Carol Ann Duffy Poems Analysis
Originally Introduction
Memories play a significant role in the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy, particularly her recollections of childhood places and events. The poem “Originally,” published in The Other Country (1990), draws specifically from memories of Duffy's family's move from Scotland to England when she and her siblings were very young. The first-born child, Duffy was just old enough to feel a deep sense of personal loss and fear as she traveled farther and farther away from the only place she had known as “home” and the family neared its alien destination. This sentiment is captured in “Originally,” in which it is described in the rich detail and defining language of both the child who has had the experience and the adult who recalls it.
As the title suggests, a major concern of the poem is beginnings—one's roots, birthplace, and homeland. Stanzas 1 and 2 center on the pain of
Lines 1-3
Lines 1 through 3 of “Originally” establish the personas in the poem, identified by the phrases “our mother” and “our father's.” The first word, “We,” must refer to a family. These lines also establish the setting of the work and suggest a personal attachment to a place: “our own country.” The setting, or place, however, is not stationary; rather, the “red room,” most likely a reference to the vehicle in which the family is traveling, appears to rush along, falling “through the fields” that go by in a blur. The phrase “turn of the wheels” further clarifies that the speaker and her family are in a car, but the words that precede it are a bit misleading in the tone they convey: “. . . our mother singing / our father's name to the turn of the wheels” suggests a merrily traveling family, riding lightheartedly down the road. The rest...
Originally Themes
Identity Loss
“Originally” is a poem about a child fearful of losing her identity and the struggle she goes through in an attempt to retain it. The title itself indicates the significance of roots and of having definite
Memories play a significant role in the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy, particularly her recollections of childhood places and events. The poem “Originally,” published in The Other Country (1990), draws specifically from memories of Duffy's family's move from Scotland to England when she and her siblings were very young. The first-born child, Duffy was just old enough to feel a deep sense of personal loss and fear as she traveled farther and farther away from the only place she had known as “home” and the family neared its alien destination. This sentiment is captured in “Originally,” in which it is described in the rich detail and defining language of both the child who has had the experience and the adult who recalls it.
As the title suggests, a major concern of the poem is beginnings—one's roots, birthplace, and homeland. Stanzas 1 and 2 center on the pain of
Lines 1-3
Lines 1 through 3 of “Originally” establish the personas in the poem, identified by the phrases “our mother” and “our father's.” The first word, “We,” must refer to a family. These lines also establish the setting of the work and suggest a personal attachment to a place: “our own country.” The setting, or place, however, is not stationary; rather, the “red room,” most likely a reference to the vehicle in which the family is traveling, appears to rush along, falling “through the fields” that go by in a blur. The phrase “turn of the wheels” further clarifies that the speaker and her family are in a car, but the words that precede it are a bit misleading in the tone they convey: “. . . our mother singing / our father's name to the turn of the wheels” suggests a merrily traveling family, riding lightheartedly down the road. The rest...
Originally Themes
Identity Loss
“Originally” is a poem about a child fearful of losing her identity and the struggle she goes through in an attempt to retain it. The title itself indicates the significance of roots and of having definite