The Witty yet Liberating Nature of Feminine Gospels: Analysis of Carol Ann Duffy's The Diet
It has been said the feminine gospels is witty, uncomfortable yet liberating. From a first read of the poems i agree with this statement but to find out to what degree i will now explore.
Firstly, when reading the poem the diet a sense of uncomfortableness can be felt through the entire poem. In this poem Duffy writes about a woman going to extreme lengths to be thin, which to many readers can be an uncomfortable thing to read about. However the feeling of uncomfortableness doesn't stop there; Duffy uses intense imagary of the woman in question. "Her skeleton preened under its tight flesh dress." By using the words "skeleton" and "flesh" in describing this woman it can create a feeling of unease for readers as these words are usually associated with dead bodies. Duffy may have done this to create an impact on readers; it may be her way of showing us that if we feel uncomfortable just reading these words, then is it right that people actually go to these extreme levels with their bodies.
Also, in the the poem the woman who shopped, the last stanza can be seen as very uncomfortable. Duffy writes "She would have a sale and crowds would que overnight at her cunt." One inturpretation of what this might have meant is that the woman in the poem may have been prostituting herself and is therefore exploiting herself; Duffy uses the comparison of selling herself to a shop selling products to put this idea across. Duffy could have written this to show readers that people can go to any extent to get what they want and that our society values materialistic goods so much so that we will go to any length to get the comsumer goods we want to fit into society. Readers may find this uncomfortable as they may realise what our society has become and may be able to relate to the woman in the poem; maybe not to the extent of prostituation but readers may have gone to certain lengths to get the comsumer good they want.
The use of the word "cunt" in the woman who shopped can be seen
Firstly, when reading the poem the diet a sense of uncomfortableness can be felt through the entire poem. In this poem Duffy writes about a woman going to extreme lengths to be thin, which to many readers can be an uncomfortable thing to read about. However the feeling of uncomfortableness doesn't stop there; Duffy uses intense imagary of the woman in question. "Her skeleton preened under its tight flesh dress." By using the words "skeleton" and "flesh" in describing this woman it can create a feeling of unease for readers as these words are usually associated with dead bodies. Duffy may have done this to create an impact on readers; it may be her way of showing us that if we feel uncomfortable just reading these words, then is it right that people actually go to these extreme levels with their bodies.
Also, in the the poem the woman who shopped, the last stanza can be seen as very uncomfortable. Duffy writes "She would have a sale and crowds would que overnight at her cunt." One inturpretation of what this might have meant is that the woman in the poem may have been prostituting herself and is therefore exploiting herself; Duffy uses the comparison of selling herself to a shop selling products to put this idea across. Duffy could have written this to show readers that people can go to any extent to get what they want and that our society values materialistic goods so much so that we will go to any length to get the comsumer goods we want to fit into society. Readers may find this uncomfortable as they may realise what our society has become and may be able to relate to the woman in the poem; maybe not to the extent of prostituation but readers may have gone to certain lengths to get the comsumer good they want.
The use of the word "cunt" in the woman who shopped can be seen