Anthology

Question 1

‘Feminine Gospels’ (2002)

Answer 1

‘Feminine’ - female
‘Gospels’ - religious connotations, collection of stories
bible - typical male focus
Duffy - atheist with Roman Catholic upbringing
2002 - daughter born few years prior, not yet poet laureate, turn of century

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

Collection of female stories
Start with ‘Long Queen’, who collects women’s stories, and has themes of birth and childhood
Ends with ‘Death and the Moon’ - cyclical image, reflects life
First 12 poems - female experiences
Stafford girls - female rebellion
Last 8 - not specifically female, personal and elegiac

Question 3

Links to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Answer 3

Religious links
Collection of stories by woman
Unreliable narrator