GREETINGS SIR, MY NAME IS UMER FAROOQ AND I AM WRITING FROM PAKISTAN I HAVE GONE THROUGH YOUR LESSONS WHICH WAS MORE THEN SUFFICENT FOR MY A LEVELS EXAMS THANKS FOR SUCH NICE GUIDELINES ABOUT WRITING AN ESSAY THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR!!!!
I actually read the ending of Stafford differently, where Duffy used the imagery of the sea she could be referring to the idea of fertility as that's common in literature as it is full of life and 'swells' in the same sense a pregnant woman's stomach would and she uses the imagery of fish in The Light Gatherer as well. The fact that "she wrote her maiden name with a stick in hand" represents her moving on from her husband that held her back from what she wanted, which was a child as it says they had been childless for years and so she finds a man represented by dancing in the sea "like a groom with a bride" as he is able to give her what she wants out of life which is"girl in her arms." This doesn't highlight a romantic lesbian relationship, as Mrs Mackay isn't involved with any other character in poem like Miss Batt with Miss Fife or Miss Dunn with Diana Kim but rather relationship between her new lover and child, as she escaped the mundane aspect her life has that her husband caused like the other characters went to gain what she wanted meaning the poem ends on motherhood linking with the change of pace to the collection as it becomes more intimate as she as the author explores her own female experiences including motherhood. Even if this does not seem as obvious and perhaps she did take her life, through death she gained the female experience of being a mother as that's what Duffy has seemed to depict as being her want in the poem. Do you see what I mean by this?
Gabi Field Hello Gabi. It's a cliche but it's true: your particular interpretation is less important than how well you support it ... with well chosen quotes and logical, sensitive comment, particularly on the effects of language. And you certainly have something with this point. If you haven't done your exam yet, i can say some more but i suspect you wil have done your AS this week - so good luck.
Michael Callanan Thank you very much! I was very happy with the exam as this poem actually was the focus for one of the questions and your revision points were very helpful and I'm grateful I found this channel beforehand seeing how well the information you gave fitted the exam so thank you.
