Explore the ways in which Duffy conveys a difficult relationship in Dream of a Lost Friend

Explore the ways in which Duffy conveys a difficult relationship in Dream of a Lost Friend Throughout the poem ‘Dream of a Lost Friend’, Duffy uses many carefully crafted writing techniques to suggest to the reader a difficult relationship. The relationship in this situation appears to be that between herself and her deceased friend, who had AIDS. A sense of regret appears to be omnipresent throughout the poem, as well as a slight feeling of guilt. One major theme throughout the poem is the idea of an avoidance, or covering up of the truth. A way in which Duffy portrays this is through the particular use of words in the title. By using the word ‘lost’, in place of dead, it suggests that she is not ready to face the reality of her friend’s death, and covers it up with euphemisms for the word. This suggests she is trying to mask the reality, and introduces this concept of an avoidance. This sub theme can then be used to answer the question, as it appears that the reason the relationship she had with her friend was so difficult to maintain was because of his constant avoidance of not only reality, but of the friend itself. In the time that Duffy wrote the poem, there was a certain stigma associated with visiting people in hospital who had AIDs, and the poem suggests that Duffy was not confident enough to face up to this stigma, and so it resulted in her avoidance of the situation altogether. Because of this avoidance, the speaker in the poem shows a sense of regret and guilt. One way in which this shown is through the use of the short sentence ‘I missed your funeral’. This clarifies the guilt that the reader suspects the speaker, but when she then goes on to use the word ‘acting’, it suggests that the weakness of showing her emotions is only temporary, as she yet again feels it necessary to mask her true feelings as well as the reality of the situation. This is also reinforced in the poem when a sense of distance is created, which emphasises on how