Exhaustive Study Notes on Carol Ann Duffy's Circe

ANALYSIS OF GENDER, POWER, AND CONTROL IN "CIRCE"

  • Retelling and Perspective: "Circe" is a humorous and scathing retelling of the Greek myth of Circe, a witch infamous for turning visiting men into pigs. traditionally depicted as a femme fatale, this poem shifts the perspective to Circe herself, framing her actions as righteous vengeance for male selfishness and cruelty.

  • Direct Address to Nereids and Nymphs: Circe addresses the minor nature goddesses who inhabit her island, sharing her narrative and instructions as if in a private meeting or workshop.

  • Satirical Reversal: The poem's violence serves as a satirical reversal of historical male control over and abuse of women's bodies. It can be interpreted as a grisly revenge fantasy or a commentary on the erasure of women's experiences from classical stories.

  • Disillusionment of the Speaker: Circe reveals she was not always a callous butcher. She was once young and hopeful, but the men who arrived on her island took her kindness for granted and mistreated her and the other women. This mistreatment disillusioned her, leading to her current role as an enforcer of justice.

  • Symbolic Transmutation: The poem suggests that the men were already metaphorical pigs due to their greed, violence, and inconsideration; Circe simply transformed their physical forms to match their true natures.

DETAILED LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS (LINES 1-10)

  • Lines 1-3: Possession and Nomenclature: Circe begins by stating her fondness for pigs, addressing the "nereids and nymphs." She lists synonyms: "the tusker, the snout, the boar, and the swine." The use of anaphora ("the") and a closing rhyme between "swine" and "mine" emphasizes her absolute possession and dominance over these creatures.

  • Lines 4-5: Physical Control and Puns: She describes the pigs as being "under [her] thumb," an idiom for strict control that she also applies literally as she touches their "bristling, salty skin." The word "bristling" is a pun referring to both pig hair and the men's indignation/fear.

  • Lines 5-7: Sensory Imagery: Circe describes the smell as "yobby, porky colognes" (where "yobby" indicates rude and aggressive behavior) and the sounds as a "percussion of oinks / and grunts, their squeals." These onomatopoeic words bring the chaotic pigpen to life.

  • Lines 7-10: The Lemon-Moon Simile: Circe describes standing by the "creaky gate of the sty" at dusk, "tasting the sweaty, spicy air." She compares the moon to "a lemon popped in the mouth of the sky." This simile personifies the sky and hints at her culinary plans, evoking the image of a roasted pig served with fruit in its mouth.

THE RECIPE: INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION AND PUNISHMENT (LINES 11-30)

  • Lines 11-15: Tongue in Cheek: Circe introduces a "recipe from abroad" focusing on the pig's cheeks and tongue. She uses the pun "tongue in cheek" to signal the sarcastic, flippant tone of the poem. She instructs the nymphs to season the meat with salt and cloves, highlighting her traditional association with herbs and potions.

  • Lines 15-17: Skills of the Tongue: Circe lists the tongue's functions: "to lick, to lap, to loosen, lubricate, to lie." The mention of "lying" suggests the men used their tongues to mislead and seduce the women. The liquid "l" alliteration mimics the motions described.

  • Lines 17-20: Masks of the Face: She notes that regardless of whether the face appeared "cowardly," "brave," "comical," "noble," "sly," "wise," "cruel," or "kind," the men all had "piggy eyes."

  • The Mace Pun: She tells the women to "Season with mace." Mace refers to the spice, the ancient club-like weapon, and modern pepper spray used for self-defense, suggesting the men's initial use of force and her retaliatory violence.

  • Lines 21-25: The Ears and the Failure to Listen: The ears must be "blanched, singed, tossed / in a pot, boiled, kept hot, scraped, served, garnished / with thyme." Circe asks a rhetorical question: "did it listen, ever, to you, to your prayers and rhymes…?" This confirms the men ignored the women's pleas and voices.

  • Lines 26-30: The Ultimate Emasculation: Circe moves to the brains, trotters, and then the "sweetmeats slipped / from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls." This represents the total humiliation and emasculation of the men. Finally, she commands the nymphs to "Dice it small" when the heart has hardened, reflecting how her own heart became hard after their cruelty.

