Critical Response to Carol Ann Duffy's Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars By Carol Ann Duffy, a critical response. This shows an example of Analysis, Evaluation, Structure and Expression
Date: 29/06/2012
Author Information
Uploaded by: Karen
Uploaded on: 29/06/2012
Subject: English
"Shooting stars" by Carol Anne Duffy is a disturbing and tragically intriguing poem. In the poem, Duffy creates a picture of a heroic figure enduring life within a concentration camp, in the form of the narrator. This admirable figure tugs at the heart strings of the reader and leaves us shocked, reminding us of the brutal suffering of the Jews.
Duffy takes on the persona of a victim in a concentration camp and creates a sense of impending death and violence throughout the poem. She is subjected to torture, rape and witnesses horrific murders. Her first person narrative is continuously in the female perspective and she describes how the soldiers dehumanise the Jews and show no emotion towards their victims. The poet addresses the reader and then the female reader near the end of the poem to shock us into to a more profound awareness of the reality of what has happened, ensuring that we will never forget the catastrophic events of the holocaust.
Firstly we can see the way in which Duffy explores the heroism of the narrator by highlighting the violence which surrounds her. The threatening language used by Duffy portrays a sense of imminent danger:
"After I no longer speak they break our fingers to salvage my wedding ring"
Duffy creates a strong image of silence and death when her voice is permanently stopped and in this way the heroism explored is that of a silent kind of heroism. This line is written in the present tense, bringing the events of the Holocaust closer to us and this deeply disgusts us; this woman`s fingers have been broken whilst she was in fact still alive. Here Duffy uses two conflicting images, one of eternal love and the other of theft and thus the underlying theme of suffering is conveyed because clearly
Date: 29/06/2012
Author Information
Uploaded by: Karen
Uploaded on: 29/06/2012
Subject: English
"Shooting stars" by Carol Anne Duffy is a disturbing and tragically intriguing poem. In the poem, Duffy creates a picture of a heroic figure enduring life within a concentration camp, in the form of the narrator. This admirable figure tugs at the heart strings of the reader and leaves us shocked, reminding us of the brutal suffering of the Jews.
Duffy takes on the persona of a victim in a concentration camp and creates a sense of impending death and violence throughout the poem. She is subjected to torture, rape and witnesses horrific murders. Her first person narrative is continuously in the female perspective and she describes how the soldiers dehumanise the Jews and show no emotion towards their victims. The poet addresses the reader and then the female reader near the end of the poem to shock us into to a more profound awareness of the reality of what has happened, ensuring that we will never forget the catastrophic events of the holocaust.
Firstly we can see the way in which Duffy explores the heroism of the narrator by highlighting the violence which surrounds her. The threatening language used by Duffy portrays a sense of imminent danger:
"After I no longer speak they break our fingers to salvage my wedding ring"
Duffy creates a strong image of silence and death when her voice is permanently stopped and in this way the heroism explored is that of a silent kind of heroism. This line is written in the present tense, bringing the events of the Holocaust closer to us and this deeply disgusts us; this woman`s fingers have been broken whilst she was in fact still alive. Here Duffy uses two conflicting images, one of eternal love and the other of theft and thus the underlying theme of suffering is conveyed because clearly