Carol Ann Duffy Study Notes

1. LITTLE going CAP LRC is a verse form written by Carol Ann Duffy, and is the root poem in the anthology The Worlds Wife, published in 1999. By interpreting the fairy story of Little crimson Riding jacket crown in her poem, Duffy recounts her ten years of marriage to Adrian Henri, who was twenty-three years white-hai rubicund her senior. She places herself as the character of Little Red Cap and Henri as the wildcat. Duffy in any case alludes to fairytarradiddles such as Sleeping Beauty in Queen Herod or more conventional stories like The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Mrs. Quasimodo.In LRC, however, Duffy uses the fairytale staple of the woods, symbolically a rite of portrayal, to represent her change from a naive teenager to a woman who gains sexual maturity and independence, as a woman and a poet. a. Form and structure POV of Little Red Cap? by extension, this is the POV of Duffy when she was younger? access truest thoughts of the character ? also allows the lector to see how she progresses from a naive young teenager who is struck by the wolfs (and by extension Henris) sophistication and, more importantly, physiological features to someone who has seen past this illusion and is more vaned . Key features Duffys use of the fairytale? seeing through illusions to find truth, leading to shift key? the illusion that Little Red Cap has to see through ? also may contain a moral, as fairytales do. While LRRH may flip focused on never trusting strangers, this one may be ab expose learning to trust and know yourself before anything else (girl gains independence at the end- I took an axe, etc. )? links to self-discovery? Duffy also subverts the original tale by removing the passive female protagonist who gets saved by a man, into someone who asserts her independence by taking an axe to the wolf herselfSetting? contributes to the mind of self-discovery and awakening ? we begin at childhoods end, where the sign petered out ? there is a sense of safety and innocence lost, as she is on her own ? the listing in the first stanza presents a humans that encapsulates childhood (playing fields), work (factory) and retirement (allotments) ? she has left wing the microcosmic reality of childhood, inside her house, and is surrounded by this vast sphere of life? sense of being overwhelmed? but before she can marijuana cigarette them she must go through the woods? ymbol of a rite of passage? somewhere unknown, fearful that LRC must traverse through in coordinate to line up out the other side with her flowers, singing all only Characterization of LRC? throughout the poem, the dynamic of the relationship between LRC and the wolf, as rise as the states of each character change ? represents Duffys changing and growth dissatisfaction in her marriage to Henri? character represents Duffy at age sixteen (young)? draw as sweet sixteenwaif, emphasizing her innocence and naivete ? casual tone (You might ask why. ), again highlights her juvenility , which attracts her to the more mature wolf? attraction causes whirlwind romance (I clung till dawn to his trashing pelt/ my stockings ripped to shreds) ? showd through violent verbs, and her need to seek justification (what shortsighted girl doesnt dearly love a wolf? )? suggests she doesnt really know what she is doing? so, it takes ten years in the woods to come out the other side? she undergoes her rite of passage? represents the disillusionment caused during the final examination years of Duffys marriage? fterwards, she gains independence (repetition of I), and by doing so she finds her own voice within her femininity in the final lines of the poem (I come with my flowers, singing, all alone) Characterization of the wolf? represents the former(a) Adrian Henri ? character progresses in the opposite way of LRC ? he starts off at a higher status, but falls from grace at the sixth stanzas turning point ? introduced in stanza 2? Duffy emphasizes his masculine, physical qualiti es (What odontiasis ), emphasized by allusions to the original tale, as well as the unfaltering rhyme scheme (focuses on hairy paw, bearded chit-chat)? lso creates a juvenile tone, emphasizing LRCs schoolgirl attraction to him, and how he has the speed hand status-wise ? portrayed as mysterious, sophisticated and confident (contrasts with juvenility of LRC)- red wine staining his bearded jaw- it is red wine, not family? also has connotations of illusion? however, in the 6th stanza she sees through the illusion ? realizes the greying wolf howls the same old song at the moon? implies that she was only interpreted by the initial lust for him, but that she has become bored and dissatisfied over time? caesura and parallel structures (year in, year out) emphasize this? o she emasculates him (one chop, scrotum to throat), relinquishing him of his power, becoming independent In conclusion, Duffy manages to explore the themes of self-discovery and independence as she takes a look back a t her 10-year marriage to Adrian Henri. She cleverly places herself and Henri as the characters Little Red Cap and the wolf, subverting the traditional fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood and by doing this, uses the fairytale staple of seeing through illusions. Finally, Little Red Cap emerges out of the woods, completing her rite of passage.