MEMORY, DISILLUSIONMENT, AND THE FINAL STANZA (LINES 30-37)

  • Flashback to Arrival: Circe recalls kneeling on the "shining shore" watching "tall ships sail from the burning sun like myths." This is an allusion to Odysseus's arrival. Her use of the word "myths" suggests how grand the men appeared from a distance versus their reality on land.

  • Youthful Innocence: She remembers shedding her dress to wade out to greet them, "waving and calling." At that time, she was "younger" and specifically "hoping for men."

  • The Turn to the Present: She abruptly cuts the reverie with the realization that she was meta-physically looking for men but found pigs instead.

  • Closing Command: She returns focus to the task at hand: "let us baste that sizzling pig on the spit once again." The sibilant sounds ("sizzling," "spit") evoke the sound of roasting meat, while the internal rhyme of "then," "men," and "again" provides an emphatic conclusion.

SYMBOLISM AND POETIC DEVICES

  • The Pigs: Symbolize the predatory nature of men. Their transformation is a symbolic reveal of their true character.

  • The Butchering Process: Represents systemic revenge. Specific body parts are prepared as specific retributions: tongues for lies, ears for not listening, testicles for sexual aggression.

  • Alliteration and Sibilance: Extensive use of "s" and "sh" sounds (e.g., "shining shore," "ships sail," "slipped") creates both a gentle hush for memory and a sinister hiss for the cooking scenes.

  • Asyndeton: The lack of conjunctions in lists (e.g., "boiled, kept hot, scraped, served") speeds the poem up, making Circe’s expert butchery seem casual and routine.

  • Puns and Double Entendres:

    • "Under my thumb": Control vs. physical touch.

    • "Tongue in cheek": Sarcasm vs. anatomy.

    • "To lie": Resting position vs. dishonesty.

    • "Mace": Spice vs. weapon/spray.

    • "Simmering lug": Cooking temperature vs. anger.

  • Rhetorical Question: Used to emphasize the men's lack of empathy and the inevitability of their punishment.

CONTEXTUAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • Carol Ann Duffy: Born in Scotland in 1955, Duffy became the first female UK Poet Laureate (2009–2019).

  • The World's Wife (1999): The collection from which "Circe" is taken. It features dramatic monologues from the perspectives of women associated with famous historical or mythical men, aimed at subverting the male-centric narrative.

  • Mythological Origins: Based on Homer's The Odyssey. In the original myth, Odysseus outsmarts Circe with Hermes’ help and forces her to change his crew back into men. Duffy’s version focuses on Circe as a protagonist rather than a supporting antagonist.

  • Literary Influences: Duffy was significantly influenced by Sylvia Plath's exploration of women's internal lives and psychological depth.

  • Feminist Waves: Written at the transition between second-wave feminism (focused on legal and social inequalities) and third-wave feminism (focused on upending the patriarchal perspective as the universal standard).

  • Personal Context: Duffy's complex 10-year relationship with poet Adrian Henri, marked by his infidelity, potentially informs the themes of male cruelty and female disillusionment found in The World's Wife.

VOCABULARY

  • Nereids / Nymphs: Minor Greek nature deities, usually depicted as beautiful maidens.

  • Tusker / Boar / Swine: synonyms for pigs or male pigs.

  • Yobby: Loud, aggressive, or rude (typically British slang).

  • Swill: Kitchen waste or scraps used as pig food.

  • Sty: A enclosure for pigs; a pigpen.

  • Strew: To scatter or sprinkle.

  • Mace: A spice made from nutmeg husks; also a heavy club or a chemical spray.

  • Blanched: Briefly immersed in boiling water.

  • Lug: Slang for an ear.

  • Trotters: A pig's feet.

  • Sweetmeats: Used ironically here to refer to testicles; traditionally refers to organ meats or candies.

  • Baste: To moisten meat with juices/fat while cooking.

  • Spit: A slender, solid rod used for rotating meat over a fire.