I will discuss and compare Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy, and Warning by Jenny Joseph.
I believe that these poems deal with a similar theme; freedom. In Havisham, the woman is longing for freedom from her haunted wedding day. She feels trapped in the past, and cannot find a way to move on. In Warning, the woman yearns for freedom in her old age, but learns that she must begin rebel and be free now, in her younger years.
Other significant themes in Warning include non-conformity, and rebellion. Other significant themes in Havisham include regret, and heartbreak.
Both poems are written in the form of a dramatic monologue. The first stanza of Warning is written as a stream of thoughts, spoken aloud. The following three stanzas are written as
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Warning is free verse, and does not rhyme. This is to imply that the character is speaking as she thinks, and references free speech, and free action which is what the persona is striving for. The poem uses the technique anaphora, in which words are repeated at the beginning sentences and adjacent lines. This is shown in the use of ‘and’. It shows that her thoughts are unfinished and she has more to say, despite previously ending her sentence. There is no fixed metre in Warning, this is also a reference to the personas desire for freedom. The poem is structured as a list; the list of things the persona wishes she could do, compared to the expectations of society.
In Havisham, Carol Ann Duffy also uses structure very effectively. Havisham is also free verse, this creates a lack of structure, representing Havisham’s lack of structure and control in her life. This poem uses a mixture of long, winding sentences, and short, sharp ones. The short sentences are used to shows Havisham’s temper and negative mindset; ‘I stabbed at a wedding cake’ Stabbing at the cake, as opposed to cutting it shows her bitterness towards things related to her wedding day. Alongside the sprawling sentences is enjambment, used to create the effect of broken thought.
‘Bang’ shows a change in character. Before this line, we have no context as to why Havisham is resentful towards her ex-partner, therefore this line represents negative change, and links the ‘dress
There are many different things that had happened and went on in the book “Great Expectations”. In the book there are also many different symbolic and reasonings for many things that happened. In my belief I thing that the fire at Miss. Havisham’s house was very symbolic to herself.
The Presentation of Miss Havisham in Chapter 8 and in Chapter 49 of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
‘Miss Havisham’ is a bitter and twisted character from the novel ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. Carol Ann Duffy takes this character and explores her tragic life in the poem ‘Havisham’. Duffy uses Dark themes, structure, symbolism and other poetic techniques to express Havisham’s hatred for men after her tragic wedding when she was rejected by her fiancé. Duffy’s use of these poetic techniques create a sinister character and makes Havisham feel real to the reader.
The poem is separated into two parts, each with sixteen lines, and is loosely based on an iambic pentameter metre. The rhyme scheme is ABAB throughout the poem, with the noticeable exception of the last four lines of part II, in which it changes to
An imagine Charles Dickens has left in my mind is Miss. Havisham. I see this faceless, all bone, yellow skinned lady wearing one shoe and a wedding dress. Miss. Havisham was originally described on page 47 and she was described as a weary, wore down woman and I was having fun imagining this peculiar lady. I see her like Maleficent, because she was written as very boney, again on page 47. I just imagine her cheekbones being very prominent, like Maleficent. I also see her like looking kind of deranged because on page 47 Dickens wrote; "She uttered the word with a eager look, and with a weird smile". I think the weird smile part is what lead me to believe she looks deranged. I can't see her face, but I can see her features like; sunken eyes, that
The poem's structure consists of four stanzas. The first, second, and third stanza follow an abcc rhyme scheme, and the last stanza follows an aabb rhyme scheme. A the reader progresses through each stanza, it is seen that the narrator's dissatisfaction of her confinement
In the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens a lot of things happen, some things were good and some things were bad that happened. One of the bad things that happened was the fire at Miss Havisham's house. The main character Pip goes to Miss Havisham's house and sees that she is sitting very close to the fire and she is sitting in her old wedding dress. A flame catches her dress on fire, Pip starts to panic and grabs a coat to put the flames out. I think fire symbolizes her wedding day and also may symbolize that it was a suicide attempt. Dickens put this part in the book because the part goes right with the story line.
Dickens depicts an eccentric and rather malevolence women who has been jilted on her wedding day. therefore, she has stopped all clocks and sits in her yellowing wedding dress. Furthermore, leaving her in an agony. Consequently, that agony and misery turned into hatred towards men. When Miss Havisham employs Pip to play with Estella, Pip sees an " old brick and dismal " house which reflective the owner. Furthermore, this shows the reader that Dickens tried to give a hint on how Miss Havisham appearance might be or could be, Alternatively he wanted to show that Miss Havisham has stopped caring on her appearance as she has stopped time and rots within the house and the house within her.
Carol Ann Duffy writes about the feelings of rejection, isolation and desolation that a woman who has been jilted at the alter by her husband might feel. I think that feelings such as this in both of the poems have been based on either literature or historical events, for example “Havisham” was most likely based on Miss Havisham, a
Miss Havisham is an example of a single minded vengeful woman whose life consisted of being cold hearted with a grudge against all men. Dickens could have been drawing a comparison between the destructive nature of fire to Miss Havisham’s cold cruel mind.Another twist could be Dickens use the fire to also represent the real effect of the warmth from fire, she was always cold towards the few people that entered her gates. Fire is reluctant, as Miss Havisham is reluctant to have people in her home. Though they were allowed she was not at all warm towards them, accepted them under false
The fire represents a punishment for Miss Havisham for how she raised Estella and how she treated Pip. Miss Havisham took in Estella as a little girl and turned her into cold-hearted woman who looked her nose down on anyone who was not a gentleman. Miss Havisham also taught Estella to treat men with contempt. In other words, Miss Havisham turned Estella into a young version of herself. Miss Havisham did this just because she was jilted by Compeyson. Miss Havisham
Question: How does Dickens in his portrayal of Miss Havisham explore the theme of isolation?
“Storm Warnings,” true to its literal subject matter, possesses flowy sweeping syntax created by the strategic use of commas and phrasing to draw parallels between the physical oncoming winds and the gales of life. The author crafts a long run-on sentence that spans the first stanza and carries on into the latter portion of the second to mirror the continuous flowing of windy weather and the forward motion of life. Once the speaker notices the brewing storm, they “walk from window to closed window, watching boughs strain against the sky.” In this portion of the affromented run-on sentence, alliteration, rhythm, and the repetition of words all contribute to the impression of movement. The various “w” sounds at the beginnings of words and the repetition of the word “window” create a sensation of continuously flowing forward, especially when read aloud; the comma adds a small swirling pause to the rhythm, which is then soon after resumed with the word “watching.” Just as the poem rhythmically moves forward with its long phrases connected with frequent commas, so must life carry on with each additional experience, whether it be misfortunes or joys. The elongated syntax allows all these elements to work together within sentences to highlight the similarities between physical storms and emotional struggle and to stress the inevitability of predicaments in life.
The poem begins with two lines which are repeated throughout the poem which convey what the narrator is thinking, they represent the voice in
This poem consists of nine stanzas altogether. Three of the stanzas are written in italics. I believe that the reason that they are written in italics is to show that this poem is a monologue. The