The Devil's Wife
‘The Devil’s Wife’
‘The Devil’s Wife’ is a dramatic monologue that is spilt into five parts depicting the thoughts and feelings of Duffy’s adopted persona – Myra Hindley the infamous Moors murderer. Throughout the poem we learn of the events surrounding meeting Brady, the murders, the trial, its aftermath and overall her conscience towards these events whilst serving life in prison.
The overall title of the five individual poems – ‘The Devil’s Wife’ – portrays that the adopted persona hasn’t, as of yet come to terms and accepted the monstrosity of her actions. The title suggests that Brady himself was the Devil and Myra due to a corrupt, influential relationship followed his actions and obeyed his rules. Moreover the first glance at the poem is somewhat deceiving but, as we shall see this first thought can be misjudged, when we examine the structure of the individual poems.
The title of the first poem is crucial as it portrays the first part of the story. The title ‘Dirt’ can be analysed as referring to how Brady and Hindley were portrayed in the media and what kind of monsters they were. Moreover it can also be seen as the term used at funeral services as it relates to soil and rituals such as burials. The term also refers to the impurity and the lack of physical cleanliness that Brady and Hindley stole from their victims.
The opening line of the first poem: ‘The Devil was one of the men at work’ is somewhat chilling. The first line implies that day to day people that we relate to could potentially be dangerous to our wellbeing, and have the potential to even commit crimes such as killing. Carrying on through the poem we see Hindley reflecting on her first and foremost impressions of Brady himself. She begins by describing Brady in a negative and futile way; she starts by saying ‘He fancied himself’ and ‘Looked at the girls/ in the office as if they were dirt’. These two sentences imply that Brady generally had a negative view of women, and also thought that
‘The Devil’s Wife’ is a dramatic monologue that is spilt into five parts depicting the thoughts and feelings of Duffy’s adopted persona – Myra Hindley the infamous Moors murderer. Throughout the poem we learn of the events surrounding meeting Brady, the murders, the trial, its aftermath and overall her conscience towards these events whilst serving life in prison.
The overall title of the five individual poems – ‘The Devil’s Wife’ – portrays that the adopted persona hasn’t, as of yet come to terms and accepted the monstrosity of her actions. The title suggests that Brady himself was the Devil and Myra due to a corrupt, influential relationship followed his actions and obeyed his rules. Moreover the first glance at the poem is somewhat deceiving but, as we shall see this first thought can be misjudged, when we examine the structure of the individual poems.
The title of the first poem is crucial as it portrays the first part of the story. The title ‘Dirt’ can be analysed as referring to how Brady and Hindley were portrayed in the media and what kind of monsters they were. Moreover it can also be seen as the term used at funeral services as it relates to soil and rituals such as burials. The term also refers to the impurity and the lack of physical cleanliness that Brady and Hindley stole from their victims.
The opening line of the first poem: ‘The Devil was one of the men at work’ is somewhat chilling. The first line implies that day to day people that we relate to could potentially be dangerous to our wellbeing, and have the potential to even commit crimes such as killing. Carrying on through the poem we see Hindley reflecting on her first and foremost impressions of Brady himself. She begins by describing Brady in a negative and futile way; she starts by saying ‘He fancied himself’ and ‘Looked at the girls/ in the office as if they were dirt’. These two sentences imply that Brady generally had a negative view of women, and also thought that