Pedro Barbosa

“Originally” Commentary
The poem “Originally” by Carol Ann Duffy describes and expresses the discomfort of moving places,
maybe from a familiar, warm, and secure place to a strange, unfamiliar, foreign and hostile one, as well
as the pain of losing one’s culture and the misunderstanding of self-identity. The use of strong and sad
images, first person perspective and memories makes this poem a very effective way of portraying the
emotions of losing cultural identity. Furthermore the theme of the poem can be seen as a metaphor for
growing up since growing up is also a very painful transition.

The title of the poem “Originally” gives the reader a hint of what it is about. From the title the reader
can assume that the poem involves change in some sort, perhaps change from the past to the present.
This technique employed by the author is very effective on drawing the attention of the reader, since it
leaves some mystery to what has changed in the past. Duffy uses a variety of techniques that creates a
true connection between the reader and the character in the poem, for example, her use of a little girl’s
perspective on the first stanza and throughout the whole poem. The poem starts with quite a straight
forward beginning, on which the speaker tells the reader that “We come from our own country in a red
room”. The use of the word we in the first line of the poem, implies that the speaker is either speaking
of humankind in general or about a group of people, maybe a family. Furthermore, with the following
words we see some attachment between the speaker and her “Own country”. The red room can be seen
as a metaphor for a mother’s womb, since it is literally where we all come from. However, the next lines
of the first stanza shows us that the red room is most likely a metaphor for the inside of a vehicle since
she later mentions that the red room was “falling through the fields” and the wheels were turning. With
the use of enjambment of the second and third line of the poem, Duffy gives the reader the feeling that
it is about a merry family in a car, with the mother singing happily. However in the next lines with the
contrasting images between a mother singing happily and a child “bawling Home” the author sets up the
mood, theme and atmosphere of the poem very effectively. As she proceeds the repetition of the word
“home” gives the reader a nostalgic sensation that is kept for the rest of the poem, the little brother
bawling for a “home” that doesn’t exist anymore, creates the atmosphere of sadness, and nostalgia. In
Addition to that, the specific use of punctuation between the words: street, house and vacant rooms
also collaborate to this miserable mood. Duffy also uses rhymes and half rhymes in the first stanza such
as “fields” and “wheels”; perhaps to add some rhythm to the poem. However the use of these rhymes
diminishes as she moves on, perhaps to reinforce the mood of sadness. Towards the end of the stanza,
the use of a “blind toy” and the girl “holding its paw” also adds to the mood of nostalgia. She holds the
paw of the toy which brings her comfort. Nonetheless, the toy symbolizes her past. She holds on to her
past, however it’s useless since it is now “blind”. In the first stanza, Duffy builds up the character of the
girl and she shows the reader how much she is suffering with this abrupt change. This poem is
depressing but realistic, it shows us the pain of a child when exposed to a harsh transition.

In the first line of the second stanza, Duffy draws the connection between the pain of moving and the
pain of growing up as she says: “All childhood is an emigration”, that connection helps the reader to
understand how everything said before about moving can also be applied for leaving childhood behind
and preparing for adulthood. In the second stanza, the poem changes tense from past tense to present
 Pedro Barbosa

tense, which allows the readers to see that she grew to understand those transitions better. However, in
the second stanza, she presents us with some of her most confused memories, where she had chaotic
feelings brought up by the emigration. Harsh images of being “[left] standing, resigned, up an avenue/
where no one you know stays” are used very powerfully to present the speaker as a stranger lost in a
new world all alone. Furthermore the choice of words such as “resigned”, “wrong” and “pebble-dashed”
denote confusion and alienation and drop the mood of the poem to something more depressing. Duffy
shows us two contrasting points of the “emigration” being slow and sudden, these contrasting ideas
make the reader wonder which one happened to the girl. The use of punctuation and enjambment on
the second stanza : “Corners, which seem familiar,/ leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates, big
boys/eating worms and shouting words you don't understand” give the reader the impression that the
story is somehow fragmented, and the structure of the poem gets cluttered. The harsh and ugly images
and the metaphor of “big boys eating worms” shows the reader the disgust and confusion that the
speaker feels about the people she is surrounded by, furthermore the use of “shouting” referring to how
they spoke, conveys anger and frustration coming from the speaker, who is very confused since she
can’t understand the words they say. The simile used at the end of the stanza when she says that “[her]
parents' anxiety stirred like a loose tooth” is very effective to portray the difficulty that the family was
facing, it shows how nervous and uncomfortable the family was feeling in that new place. Duffy’s use of
alliteration and repetition of the words “our own country” that were also said in the beginning of the
poem are also very important since it stresses the focus on the loss of identity and the desire to return
to a secure place.

Every stanza represents a selection of memories from different periods of time. The first stanza shows a
faraway past, while the second is less distant; however the third stanza shows the present. All the
anxiety and pressure is found on the second stanza. In the third stanza all that feeling of anxiety and
stress is relieved, and it acts like a conclusion. The speaker tells the reader that after a while you forget
the pain(Referring to the “childhood” metaphor; the same happens when a person grows up. It is painful
at first but then one just adapts.) Duffy uses words such as “Forget”, “Don’t recall” and “change” to
reinforce the transformation of the speaker as well as her loss of identity. She “forgot”, “doesn’t recall”
and “changed” who she was, in order to adapt and stop suffering. Ironically she feels ashamed of her
own hypocrisy. She is embarrassed at having adapted from not understanding what people were saying
to her “tongue /shedding its skin like a snake” and consequently losing her identity. The use of the simile
while referring to her tongue ads to the aggressive yet depressing tone of the poem. Some metaphors
involving animals such as snakes, worms, slugs, are used by Duffy to convey the tone and mood of anger
and disgust. In the third stanza the speaker is conscious about her loss, as she says “my voice/
in the classroom sounding just like the rest”. That makes her question her culture, identity and herself in
general. Duffy uses the rhetorical question: “Do I only think/ I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first
space/ and the right place?” to create a feeling of extreme nostalgia and desire to recover her identity.
That is furthermore proved by the rhymes “Sense of first space” and “right place” where she shows the
reader through a very nostalgic expression that she has no place. The rhetorical question also makes the
reader realize that “a river, culture, speech,” weren’t the only things she lost. She had lost her identity.
 Pedro Barbosa

The title of the poem appears again on the last line of the third stanza, as an answer to a question.
However the answer of this question could be the whole poem again. Duffy uses this cyclic technique
very cleverly giving her poem a very special meaning. The poem is a cycle as the last line is a question
"Where do you come from? /Strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate” while the first line is kind of an
answer “Originally / we came from our own country……"

Moving and growing up are two necessary processes that can be very hard to bear. Through this
processes many bad things can occur, such as the ones mentioned in “Originally”. Carol Ann Duffy
introduces some very important issues such as the effect of change on children and how the lack of a
“home” may bring many problems. The poem is very effective on showing how moving, changing and
growing up confuses children making them question where they come from, what their culture is, and
who they are.