Word Count:1,094
Word Count (without quotes): 940
Comment closely on the ways in which Duffy presents women in ‘The Kray
Sisters.’
How far does it reflect the style and concerns of Duffy’s poetry in The World’s
Wife?
Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife retells history through a feminist lens
challenging patriarchal narratives by amplifying female voices. Through
colloquial language and intertextuality, she subverts traditional
storytelling to signify her characters’ growing agency while preserving
conventional aspects including the use of dramatic monologues to add
complexity to her increasingly unconventional women. Duffy’s poem ‘The
Kray Sisters’, an inversion of historical figures, highlights this shift,
creating women who are a powerful sex in terms of maintaining unity and
authority.
In ‘The Kray Sisters,’ Duffy presents women as unified and protective. Her
utilisation of collective nouns ‘our’ and ‘we’ reinforces the sisters’ identity
as a singular, inseparable unit. The frequent use of enjambment in ‘Who
died giving birth to the pair of unusual us,’ reflects the sisters’
unbreakable bond, unwavering since birth despite any external attempts
to break this. Furthermore, the simile ‘big like our East End hearts,’
conveys generosity and protection which they extend exclusively to
women, excluding men entirely. This is developed by Duffy’s application of
a dramatic monologue delivered by one sister suggesting that they exist
as one person. This structural choice mirrors ‘Queen Herod’ where a
united force is created against men including ‘King Herod.’ This suggests a
Duffy, C. (1999). The World’s Wife.
, Word Count:1,094
Word Count (without quotes): 940
Comment closely on the ways in which Duffy presents women in ‘The Kray
Sisters.’
How far does it reflect the style and concerns of Duffy’s poetry in The World’s
Wife?
degree of tolerance for men whereas the sisters lack any tolerance for
men entirely. This is highlighted in the lack of a male presence, where
there is disgust towards any relations with men, ‘a few girls in the firm
who were well out of order – two of them getting
Engaged.’ The phrase ‘well out of order’ implies a breach of the
sisterhood’s unspoken rule: a world without men. This intertextuality
presents traditional romantic commitment as taboo within the sisters’
female-dominated world. The anthology’s progression from ‘Queen Herod,’
which is earlier in the anthology, to ‘The Kray Sisters,’ further on,
symbolises this tolerance for men wearing away as the sisterhood that
‘Queen Herod’ aspires to create becomes a reality in ‘The Kray Sisters.’
The sisters’ protective nature is exemplified in: ‘The word got around and
about that any woman in trouble could come to the Krays.’ The lack of
reference to ‘Sisters’ before ‘the Krays’ suggests a detachment from their
gender and its restrictions. The euphemism in ‘any women in trouble’
refers to pregnant women seeking aid ‘for protection’ another euphemistic
reference to backstreet abortions. This subtle tone remains in regard of
the reputation of the women while aiding them, taking on the role that
should be undertaken by men. This linguistic choice contrasts Duffy’s
usual blunt approach suggesting this double standard; women must
Duffy, C. (1999). The World’s Wife.
Word Count (without quotes): 940
Comment closely on the ways in which Duffy presents women in ‘The Kray
Sisters.’
How far does it reflect the style and concerns of Duffy’s poetry in The World’s
Wife?
Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife retells history through a feminist lens
challenging patriarchal narratives by amplifying female voices. Through
colloquial language and intertextuality, she subverts traditional
storytelling to signify her characters’ growing agency while preserving
conventional aspects including the use of dramatic monologues to add
complexity to her increasingly unconventional women. Duffy’s poem ‘The
Kray Sisters’, an inversion of historical figures, highlights this shift,
creating women who are a powerful sex in terms of maintaining unity and
authority.
In ‘The Kray Sisters,’ Duffy presents women as unified and protective. Her
utilisation of collective nouns ‘our’ and ‘we’ reinforces the sisters’ identity
as a singular, inseparable unit. The frequent use of enjambment in ‘Who
died giving birth to the pair of unusual us,’ reflects the sisters’
unbreakable bond, unwavering since birth despite any external attempts
to break this. Furthermore, the simile ‘big like our East End hearts,’
conveys generosity and protection which they extend exclusively to
women, excluding men entirely. This is developed by Duffy’s application of
a dramatic monologue delivered by one sister suggesting that they exist
as one person. This structural choice mirrors ‘Queen Herod’ where a
united force is created against men including ‘King Herod.’ This suggests a
Duffy, C. (1999). The World’s Wife.
, Word Count:1,094
Word Count (without quotes): 940
Comment closely on the ways in which Duffy presents women in ‘The Kray
Sisters.’
How far does it reflect the style and concerns of Duffy’s poetry in The World’s
Wife?
degree of tolerance for men whereas the sisters lack any tolerance for
men entirely. This is highlighted in the lack of a male presence, where
there is disgust towards any relations with men, ‘a few girls in the firm
who were well out of order – two of them getting
Engaged.’ The phrase ‘well out of order’ implies a breach of the
sisterhood’s unspoken rule: a world without men. This intertextuality
presents traditional romantic commitment as taboo within the sisters’
female-dominated world. The anthology’s progression from ‘Queen Herod,’
which is earlier in the anthology, to ‘The Kray Sisters,’ further on,
symbolises this tolerance for men wearing away as the sisterhood that
‘Queen Herod’ aspires to create becomes a reality in ‘The Kray Sisters.’
The sisters’ protective nature is exemplified in: ‘The word got around and
about that any woman in trouble could come to the Krays.’ The lack of
reference to ‘Sisters’ before ‘the Krays’ suggests a detachment from their
gender and its restrictions. The euphemism in ‘any women in trouble’
refers to pregnant women seeking aid ‘for protection’ another euphemistic
reference to backstreet abortions. This subtle tone remains in regard of
the reputation of the women while aiding them, taking on the role that
should be undertaken by men. This linguistic choice contrasts Duffy’s
usual blunt approach suggesting this double standard; women must
Duffy, C. (1999). The World’s Wife.
