If you are studying modern poetry, chances are you have encountered the sharp, distinct voice of Carol Ann Duffy. As the first female Poet Laureate of the UK, Duffy has spent a career rewriting the narrative of women’s lives. In her 2002 collection, Feminine Gospels, she takes this mission to a profound new level.
The capitalist counterpart to "The Diet." A woman buys and buys until she literally becomes a shopping centre. Duffy uses surrealism to critique consumer culture’s effect on female identity. The line, "She was a shop till she dropped," is devastating. This poem is a favorite for essay questions regarding materialism and identity.
Accessing the poem
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The collection is structured with longer, mythological poems at the beginning, followed by more personal, lyrical pieces near the end.
The Mock Epic: The long poem "The Laughter of Stafford Girls' High" serves as a central interval, acting as an allegory for the liberation and emergence of second-wave feminism.
Myth-Making: Duffy uses a "tall story" narrative style to find truths about female identity through exaggerated or fantastical scenarios.