the authors’ aspect of love to the reader.

PS. Sacha could get on to wiki but she has the question and she asked me to tell you that she has written her essay but cannot post it so she will just hand it into you.

Focus on excellence1. Analyse how at least two of your studied poems present idea(s) in a striking or memorable way.

In the poems Education for Leisure and Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy striking imagery is used to present the idea of anti social behaviour. Both poems feature individuals who lack purpose in life, yet also lack the creativity or imagination to do anything about it. As a result imagery is used to present the resulting idea of anti social behaviour. The two personas display this idea as they lack any purpose in life, and are consequently unable to constructively fill their unemployed time. The unemployment both persona experience can be seen as a result of their lack of education, another idea presented in a striking way. Both personas make reference to Shakespeare, even though it is obvious they don’t understand his concepts. The lack of Shakespeare knowledge may have been a result of the education system in which they were a part of in the 1960s and 70s. During this time many people slipped through the school system. Another idea, which stems from the personas lack of education is disillusionment. The persona in Education for Leisure repeatedly uses biblical allusion to strikingly display his disillusioned God- like attitude.

In Stealing, one of the most striking images is of the persona stealing a snowman from a child’s backyard. This image can be notably connected to the idea of antisocial behaviour. The imagery used to describe the event helps the reader to clearly understand to motivation and intent with which the protagonist performs his crime. He describes the snowman as “magnificent: a tall, white mute beneath the winter moon.” The thief clearly has a sense of beauty and seems to admire the figure. Perhaps he has few friends and the snowman is the closest he can come to a “mate.” The persona proceeds to dismantle the snowman, stating, “part of the thrill was knowing that children would cry in the morning.” This is striking evidence used to display the idea that this persona possesses much antisocial behaviour, as he has no feelings towards the children. Society would question as to who would commit such a hurtful crime. Duffy concludes that such an act could only have happened under the premiership of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Her position saw a period in which individualism and greed were highly regarded. The key idea of disillusionment is also portrayed strikingly once the snowman is reassembled and the persona realises he “didn’t look the same.” The thief boots the snowman until he is destroyed and the persona is left alone again,

disillusioned with society; “then I was standing alone amongst lumps of snow, sick of the world.”

In Education for Leisure, Duffy again employs striking imagery to convey the idea of anti social behaviour through the mind of a would be murderer and his over inflated opinion of himself. Despite lacking any real talent, he views himself as almost God- like. The persona wishes not to be “ignored” any longer, and wants to “play God.” This image is extended throughout the poem to almost become an extended metaphor. Next the persona decides to kill a goldfish “down the bog,” and states, “I see that it is good.” Here biblical reference is displayed, echoing the book of Genesis and the creation story. After each day of creation God looked on His work and “saw that it was good.” Duffy is highlighting the irony that for this character, he is far from God-like. This is strikingly displaying the personas disillusionment with society, through which he demonstrates only anti-social behaviour. This idea of anti-social behaviour has been developed through the personas lack of education, something seen to be prevalent during the 1960s and 70s. During this time there was a significant change in the British education system, resulting in many people being unemployed as they didn’t hold a high degree of education.

In both of Duffy’s poems, the personas mention perhaps the greatest creative talent the world has ever seen- Shakespeare. There is a real sense of irony felt by the reader when the persona in Stealing explains how he “nicked a bust of Shakespeare.” He really has no real sense of the riches Shakespeare creates. It is through this the idea of lack of education is presented in a striking way. Similarly, reference to Shakespeare is made in Education for Leisure. As the persona casually kills a fly he recalls doing “that at school. Shakespeare.” What is recalling is Gloucester’s speech in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Gloucester’s speech is a protest against cruelty, not a commendation of it, as the persona seems to think by casually killing a fly. It is obvious from this that the speaker has missed the point of King Lear, which commends humanity and rebukes cruelty and violence. The persona believes Shakespeare’s play is not in the language he speaks, as the values presented in his plays are alien to him. This is further striking proof that displays to the reader the lack of education the persona has received, as they do not understand Shakespeare’s plays. This raises the

question that perhaps the two personas in Education for Leisure and Stealing slipped through the school education system. In doing this they fall onto the road of unemployment, giving them plenty of time to develop the anti social behaviour they display strikingly.

Education for Leisure and Stealing strikingly explore the ideas of antisocial behaviour generated from a lack of education. Through Carol Ann Duffy’s imagery and biblical allusion, the reader is given a clear sense of the disillusionment felt by the main personas in the poems. Both personas clearly have a lack of education, which is seen to be strikingly explored through their little understanding of Shakespeare. This can be seen by the reader to be a result of the poor education system in place during the 1960s and 70s.