Examine the view that Duffy is trying to present new images of femininity to put right old
ones.
Duffy’s collection, ‘The Feminine Gospels’, explores, in simple terms, the many glories and
difficulties of womanhood throughout the ages. ‘Gospels’ were typically written by men and by
adding a female-gendered prefix to this, Duffy is informing the reader that a new Feminist truth
is to be written. As critic Nicola Onyett states, “Duffy’s poetic structures underpin the Bible and
this enriches our understanding of the prevailing themes''. The collection could be split into three
sections: “the teachings”, “the prophecies”, “the writings”, with each part holding a different
purpose in Duffy’s collection. “The teachings'' seems to take historical figures, or create modern
mythical characters to illustrate aspects of women’s struggle for identity in the past and now,
whereas from the end of “prophecies” and “the writings” Duffy writes much more personally and
autobiographically about her own experiences of life and love. Through this Duffy explores the
development of femininity from surviving social stigma to dealing with mental health and self-
love.
In “the teachings”, the poem ‘Beautiful’ presents old vs. new images of femininity and the power
and significance of womanhood in face of adversity in a male-dominated society. The one-word
title is a loaded adjective which carries different associations in the mind of the reader.
However, this is ironic considering the lives of the beautiful women were tragic, thus contrasting
their appearance. Duffy explores the stories of four women: Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Marilyn
Monroe and Princess Diana, through the use of free verse form which mirrors the rhythm of
natural speech - perhaps suggesting a theme of passing on wisdom from one generation to the
next (this is also explored in “The Long Queen” and “The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High”).
Throughout the poem, Duffy gives power to the women in her story through the use of active
voice: Helen “took a lover”, Cleopatra “knew her man”, Marilyn “married him” and Diana “posed
alone”. Noticeably, most of the active voice is used in relation to men - directly exploring
femininity in the face of masculinity. However, Duffy changes agency and uses a far more
passive voice towards the middle/end of her poem, even ending her poem with the passive
voice: “History’s stinking breath in her face”. By personifying “History”, Duffy likens it to men in
society and the use of the adjective “sticking” suggests that their intentions are anything but
helpful. She will be remembered but her story is now in the hands of those who plot against her
and will continue the pattern of abuse and sad fate of beautiful women throughout the ages.
This is furthered by the repeated motif of “Beauty is fame” and “Beauty is fate”: creating a
cyclical feel to the poem. Additionally, this further suggests the inescapable fate of beautiful
women and their fame based on beauty only instead of intellect.
Moreover, in the poem “Beautiful”, in Cleopatra’s section, Duffy uses zoomorphic verbs,
“sucked”, “gargled”, “tipped” to depict how in order to be seen as powerful, women are forced to
lose their femininity and become masculine. This is furthered by the use of the caesura and
emphatic word with long vowels and hard consonants, “wrecked”, which shows how Cleopatra
has completely overpowered her man. However, unlike Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe was
manipulated and powerless, depending on a series of men for comfort and affection, even
though in the end they exploited her. She is presented as a “Dumb beauty”; this use of
ones.
Duffy’s collection, ‘The Feminine Gospels’, explores, in simple terms, the many glories and
difficulties of womanhood throughout the ages. ‘Gospels’ were typically written by men and by
adding a female-gendered prefix to this, Duffy is informing the reader that a new Feminist truth
is to be written. As critic Nicola Onyett states, “Duffy’s poetic structures underpin the Bible and
this enriches our understanding of the prevailing themes''. The collection could be split into three
sections: “the teachings”, “the prophecies”, “the writings”, with each part holding a different
purpose in Duffy’s collection. “The teachings'' seems to take historical figures, or create modern
mythical characters to illustrate aspects of women’s struggle for identity in the past and now,
whereas from the end of “prophecies” and “the writings” Duffy writes much more personally and
autobiographically about her own experiences of life and love. Through this Duffy explores the
development of femininity from surviving social stigma to dealing with mental health and self-
love.
In “the teachings”, the poem ‘Beautiful’ presents old vs. new images of femininity and the power
and significance of womanhood in face of adversity in a male-dominated society. The one-word
title is a loaded adjective which carries different associations in the mind of the reader.
However, this is ironic considering the lives of the beautiful women were tragic, thus contrasting
their appearance. Duffy explores the stories of four women: Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Marilyn
Monroe and Princess Diana, through the use of free verse form which mirrors the rhythm of
natural speech - perhaps suggesting a theme of passing on wisdom from one generation to the
next (this is also explored in “The Long Queen” and “The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High”).
Throughout the poem, Duffy gives power to the women in her story through the use of active
voice: Helen “took a lover”, Cleopatra “knew her man”, Marilyn “married him” and Diana “posed
alone”. Noticeably, most of the active voice is used in relation to men - directly exploring
femininity in the face of masculinity. However, Duffy changes agency and uses a far more
passive voice towards the middle/end of her poem, even ending her poem with the passive
voice: “History’s stinking breath in her face”. By personifying “History”, Duffy likens it to men in
society and the use of the adjective “sticking” suggests that their intentions are anything but
helpful. She will be remembered but her story is now in the hands of those who plot against her
and will continue the pattern of abuse and sad fate of beautiful women throughout the ages.
This is furthered by the repeated motif of “Beauty is fame” and “Beauty is fate”: creating a
cyclical feel to the poem. Additionally, this further suggests the inescapable fate of beautiful
women and their fame based on beauty only instead of intellect.
Moreover, in the poem “Beautiful”, in Cleopatra’s section, Duffy uses zoomorphic verbs,
“sucked”, “gargled”, “tipped” to depict how in order to be seen as powerful, women are forced to
lose their femininity and become masculine. This is furthered by the use of the caesura and
emphatic word with long vowels and hard consonants, “wrecked”, which shows how Cleopatra
has completely overpowered her man. However, unlike Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe was
manipulated and powerless, depending on a series of men for comfort and affection, even
though in the end they exploited her. She is presented as a “Dumb beauty”; this use of
