A Level English Literature: Feminine Gospels

context: herstory

feminist concept indicating a true understanding of history is impossible as it is so male-dominated, female history ought to be written/developed to make up for it

context: ecriture feminine

feminine writing, term coined by helene cixous, women must write about themselves rather than rely on patriarchal mainstream writing

context: apocrypha

religious texts that are not considered to be part of biblical canon

context: second wave of feminism

1960s-80s built on the 1st wave's focus on legal gender equality, drew attention to a wider range of issues about women's roles in the domestic and social spheres

context: heteronormativity

the attitude/belief that heterosexuality is the normal and that biological sex aligns with gender

context: postmodernism

mid-late 20th century, rejects a western only view of human condition, often considered sceptical and ironic, human experience seen as fragmented, ambiguous and contradictory

context: post-postmodernism

not an official term but used by some to describe current shift in cultural movements away from post modernist scepticism and irony to sincerity, faith, trust and dialogue

the long queen

an immortal queen who 'couldn't die', queen of women and creates 4 laws that are the most important parts of a woman's life

the long queen: context

elizabeth i the virgin queen who never married, moon connected to women's changeability, renaissance female history came from oral tradition, feminist agenda takes pleasure at telling stories that have not been told before

the long queen: key words

polysemic, atavistic, amalgamation

the long queen: themes

identity, motherhood, resistances, social expectations, insecurity, legacy, women's history, suffering, sisterhood, empowerment, matriarchy

the long queen: ao5

subverts renaissance idealisation of women/elizabeth i as they break free and celebrate female cycle of life without undermining men, typical for postmodernism - feminism, atypical -not dark/isolated/broken

the map -woman

mythological poem uses the conceit of a map for the woman's skin, which haunts her wherever she goes, when she arrives home everything has changed, leaving 'her skin [as] her own small ghosts'

the map -woman: context

patriarchal origins of mapping, maps used in the poetry of seduction to represent male promiscuity, 'written on the body' by winterson 'secret code...the accumulation of a lifetime', cultural 1960s references, similar to thomas hardy using landscape to reflect story

the map -woman: key words

conceit, personification, idiom, clothing

the map -woman: themes

women's bodies, identity, suffering, sense of self, memories, insecurity, control

the map -woman: ao5

elements of metaphysical poetry - conceit and written eloquently, postmodernism - pastiche, response to gender roles, isolation

beautiful

concept of beauty, which often relates to women, is twisted into the suffering of women, references 4 women who were famous for their beauty but who also suffered as their beauty led to their death

beautiful: context

helen of troy in ovid's metamorphoses and homer's iliad, the face the launched a thousand ships, cleopatra in shakespeare's antony and cleopatra with cesar for political gain and antony for passion/love, marilyn monroe contract made her change appearance married arthur miller and sang happy birthday to jfk, princess diana the people's princess unhappy marriage to charles moral figurehead

beautiful: key words

amalgamation, epithet, fairytale trope, male gaze, expletives

beautiful: themes

exploitation, suffering, mistreatment of women, women's bodies, women's history, sexuality, social expectations, insecurity, oppression, passivity

beautiful: ao5

subverts the concept of beauty found in petrarchan sonnets, typical of postmodernism as it deals with identity, truth, darkness, the past

the diet

transmogrification poem confronts the issue of body image, duffy demonstrates how dieting often leads to anorexia, the end of the poem is ambiguous leaving it to the reader to wonder if it was actually a poem about a fat woman's struggle as she believes she needs to diet

the diet: context

'why is thinness the ultimate female ambition?' - betts, 'fat is a feminist issue' - orbach, 'alice in wonderland' - carroll is a cautionary tale about food referenced now in a cautionary tale about not eating food, guiliver's travels and the lilliputians

the diet: key words

transmogrification, idioms, fairytale trope

the diet: themes

women's bodies, self-image, societal expectations, identity, insecurity, power, passivity

the diet: ao5

metaphysical - conceit, postmodernist - pastiche, black humour, women's issues

the woman who shopped

transmogrification poem highlighting the growing issue of consumerism in a comic way, dark undertones as duffy makes suggestions that this woman's materialistic nature forced her to sell her body

the woman who shopped: context

marxist theory of interpellation, female temptation in the garden of eden, ovid's metamorphoses, worship of material items has been likened to church worship

the woman who shopped: key words

vulgar, proper nouns, asyndetic lists, bathos

the woman who shopped: themes

women's bodies, criticism of society, identity, power, capitalism

the woman who shopped: ao5

grimm's fairytales mimics the form and style of a problem with fantastical ending, metaphysical - conceit, postmodernist - irony, black humour, but no isolation

