Carol Ann Duffy Quotes

Quotes for several Poems by Duffy Themes for each Poem

Salome Quotes

“I’d done it before / (and doubtless I’ll do it again, / sooner or later)

“Simon? Andrew? John? I knew I’d feel better / for tea, dry toast, no butter,”

“Never again"!”

“I flung back the sticky red sheets, / and there, like I said - and ain’t life a bitch - / was his head on a platter.”

Medusa Quotes

“A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy”

“Are you terrified? // Be terrified”

“I looked at a snuffling pig, / a boulder rolled / in a heap of shit”

“Wasn’t I beautiful? / Wasn’t I fragrant and young?”

“Look at me now.”

Pilate’s Wife Quotes

“Firstly his hands - a woman’s. Softer than mine”

“I longed for Rome, home, someone else.”

“Was he god? Of course not. Pilate believed he was”

Havisham Quotes

“Beloved sweetheart bastard”

“Prayed for it / so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes”

“Love’s // hate behind a white veil”

“Don’t think it’s only the heart that b-b-b-breaks”

Education for Leisure Quotes

“Today I am going to kill something. Anything.”

“I am a genius. I could be anything at all, with half / the chance.”

“There’s nothing left to kill”

“The pavements glitter suddenly. I touch your arm.”

Stealing Quotes

“I wanted him, a mate / with a mind as cold as the slice of ice / within my own brain.”

“Part of the thrill was knowing / that children would cry in the morning”

“break into houses just to have a look”

“Boredom. Mostly I’m so bored I could eat myself”

“You don’t understand a word I’m saying do you?”

Salome Themes

Gender Roles, biblical Allusion, Morals

Medusa Themes

Jealousy, Misogony and female suffering

Pilates Wife Themes

Womens oppression, masculinity, desire

Havisham Themes/Background

Response to Charles Dickens portrayal of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations

Her fiance didn’t show up to the wedding (only wanted to marry her for her inheritance)

She continues to wear her wedding dress and sit by her wedding breakfaast for the rest of her life, plotting revenge on men

Education for Leisure Themes & Context

Thatchers budget cuzs affected young people, violence, lack of education

Stealing Themes

Isolation, emotional wellbeing