In poetry, the fusion of language and theme is very strong.

This is a very long essay – over

1000 words – how much could you do over time restraint in the exam

Carol Ann Duffy fights against patriarchy by empowering the female protagonists who do not
conform to conventional ideas about women to a much higher status in her poems, fusing it with
effective usage of literary techniques. The women in ‘Salome’ and ‘The Kray Sisters’, poems from
Duffy’s collection, ‘The World’s Wife’, are being portrayed as the dominating gender and the ones Commented [.1]: Just underline titles – easier in the exam
in control, which contrasts to our traditional patriarchal society. Duffy subverts patriarchy into Formatted: Underline
matriarchy, breaking away from the male dominant culture through the fusion of diction and
narrative voice which effaces the stereotypical perception of placid, docile women. Wow – a
lengthy and high powered intro

‘Salome’ demonstrates a backlash at the dominance of men through the violent actions of Salome,
which literally causes men damage. In society, women, considered the ‘weaker’ gender, are
expected be subservient towards men. Women are also commonly regarded as ones who are the
victims, rather than men. However, in ‘Salome’, we see these stereotypes of women being
confronted, as men are now regarded as the victims; masculinity is dead, literally, metaphorically
and symbolically. Duffy uses irony in the phrase “ain’t life a bitch”, a perception that Salome holds
towards “life”. The choice of word, “bitch” has multiple interpretations. It could be a pejorative
term for a subordinate man, and in context, it refers to the man who had his head decapitated.
Salome perceives men in “life” as inferior compared to women. “Bitch” is also a colloquial term, in
a feminist context, indicating a strong and assertive woman, one who might make men feel
threatened. Using this definition, with Salome stating that “life” is “a bitch”, she is directly saying
that life is female, establishing the fact that life and female are on the same level, which proceeds
to shows the insignificance of men. The original use as a vulgarism for the word “bitch”, however,
documented to the fourteenth century, suggested high sexual desires in women, which, in this
case, brings out a statement that not only men, but women too, have vices, desires and are
sexualized. Salome objectifies men as items to be used for women’s pleasure for as long as they
feel like, and then once done with them, they are to be disposed of. Salome disposes of men in a
violent manner. As we see in the poem, she does so with one man by decapitating his head, which
laid “on the pillow beside [her]” when she “woke up”, which was then served “on a platter” at the
end. We know that Salome had “done it before” and is “doubtless [she]’ll do it again sooner or
later”, highlighting the antagonism she holds towards men, and at the same time, destroys the
perception of a conventional woman. Women can influence, manipulate, and have an upper-hand
on men. This asserts the supremacy and potential belligerence nature of women, which blends
with the aforementioned techniques of Duffy’s use of diction, choice of word “bitch” in the phrase
“ain’t life a bitch”. A very detailed analysis of the langue and style of the poem – some mention of
the biblical allusion to Salome would be good here

The female twin protagonists in ‘The Kray Sisters’ are second wave feminists who made the “East
End” streets safe for women. ‘The Kray Sisters’ presents an alternative reality in which women
uses strong arm tactics to create a safer society. The sisters are shown to be just as competent as
their male counterparts, the original Kray twin brothers, in justifying their control of the criminal
world. The Kray sisters display a violent and bullying behavior which again, like in ‘Salome’,
asserts the dominance and potential belligerence nature of women. The twins’ narrative voices are
extremely masculine in the way the behaved, which is shown through Duffy’s use of diction. They
demanded “respect for the way [they] entered a bar, or handled a car, or shriveled a hard-on with
simply a menacing look”. The way internal rhyming, “bar” and “car”, is being incorporated further
emphasizes on the twins’ demands and desire to be sexually superior to the male gender how?.
The Kray sisters crushes men, with their “club” name “Ballbreakers”, having connotation of men’s
balls getting broken. The Kray twins also condescends?? males, saying that “a boyfriend’s for
Christmas, not just for life”. Duffy manipulates the phrase “a dog’s for life, not just for Christmas”
by placing males in position of a pitiful dog. This exudes the idea that the Kray sisters degrade the
male gender to the level of an animal, rendering them as insignificant creatures, which links to the
domination of the female gender, as there are also no mention of men to be heard at all
throughout the poem. The way in which “any woman in trouble could [go] to the Krays, no
questions asked”, conveys a sense of female unanimity unity? which strengthens the idea of the
power of females, and more particularly, the pre-eminence of the Kray sisters. It demonstrates the
talent of the Kray sisters being able to handle troubles without any “questions asked”, and how it
gives a sense that the Kray sisters are of significant, prevailing and well-known figures in the “East
End” side of London. The last stanza of the poem parallels the behavior of the Kray sisters as it
has constructed to a frantic upsurge of supremacy. The Kray sisters were “dressed to kill”, which
has an ominous double meaning in that they are dressed well, or that they are literally “dressed to
kill” anyone who dares affront them. This hints of a slight violent feel that links to the brutality in
‘Salome’, and also, depicts of the power of women. Again, Duffy’s use of diction and narrative
voice works simultaneously with the idea of the empowerment of women.

Both poems ‘Salome’ and ‘The Kray Sisters’ sets out creates a matriarchal feel , establishing the Commented [.2]: This sounds better and makes better sense
omnipotence of women. This influences women to an extent to carve out space to act in spite of,
and liberating themselves, from patriarchal constraints, to become a woman at her own
commandment. These two poems parallel our modern society more than the older centuries as
women now are seen to be more independent and assertive. Earlier in the olden days, women
used to conceal themselves at home, detaching from the outside world. They were portrayed as
being submissive to the male gender and conform on a higher level, compared to now, to
patriarchy. They did not have a voice that was being heard in society and were insignificant when
compared to with men. Duffy’s “poems combine to describe Everywoman – Everywife” as noted by
Kate Kellaway (The Observer 2010), which, in our case, both the poems ‘Salome’ and ‘The Kray
Sisters’, describes the empowerment of women and women being the dominant gender as
opposed to men. The main purpose of poetry is to express themes to the readers and it does
exactly that as seen in ‘Salome and ‘The Kray Sisters’, which themes are the empowerment of
women and presenting women as the dominating gender, through the use of effective use of
language – diction and narration voice – which shows that in poetry, the fusion between language
and theme works strongly together.

A sophisticated response – you have a very strong understanding of the texts and your personal
voice is clear – a great first Level 3 essay – look forward to reading more from.

Minor issues with syntax – and I think some discussion of Salome’s biblical character is fairly
essential.

ET5

PS I love this collection of poems