What three poems along with loud work together? Common theme?
- Work.
- Tall
- Loud
- Theme: fantastical hyperbolic poems about women in society.
Sig of news article reference @ beginning.
- Bridging gap between fantasy/ fictional anthology and real-life events.
- Highly emotive: “mutilated children” LINKS to “screams of the children” (last stanza.)
Sig of “News” capitalised?
- The News has power of a person.
- Narrates our understanding of the world.
Auditory language: power of female voice throughout.
- “shout” /”ripped out like a firework” –> cross-rhyme.
- “more”/ “roar” –> cross rhyme.
- “sing like orchestra.”
- “yawn like thunder”/”like an avalanche”/ “uttered lightning.” –> natural imagery shows power of voice.
- Hyperbolic voice (like hyperbole in “Tall”/ “Loud”) force of voice @ being silenced so long.
- Metaphysical/ fantasy/ conceit.
Sig: “like a firework… that made her jump.”
- Firework: symbol for sudden flash of clarity?
- Silent for so long. Shocked at her own outrage?
Sig of “Now she was Loud.”
- “Now” links to stanza 2: “now she could roar.”
- Short declaratives emphasise transformation.
- Repetition: she is going to remain loud.
- Temporal words: typical for Duffy (“Then” in Tall.)
Events “News” draws importance to? Critique?
- “national whoop for winning goal.”
- “boos for bent MP.”
- “royal kiss on balcony.” Link to Diana in “Beautiful.”
- Media covering minute events; ignoring crisis in the world ie. Afghanistan War. Critique of mob mentality?
Sematnic field of sound verbs.
- “stomped”: metaphysical, personification –> takes on life of own.
- “shriek”
- “bellowing”
- “bellowing” etc.
- Power of woman’s voice/ constantly not being heard/ needs to raise voice.
- Wanting people to hear her!!
Sig: “yawn like thunder”, “alone at home” when “switched on The News.”
- Paradoxical.
- “yawn”: bored of media false narrative??
- “alone at home”: isolation, not heard by media.
- Doesn’t know how to use her voice properly?
Sig of: “she switched on the News.. all about Muslims, Christians, Jews.”
- Media blaming “religious conflict” as cause of all problems.
- Children are dying though, advocating for humanity?
Sig: “scream was huge bird that flew her away into dark.”
- Adds to “thunder”/ “lightning” natural imagery.
- Bird imagery throughout anthology.
- Isolated by media, speaks/ gets silenced.
Sig of “uttered lightning”/ “yawn like thunder.”
- Paradoxical.
- Even slightest sound lets out huge noise.
- Conceit/ metaphysical.
- Despite being so loud, people still don’t listen!!
- Woman doesn’t know how to use voice properly??
Purpose
- ## Critiquing silencing of ethnic minority voices in media.
Sig of verb choices to describe woman’s voice?
- “bawled”/ “bellowing”/ “screeching.”
- Hysteria/ female malady.
- When woman speak up, seen as crazy.
Sig of italics
- Used throughout.
- Make voice dictating media outlets.
- Not accurately covering what’s happening in Afghanistan.
- “ran into church and sprayed the congreation with bullets.”
Sig of narrator “bit radios, swallowed them.”
- Completely destroying media.
- ## In the “cave” of her mouth: swallowed but POWER of media, will continue to echo!
War imagery.
- “bullets.”
- “shriek of a bomb, the bang of a gun.”
- “thump of a drop.”
- Tragedy of war? Limited impact of female protest on war?
Sig of voice: “stomped through city”/ “swelling the rivers, felling the woods.”
- “Stomped”: voice taking life of its own. Metaphysical/ conceit.
- “felling woods”/ “swelling rivers”: environment issues explored links to “Work.”
- Negative perception of women speaking up–> destroys nature?
Isolation of woman.
- “alone at home.”
- “Put out to sea”
- Removed from society as ethnic minority speaking up.
- Link to immigration/ ref @ beginning of poem: “hire smugglers.”
Sig of last word being “News”
- News louder than all the noises previously mentioned in poem.
- Cyclical structure: News will always remain in power.
How do the sounds change as poem progresses?
- Sounds become louder.
- Woman’s anger in not being heard?
Sig of noises in last stanza.
- “prayers of priest”/ “pad of feet in mosque.”/ “casual rip of post.”
- Quiet/ insignificant noises louder than woman screaming!–> silencing of women?
- Sounds progressively louder throughout stanza to “The News” –> the loudest!
Sig of “President’s cough” in last stanza.
- Embedded in middle of stanza with “thump of drop” AND “the screams of children.”
- Complacency of gov. surrounded by mothers sobs in foreign countries + chose to ignore.
Religious imagery.
- “prayers of the priest”/ “pad of feet in the mosque.”
- “Muslims, Christians, Jews.”
