The World's Wife - Carol Ann Duffy

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23 of 23 Ciao users found the following review helpful

inkyscribbles

Member since 01/07/2012

Reviews written: 28

Hell hath no fury... 08/07/2012

User recommends the product

Advantages Beautifully written, stylistic, memorable
Disadvantages Possibly controversial for some

I have adored Carol Ann Duffy's work ever since I was introduced to her during my GCSE's, and I have never looked back. Poetry has never been my favourite part of literature, and it usually takes a while for me to truly lose myself in something. However, reading Duffy''s work for me is like second nature. Her style is so blunt and chatty, and it draws you in immediately, allowing her to take you on a journey that usually leaves your head spinning at the end. Her characters can be dark, and their behaviour is often questionable, but there is usually something about them that readers can relate ... more
10 of 10 Ciao users found the following review helpful

SilentLamb

The World's Wife 01/02/2008

User recommends the product

Advantages Easy to read, Funny in places, original (as far as i know!)
Disadvantages Very anti-men and does not include notes about who these women actually are

When I found out we would be studying Duffy's 'The World's Wife' for A-level i must admit I wasn't overly enthusiastic; having suffered through the terribly depressing poems of hers that we studied at GCSE. However, I was pleasently surprised as many of them are funny and seem a lot easier to 'analyse'. Ok now here's the review of the book itself: The World's Wife is a clever take on popular characters from mythology, fairytales and real people (all male, of course!) Duffy takes the tales and subverts them so we see these famous stories from the women's perspective. We enjoy stories from 30 ... more
8 of 8 Ciao users found the following review helpful

leciel

A Different View 22/01/2007

User recommends the product

Advantages funny, different point of view, entertaining, deep
Disadvantages can get repetitive

I'll be the first person to admit I'm not a fan of poetry. Especially compulsory poetry for the school curriculum. Especially one where we have to pick apart every single poem and find double meanings when there are none. BUT! I quite enjoyed reading this book and I'm surprised that the stuffy exam board chose it for us; it's definitely not all hearts and flowers! However, I did receive an A grade for the unit in my A-Level exam, so it can't be all bad! The theme of the compilation is simple - the perspective of a woman in history. All the famous sidekick women, spanning from myths and legends ... more
15 of 15 Ciao users found the following review helpful

Sonic4290

An enthralling read 30/12/2007

User recommends the product

Advantages Brilliant styles of writing, turns around old legends and fables, witty, clever
Disadvantages A little pro-feminist and anti-male, but still enjoyable for both sexes

What an excellent poetry book - I studied this for part of my A-Level English Literature course and I think it to be honest, charasmatic, exciting and, above all, extremely clever and witty. Mrs Darwin pokes fun at her husband for his "intelligence" on "discovering" the theory of evolution, Mrs Midas pines for her selfish husband who wished for everything to turn into gold, and we discover a perhaps sympathetic view to the most hated woman in England - Myra Hindley. With such a controversial list of characters', this book was bound to be interesting, and it surpassed (for me) all of my ... more
10 of 13 Ciao users found the following review helpful

pinkwriter643

A Poetic Yet Critical View of Women 02/12/2011

User recommends the product

Advantages Witty poems, wide selection
Disadvantages May be difficult to understand

-The Poet- Carol Ann Duffy is a poet laureate (she has written for the royals), she has various other anthologies and is well known for her witty poems. -Introduction- Poems in The World's Wife are based on mythical, historical women, real-life and fictional people. Duffy takes these situations and provides a contraversial view on marriage. -Contents- Little Red-Cap Thetis Queen Herod Mrs Midas from Mrs Tiresias Pilate's Wife Mrs Aesop Mrs Darwin Mrs Sisyphus Mrs Faust Delilah Anne Hathaway Queen Kong Mrs Quasimodo Medusa The Devil's Wife Circe Mrs Lazarus Pygmalion's Bride Mrs Rip Van Winkle ... more