Havisham

1
What is going on in these pictures?
2
Objectives

• By the end of todays lesson you will be able to
• Complete a TSLAP analysis of the poem Havisham by
  Carol Ann Duffy.

3
Who is Havisham?

• Miss Havisham is character from Charles Dickens
  Great Expectations.
• She was jilted at the altar in the book.
• This poem is an outpouring of her bitterness and
  resentment.
• Why do you think Duffy dropped the Miss?

4
Havisham Beloved sweetheart bastard.  Not a day
since thenI haven't wished him dead.  Prayed for
itso hard I've dark green pebbles for
eyes,ropes on the back of my hands I could
strangle with. Spinster.  I stink and
remember.  Whole daysin bed cawing Nooooo at the
wall the dressyellowing, trembling if I open
the wardrobethe slewed mirror, full-length,
her, myself, who did this to me?  Puce curses
that are sounds not words.Some nights better,
the lost body over me,my fluent tongue in its
mouth in its earthen down till  suddenly bite
awake.  Love's hate behind a white veil a red
balloon burstingin my face.  Bang.  I stabbed at
a wedding cake.Give me a male corpse for a long
slow honeymoon.Don't think it's only the heart
that b-b-b-breaks.
5
Havisham  Beloved sweetheart bastard.  Not a day
since thenI haven't wished him dead.  Prayed for
itso hard I've dark green pebbles for
eyes,ropes on the back of my hands I could
strangle with. Spinster.  I stink and
remember.  Whole daysin bed cawing Nooooo at the
wall the dressyellowing, trembling if I open
the wardrobethe slewed mirror, full-length,
her, myself, who did this to me?  Puce curses
that are sounds not words.Some nights better,
the lost body over me,my fluent tongue in its
mouth in its earthen down till  suddenly bite
awake.  Love's hate behind a white veil a red
balloon burstingin my face.  Bang.  I stabbed at
a wedding cake.Give me a male corpse for a long
slow honeymoon.Don't think it's only the heart
that b-b-b-breaks.
6
Alliteration of b and p sound suggests ANGER
I.E. the wedding day
Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since
then I havent wished him dead. Prayed for
it so hard Ive dark green pebbles for
eyes, ropes on the back of my hands I could
strangle with
Image suggests hard and cruel
Enjambment lines run over
Theme of violence in poem (compare with
Stealing/ Education for Leisure/ Hitcher)
Green for jealousy Indicating her Bitterness
the Green-eyed monster Green like a monster.
Veins a metaphor
7
Single word Sentence denotes Her bitterness
WORD EMPHASISES HER GRIEF AND DESPAIR
i.e. because she has never washed since her
wedding day
Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days in
bed cawing Nooooo at the wall the
dress yellowing, trembling if I open the
wardrobe the slewed mirror, full-length, her,
myself, who did this
Image of a crow CAWING
WITH AGE
AS THOUGH IT IS SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS DONE THIS.
SHE CANT BELIEVE THAT THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR
WOULD DO THIS. SPLIT PERSONALITY? DISTURBED?
BROKEN/DESTROYED (VIOLENCE?)
8
Enjambment lines run over
She cannot express her anger and bitterness in
proper words (compare line 6)
to me? Puce curses that are sounds not
words. Some nights better, the lost body over
me, my fluent tongue in its mouth in its
ear Then down till I suddenly bit awake. Loves
Sexual references to their relationship
VIOLENCE
9
oxymoron
Wedding dress/white For virginity
VIOLENCE
hate behind a white veil a red balloon
bursting in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a
wedding cake. Give me a male corpse for a long
slow honeymoon. Dont think its only the heart
that b-b-b-breaks.
Alliteration of b and p sound suggests ANGER
She would rather have him dead than have him
reject her shows how bitter and twisted she is
Sobbing and suggests violence a veiled threat
10
Structure

• The poem consists of four, four line stanzas or
  quatrains which are unrhymed. Many of the lines
  run on, and the effect is like normal speech.
• The first provides the reader with the theme of
  revengeNot a day since then / I havent wished
  him dead. (lines 1-2)
• Verses two and three develop a description of her
  life and state of mind.
• The final verse returns to the ideas of death,
  violent hatred and marriageGive me a male
  corpse for a long slow honeymoon (line 15)

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Why the enjambment?
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TSLAP Themes, Structure, Language, Attitude,
Personal Response

• Themes
• what is the poem about?
• who is the speaker? - are they dramatized (a
  character)
• who is being spoken to or addressed?
• what is being spoken about?
• Theme(s) of the poem - what is it really about?
• Setting/culture - wheres the poem set? Culture
  it is from/about?
• where does the poem get to from start to end?

Always link everything to meaning. Ask yourself
how does this contributes to the meaning? Why has
the poet used this technique?

• Attitudes
• How would the poem be spoken? (angry, sad,
  nostalgic, bitter, humorous etc)

• Structure
• Rhyme - is there a rhyme scheme? Couplets?
  Internal rhyme?
• Rhythm - how many syllables per line? Is it
  regular or free verse? Why are some different
  lengths?
• Stanzas - How many? How do they change? Is there
  a narrative?
• Lines - how many are their in each verse? Do
  some stand out?
• Enjambment - do the lines run on to the next
  line or stanza?
• End stopping - does each line finish at the end
  of a sentence?
• Form - does the poem have a shape to it?

• Language
• What kinds of words are used?
• Puns - a pun is a play on words - Shear Class!
  if Shearer scores.
• Connotation - associations that words have (as
  "stallion" connotes a certain kind of horse with
  certain sorts of uses)?
• Double meanings - butts in - putting bottoms
  in or interrupting.
• Ambiguity - is the word or phrase deliberately
  unclear? Could it mean opposite things or many
  different things?.
• Word order - are the words in an unusual order
  why?
• Adjectives - what are the key describing words?
• Key words and phrases - do any of the words or
  phrases stand out? Do they shock? Are the words
  violent or sad etc?
• Slang or unusual words and misspellings - Does
  the poet use slang or informal language? Are
  American words used?
• Intertextuality - does the poem reference
  another text?
• Style - does the poet copy another style?
  (Newspaper, play etc)
• Characters - if there are characters how do they
  speak?

• Language techniques
• Alliteration - the repeating of initial sounds.
• Assonance - is the term used for the repetition
  of vowel sounds within consecutive words as in,
  'rags of green weed hung down...'.
• Metaphor - comparing two things by saying one is
  the other.
• Simile - comparing two things saying one is like
  or as the other.
• Personification - giving something non-human
  human qualities.
• Onomatopoeia - words that sound like the thing
  they describe.
• Repetition - does the poet repeat words or
  phrases?