work

loosely based on the biblical story of the 5000, hyperbolic poem about a single mother having more and more children until she becomes mother nature, emphasises how the world is unsustainable and we need to look after it for future generations instead of destroying it

work: context

dual burden women have of work alongside domestic role, triple shift women have emotional needs of others as well as dual burden, marxist read it as her losing control of her body to industrialism, climate change concerns

work: key words

additive structure, asyndetic list, colloquialism, pathetic fallacy

work: themes

motherhood and children, exploitation, societal expectations, suffering, oppression, nature, class, passivity

work: ao5

postmodernist - future, critiques past errors, break stereotypes, marxist - overworked working class, dickensian - isolation

tall

transmogrification poem about a woman who does not stop growing, theme of embodiment, can be see as metaphorical for duffy's rise to fame and success, symbolising a psychological change through a physical one

tall: context

complications of female social mobility, carroll's alice in wonderland outsizing, elements of surrealism, climate change, 9/11

tall: key words

medias res, idiom, fairytale trope, polysemic, allegory

tall: themes

women's bodies, suffering, mother earth, degradation, female social mobility, otherness, isolation, stereotypes, rebirth, danger

tall: ao5

postmodernist - aware of societal pressures, abstract ideas, conflict with identity, subverts ideas of the moon links it to damage, pain, regret

loud

highlights the idea that throughout history women are expected to be quiet and submissive but one day the news is too much and she speaks out in anger, when she speaks she realises that she has a voice/an opinion about everything

loud: context

news gatekeeps and narrativises everything to be simplified and dramatised, groskop criticises those who deem loudness as unfeminine, romantic poet idea of 'outpour of feeling', epigraph from the guardian, bush sent troops to Afghanistan post 9/11, aoc and great thunberg are loud women who are criticised

loud: key words

epigraph, capitalisation, zoomorphism, epizeux

loud: themes

women's voice, degradation, mistreatment, women's bodies, criticism of society, media, violence, war, compliance

loud: ao5

postmodernist - isolation, identity, culture, black humour, marxist - emotional disconnect between people on the news and those that watch it, feminist - no longer naive, female emancipation from a patriarchal society

history

demonstrates the hubris of humanity through the story of an elderly woman who personifies history, she is alone and rejected by society, can be argued that the poem is based on the saying 'if you forget the past you're doomed to repeat it'

history: context

herstory movement, t.s eliot's 'journey of the magi', references to basilicas and the expansion of christendom, religious wars with plosives for violence, 'for most of history anonymous was a woman' - woolfe

history: key words

enigmatic, anti-climatic structure, anaphora, idiom, expletive, colloquialism

history: themes

female history, suffering, identity, passivity, lack of power, war, society

history: ao5

postmodernist - critique of the past, aware of isolation, secular, can be seen as the sequel to beautiful

sub

duffy places a woman into all the major events in national history to highlight how it is always men that lead, title suggests women are always on the sideline and marginalised

sub: context

bobby charlton england vs germany 1966 world cup, june 1964 ringo starr fell ill on austrailian tour, apollo moon landing and armstrong's misspoken words, ian botham cricketer, concludes with louis armstrong's wonderful world, women discouraged from sport - cycling causes orgasms, weaker body, smaller brain, damage fertility, 'no matter how toughened a sports woman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks' - barch pierre de coubertin, founder of modern olympics

sub: key words

conceit, euphemism, polysemic, motherhood

sub: themes

female history, subversion of expectations, empowerment, exploitation, social expectations, oppression, motherhood

sub: ao5

postmodernist - stream of consciousness, alienation, pop culture but no pastiche

the virgin's memo

poem symbolises mary asking jesus why there are all the horrible, pointless things in existence, can be argued that she is suggesting that a woman would have considered these things, poem that celebrates motherhood and has motherly nature

the virgin's memo: context

apocrypha - not in biblical canon, memorandum - short, easy-to-undertand message, gospel of mary in the apocrypha, allegory for how women's writing is not included, inconsistent triad argument

the virgin's memo: key words

apocrypha, dramatic monologue, list, sidenote

the virgin's memo: themes

women's voice, motherhood, lack of power, identity, history, passivity, suffering

the virgin's memo: ao5

postmodernist - pastiche, black humour, reflection on the past, but no isolation or identity

anon

short upbeat poem about the life of a girl and highlights how the secret of being a woman is kept between women only

anon: context

canon of great literature that excluded women, women silenced with scold's bridle, hamlet reference with skull and voiceless death, allegory for duffy's feelings as a female writer, female writers use pseudonames (charlotte bronte as currer bell), louise may alcott was told to change the end of little women, women's history passed down orally

