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Havisham- Carol Ann Duffy

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In her morbid poem 'Havisham', Carol Ann Duffy redefines one of Charles Dickens' most memorable characters, Miss Havisham. Jilted at the alter by her one true love, Dickens portrayed Havisham as an old spinster, her life wasted away trying to gain revenge on all men. Through her dramatic monologue 'Havisham', Duffy gives the disturbed old woman a voice to express her feelings about her wasted life. One of the themes that I found fascinating in this poem was the idea that a moment of betrayal can destroy a persons life and identity. After introducing her lover as “beloved sweetheart bastard”, Havisham tells us that “not a day since then/ I haven't wished him dead”. The preposition “Then” clearly refers to the day her lover abandoned her on …show more content…

Her reflection in the mirror is something other than herself and she asks the rhetorical question- “who did this/ to me”. Interestingly, at first it seems as if the betrayal of her lover is the cause of her destruction, but really it is Havisham's inability to escape one moment in her past, that has caused her to choose this life for herself. Havisham's confused feelings and loss of humanity is continued over verse three and four as she resorts to “sounds not words” and she tells us of “love's/ hate”. This oxymoron is split over verse three and four, and reminds us that Havisham cannot ever escape her past, or forgive any man that would betray her. For her, love always coexists with hate and she can never love a human without also hating them and fearing betrayal. I believe Havisham's whole character is epitomised in the second to last phrase, “give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon”. This gruesome depiction of Havisham's long desired honeymoon clearly shows just how disturbed this old woman has become, all because of one moment of betrayal. Everything she does and everything she dreams of has taken a distorted, unnatural and sickening twist, and Duffy definitely implies some sort of mental illness or psychosis. The forceful imperative “give me” shows Havisham's desire for the power she lost years ago, and the idea of honeymooning with a “male corpse” also expresses Havisham's need for control over something powerless. Throughout the macabre

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