HAVISHAM 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. 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 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 bite awake. Love s 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. Carol Ann Duffy, 1993
HAVISHAM BY CAROL ANN DUFFY BACKGROUND: This poem is a monologue spoken by Miss Havisham, a character in Dickens' Great Expectations. Jilted by her scheming fiancé, she continues to wear her wedding dress and sit amid the remains of her wedding breakfast for the rest of her life, while she plots revenge on all men. She hates her spinster state - of which her unmarried family name constantly reminds her (which may explain the choice of title for the poem). SUMMARY OF POEM: She begins by telling the reader the cause of her troubles - her phrase beloved sweetheart bastard is a contradiction in terms (called an oxymoron). She tells us that she has prayed so hard (with eyes closed and hands pressed together) that her eyes have shrunk hard and her hands have sinews strong enough to strangle with - which fits her murderous wish for revenge. (Readers who know Dickens' novel well might think at this point about Miss Havisham's ward, Estella - her natural mother, Molly, has strangled a rival, and has unusually strong hands.) Miss Havisham is aware of her own stink - because she does not ever change her clothes nor wash. She stays in bed and screams in denial. At other times she looks and asks herself who did this to her? She sometimes dreams almost tenderly or erotically of her lost lover, but when she wakes the hatred and anger return. Thinking of how she stabbed at the wedding cake she now wants to work out her revenge on a male corpse - presumably that of her lover. STRUCTURE: The poem is written in four stanzas which are unrhymed. Many of the lines run on, and the effect is like normal speech. The poet uses many adjectives of colour - green, puce, white and red and lists parts of the body eyes, hands, tongue, mouth, ear and face. Sometimes the meaning is clear, but other lines are more open - and there are hints of violence in strangle, bite, bang and stabbed. It is not clear what exactly Miss Havisham would like to do on her long slow honeymoon, but we can be sure that it is not pleasant.
Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy Questions: 1. Why does the poet omit Miss Havisham's title and refer to her by her surname only? 2. Why does the poet write spinster on its own? What does Miss Havisham think about this word and its relevance to her? 3. What is the effect of Nooooo and b-b-breaks? Why are these words written in this way? 4. What is the meaning of the image of a red balloon bursting? 5. How far does the poet want us to sympathize with Miss Havisham? 6. Does the reader have to know about Great Expectations to understand the poem? 7. Does Miss Havisham have a fair view of men? What do you think of her view of being an unmarried woman? 8. Perhaps the most important part of the poem is the question who did this/to me? How far does the poem show that Miss Havisham is responsible for her own misery, and how far does it support her feelings of self-pity and her desire for revenge?
Alliteration of the plosive b and d bitterness and oxymoron aggression Conflict between love and hate Dark imagery Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then I haven t wished him dead. Prayed for it Religious imagery So hard I ve dark green pebbles for eyes, Metaphor represents her jealousy.and the psychological damage Ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Metaphor represents her aging, as well as the years spent wringing her hands with emotion / anger / nerves Use of the model verb
One word sentence stands out highlights Observation of what she is now (literally) and a suggestion of what was wrong (metaphorically) with her to be dumped? Isolation. Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days Like an animal in pain Highlights time passed Neologism created to represent the pain (no word previously created to express) in bed cawing Noooooo at the wall; the dress Double meaning the dress trembles (personification), as if yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe, waiting to be put back away / she trembles (literally) when looking at the clothes of her past the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this Double meaning past tense of slay or a dramatic change in position. she is unable to identify herself he made her an object and she now fights to regain her identity. Suggests psychologically she is in a state of crisis. She is stuck which can result in a kind of madness.
End of rhetorical question Colour of deep red to purplebrown suggests old blood which represents old wounds pain is so deep there is no language available to describe it to me? Puce curses that are sounds not words, Conversational tone The dream Some nights better, the lost body over me, continues and the love my fluent tongue in his mouth in its ear making is easy and poetic then down till I suddenly bite awake. Love s she sees him in her Sleep. The act is sudden to him in the dream and the suddenness wakes her and us as the reader to the viciousness of the attack (or dreamed attack) Lost to her / also creates sexual imagery of body in her dreams She tries to make him the object
Enjambment Love s hate - oxymoron Short sentence for effect also represents the shock she experienced Use of the imperative verb Triple meaning white suggests innocence, white veil represents the wedding, veil represents in feminist terms that she is concealing something 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. Use of plosive b in a stuttering style, suggests the is breaking down again / she suggests that her life has broken as a result not just her heart red suggests anger, red balloon bursting is a metaphor used to express her embarrassment (the veil concealed this) Stabbed creates violent imagery / stabbed at a wedding-cake shows literally and anger and metaphorically shows her opinion on marriage Use of dark imagery, reference to death links to idea that the honeymoon would provide the long painful death she wants
Summarise what you now know about the poem: What is it about? A woman telling the tale of being stood up on her wedding day What themes are covered? Anger, revenge, hatred, death What tone does the poem have? Angry, aggressive, bitter What literary devices have been used? Enjambment, metaphor, simile, oxymoron, dark imagery, dramatic monologue, alliteration How effective is the poem for the reader?
Practice Essay Questions Answers to questions on poetry should address relevantly the central concern(s)/theme(s) of the text(s) and be supported by reference to appropriate poetic techniques such as: imagery, verse form, structure, mood, tone, sound, rhythm, rhyme, characterisation, contrast, setting, symbolism, word choice... 1. Choose a poem which explores the pain of love or the pleasure of love or the power of love. Show how the poet s exploration deepens your understanding of the pain or the pleasure or the power of love. 2. Choose a poem which features a complex character. Show how the complexity of the character is presented and discuss how significant this aspect of characterisation is to the impact of the poem. 3. Choose a poem which seems to you to be critical of a person or a point of view. Discuss how effectively this criticism is presented by the poet. 4. Choose two poems in which differing stances are adopted on the same subject. Show how the stances are revealed and discuss which treatment you find more effective.