The World's Wife : Poems

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Summary: Rhetorical Questions
Review: As volumes of poetry go, The World's Wife is very tightly-themed: each poem is a monologue in the persona of a woman married (or otherwise attached) to a more famous man. The men are more usually from myth or fairy tale (Mrs Sisyphus, Mrs Beast) than from history, although five are biblical and one or two are from history as recent as the 1960s (I think The Devil's Wife may be a portrait of Myra Hindley). Duffy's approach to these monologues is almost absolutely consistent: the women express contempt, irritation, resentment and sorrow for the foolishness and egotism of their partners. Mrs Quasimodo desecrates her husband's beloved bells by fouling them with her own urine; both Penelope and Mrs Lazarus are discomfited by their husbands' return; Mrs Tiresias seeks solace in lesbianism. Only occasionally (as with Anne Hathaway) does the wife feel real love for her husband. The subject-matter, thus paraphrased, looks gloomy and bitter, but in fact these poems are entertaining and very likeable. It is quite important to these pieces that they are funny - and we do laugh because of the constantly-perceived clash between lofty, remote, sacred men and contemporary-sounding, slangy, immediate women. Duffy's language is exactly right for her project. Rhythmically it is strongly pulsing; even more important is the function of rhyme and half-rhyme (the latter perhaps this poet's single-most impressive talent). Reinforcing the wilful, aggressive quality of the rhetoric is Duffy's aptitude for witty puns involving cliches and hackneyed figures of speech (Eurydice is 'out of this world'). At the same time, however, the language is kept aerated and three-dimensional by beautiful off-the-cuff metaphors ('a snapdragon gargling a bee'). I think all this is extremely well-judged poetry; it is rich and confident and if it lacks subtlety, irony or mysteriousness, that is in the nature of its unusually rhetorical mission.

Rating:
Summary: fun book
Review: I heard the very enthusiastic reviews of this collection, but it turned out to be sort of slick - very funny in places, and the versification is quite clever as far as it goes...

Rating:
Summary: interesting import
Review: I loved Carol Ann Duffy's work in New Poetry out of Bloodaxe. How phenomenal! I tried out these poems, and felt sad that the style seemed created for one volume. I feel at a disadvantage, mired in American contemporary poetry, unable to appreciate English plays on words or kinds of humor, so take this with a grain of salt. More formal, more narrative oriented, these poems sounded to my ear like satiric nursery rhymes which lead the reader through. I felt I was staring at the essentials. Glyn Maxwell attempts a similar tone of humorist absurdity but somehow crams each line with depth and less mugging.

Rating:
Summary: Read this! Give it to your friends!
Review: These poems are so good, witty, smart, it might even turn me on to reading poetry again. But where can I find poems as intelligent and deep and amusing as these? I keep re-reading them for the joy of it. I had never heard of Ms. Duffy, but my sister sent me the book from England. I need more!

Rating:
Summary: hilariously funny
Review: This book of poems was given to me by a friend and now lives on my desk at all times. Each poem is an absolute gem, sparkling with humour. I loved every one of them. They are all so different in tone, from the outrageously funny 'Mrs Icarus' to the achingly poignant 'Queen Herod'. As a woman who lives and works in an all-male environment, i would whole-heartedly say, this is an absolute must-buy.