anon: key words

euphemism, playful language, idioms

anon: themes

non-existent female voice, women's writing, history, womanhood, stereotypes

anon: ao5

postmodernist - metafiction, writing about past, subverts the humour and isolation, simplistic poem for a serious topic

the laughter of stafford girls' high

epic poem is an allegory for the second wave of feminism that occurred in duffy's childhood, metaphorically demonstrates how slowly it spread and broke through patriarchal attitudes of the time, serious message given in a light-hearted way

the laughter of stafford girls' high: context

laughter reflects the ideas of kristeva's jouissance, mock epic form, beaufort scale reflects growth of rebellion, shakespeare plays, the brownings, diet of wormsn 1521, blake's jerusalem

the laughter of stafford girls' high: characters

miss dunn - stereotypical teacher, everest represents freedom/escapism, miss nadimbaba - rejection of men dominating poetry acts on her dreams, mrs mackay - having a goal in life, discontent with the institution of marriage freedom leads nowhere, miss fife - stereotypical maths teacher but music shows people aren't contained to one genre finds love by escaping patriarchy, miss batt - repression of lgbtq, doctor bream - older generation/upper class represses the youth and accepts patriarchy

the laughter of stafford girls' high: key words

dactylic hexameter, four syllable names, ellipsis

the laughter of stafford girls' high: themes

history, female relationships, resistance, rebellion, female writing, childhood, education, freedom, oppression, patriarchy, marriage

the laughter of stafford girls' high: ao5

feminist - older generations' longing to escape patriarchy, subverts the rest of the collection - longest, a statement, postmodernist - metafiction, sadness, awareness

a dreaming week

poem about writing poetry and demonstrates how traditionally women were not allowed to be writers/poets, shows nobody could stop them dreaming, writing ameliorates the pain caused by the end of love

a dreaming week: context

end of 15 year relationship with jackie kay, caged bird trope, use of male pseudonames

a dreaming week: key words

polysemic, ellipsis, idioms, melancholic

a dreaming week: themes

women's voice, relationships, pain, rejection, reality, sex, love

a dreaming week: ao5

postmodernist - metafiction, isolation, but not ironic or morbid

white writing

about a homosexual couple who did not have a voice until now, could be autobiographical

white writing: context

cixous' laugh of the medusa she agrees women should embrace a deeper more womanly form of communication, homosexual marriage not legalised until 2014, palm imagery links to romeo and juliet, female emancipation to the sea found in 'the awakening'

white writing: key words

negation, transgressive imagery, symmetry

white writing: themes

female writing, relationships, female voice, love, religion, identity, sexuality, social expectations, insecurity, oppression, power, freedom

white writing: ao5

cixous presents the ideas that 'women write in white' ideas are present but not recorded in black ink, postmodernist - metafiction, identity, social change, no humour and isolation

gambler

a poetic manifesto about writing and feminism

gambler: context

interest in the unstressed, women have been stereotyped as overemotional, suffragettes fought for women's right to vote

gambler: key words

anonymous third person, colloquialism

gambler: themes

female writing, oppression, equality, gender roles

gambler: ao5

postmodernist - metafiction, pastiche

the light gatherer

duffy speaks to her daughter and explains how beautiful she has been since she was born, duffy uses the conceit of a light to convey the joy that her daughter is filled with

the light gatherer: context

duffy's daughter ella, moon connotations, poem published 7 years after ella was born

the light gatherer: key words

direct address, conceit, enjambment

the light gatherer: themes

motherhood, love, freedom, nature, power, future, innocence

the light gatherer: ao5

typical of motherhood poetry - angelic, powerful, beauty, subverts the collection - no darkness, metaphysical - stylistic links, postmodernist - subverts loss of identity

the cord

duffy is speaking to her daughter, ella, uses the conceit of a cord to demonstrate the invisible bond between a mother and daughter and how her daughter is on a quest to find her own femininity and identity

the cord: context

duffy calls childhood 'a place rather than a time', biographical reading, links to female heritage and oral tradition, rumpelstiltskin first born bond broken, unlike in fairytales the female protagonist here is active in her destiny

the cord: key words

questioning, polysyndeton, personification, cyclical structure

the cord: themes

motherhood, identity, longing, fairytale, legacy, freedom, love

the cord: ao5

subverts fairytales, metaphysical - conceit of her identity to the forest, postmodernist - identity, isolation, metaphysical, subverts the idealism of motherhood

wish

a metaphor for the speaker's depression, emphasising the disconnect she has with herself, catharsis of bringing a woman back from the dead (her own mother?)

wish: context

viewed as the resurrection of duffy's mother who is described glamorously in 'before you were mine', seeks to resurrect other women who suffered earlier in the collection, graves' theseus and ariadne where female characters are rescued, inversion of petrachan sonnet form and shakespearean