Essay Questions

What is the main idea transmitted through the poem entitled "Text’’?

In the poem entitled "Text’’, the narrator talks about the common practice of many couples to text instead of talking. The narrator transmits through her poem just how meaningless a few words on a phone can be and how she finds those words to be cold and meaningless. She claims that the meaning is somehow lost during the transmitting process and what reaches her are just empty words. The sense of the words is ‘’blurred’’ and the narrator is unable to discern the true meaning of her lover’s words. Through this, the narrator wants to highlight just how much modern relationships are affected by

Are there any autobiographic elements in the poem entitled "Little Red Cap’’?

The poem "Little Red Cap’’ is a poem with a plot line similar to that of Red Riding Hood. In the poem, a young girl meets a wolf and she and the wolf eventually end up living together for ten years in the woods, until the girl matures and is no longer a little girl. The poem has autobiographical elements because the author got involved in a similar relationship when she was sixteen years old. She and a much older man lived together for ten years, time during which the author matured and developed into a woman.

What is the meaning of the word "spinster,’’ and why is this term significant in Duffy's writing?

The word "spinster’’ appears in the poem entitled "Havisham’’ and it refers to an unmarried woman. The term was used predominantly in the 17th century when it was used as a derogatory term. The term spinster refers to generally an older woman who has almost no chances of finding a suitable suitor. The term was also used in connection to maids and thus when the term was used in relation with women belonging to the high society it was considered as being an extremely offensive term.