My analysis of Duffys Rapture Essays

My analysis of Duffys Rapture Essays My analysis of Duffys Rapture Paper My analysis of Duffys Rapture Paper Essay Topic: Carol ann Duffy Poems Literature Carol Ann Duffys Rapture is a collection of poems, which express different views of love. Each of the poems have different meanings and are carefully constructed by the poet. She uses different themes in her poetry such as tea and grief, to illustrate Carol Ann Duffys point that many objects can be linked with love. Art is one of many poems from Carol Ann Duffys Rapture. In the poem, a person is speaking to their lover. The tone throughout the poem is depressing. It contains no positive thoughts on the topic of love and relationships. The person reminisces the love she/he had for her/his lover. The poem comes to a climax towards the end, this signifies the end of their relationship. The poem is set out as three stanzas containing four lines and a forth stanza, which is in fact a rhyming couplet. It is in sonnet form as it has fourteen lines, this is common for Shakespeare. Shakespeare also wrote romantic poetry so this reinforces the fact that this poem is a traditional poet focusing on the topic of love. The rhyming couplet at the end gives it a more light-hearted feel and sounds rather dramatic and cynical. Each of the verses has the same pattern. She uses enjambment throughout the stanzas. This creates movement and excitement, as the metre is irregular. Duffy uses an informal tone to introduce the poem. This is evident in her first phrase only art now. The word only in the phrase suggests art was once more significant, but is now not important so is a contradictory phrase. Art would normally be worth money and would have a high cultural value but to say only art now suggests that art is a negative thing. The phrase also introduces the main theme of the poem, Duffy uses extends the metaphor: our bodies, brushstroke, pigment, motif. It is implied that the physical aspect of their relationship was a significant part to it. Brushstroke and pigment being the essentials in a painting and motifs are the repeated ideas key to the meaning of the work of art, this relating to their relationship. Carol Ann Duffy describes the lovers story as a figment and suspension of disbelief. This indicates that the relationship seems unreal and non-existent, similar to that of a work of literature. This could also imply that their relationship was fragile and it could be suggested that the relationship was always doomed. The phrase suspension of disbelief was thought of by the poet and philosopher, Samuel Taylor Coleridge to illustrate the use of non-realistic elements in literature. The thrum of their blood is referred to as percussion, literally this suggests a thumping heartbeat. But as the word percussion has connotations of drama and passion, the poet could also be referring to a great work of art. On the other hand, it could refer to the relationships and the collisions within it. Duffy begins to refer to something as minor. Through using the word minor, Duffy may be referring to the minor key in music, which sounds sad, although on the other hand, she may be referring to minor as unimportant. Duffy has previously made reference to percussion and great artwork, this helps to exaggerate the reduction, as it gradually builds up. Alternatively, great artwork and percussion are negative images to the poet and could be referred to as unimportant. Carol Ann Duffy uses alliteration when describing their kiss. She describes it as chiselled, chilling marble. The phrase suggests denial as it would be impossible for marble to kiss, as marble is cold, it suggests its unfriendly, artificial and harsh; it can also be linked to the topic of art through marble sculptures. This again, reinforces the negativity of art in this poem. The poet states that their promises are locked into soundless stone. Once again, the word locked has negative connotations of imprisonment. There is also another example of alliteration; soundless stone, which has a soft and lyrical feel to it. This has a big impact on the tone of the poem, as it sounds less harsh than the rest of the poem. The poet goes on to say Or fizzled into poems. Fizzling is literally to make a hissing sound and could suggest something dying out weakly. This is most likely to be referring to the relationship. Duffy echoes Shakespeares idea of the timelessness of his poetry, which allows it to stand as a fitting monument to his love; she adopts the idea of art being a fit analogy for the actual experience and emotion of love. This also echoes the arguments she has made previously against language, elsewhere, the art here stands as a poor substitute for the thing itself, the imagined beauty the relationship was thought to hold before it died. She goes on to describe their voice as dried flowers. The dried flowers are a faint imitation of their former selves, possessing only a fraction of the beauty of their living alternatives, so her voice could also be seen to be a pale substitute for the emotions and feelings they wanted to discuss. In context, the phrase dried flowers also shows the loss or death of their own relationship. In the third stanza, the tone becomes more dramatic; the poet suggests there is no choice for love. She also puts across her point that without love, life is empty and desolate. This is evident when the poet says huge theatres for the echoes we left. This could indicate a sense of solitude. Towards the end of the poem, Carol Ann Duffy uses a rhyming couplet. This is to signify the end lines of the poem. She also changes to second and third person using words such as your and my. This could indicate the separation of the two people towards the end. Whereas throughout the poem, she uses first person. The fact that she uses first person throughout the poem indicates how close the two people used to be. From the evidence stated, it is clear that in the poem Art Duffy views love and relationships in a negative way. In each of her poems, although she compares love to a particular subject, for example, art, she highlights negative similarities linking with aspects of art.

Biography of Catherine Parr, Sixth Wife of Henry VIII

Biography of Catherine Parr, Sixth Wife of Henry VIII Catherine Parr (c. 1512–Sept. 5, 1548) was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, king of England. She was reluctant to marry him- he had had his second and fifth wives executed- but saying no to a proposal from the king could have had serious consequences. She eventually was married four times, the last to her true love. Fast Facts: Catherine Parr Known For: Sixth wife of Henry VIIIAlso Known As: Katherine  or  Katharine ParreBorn: c. 1512 in London, EnglandParents: Sir Thomas Parr, Maud GreeneDied: Sept. 5, 1548 in Gloucestershire, EnglandPublished Works: Prayers and Meditations, Lamentation of a SinnerSpouse(s): Edward Borough (or Burgh), John Neville, Henry VIII, Thomas SeymourChild: Mary Seymour Early Life Catherine Parr was born in London around 1512, the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr and Maud Greene. She was the eldest of three children. Her parents were courtiers during the early years of Henry VIIIs reign. Her father was knighted at the kings 1509 coronation, and her mother was a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, his first queen, after whom Catherine was named. After her father died in 1517, Catherine was sent to live with her uncle, Sir William Parr, in Northamptonshire. There, she received a good education in Latin, Greek, modern languages, and theology. Marriages In 1529 Parr married Edward Borough (or Burgh), who died in 1533.  The next year she married John Neville, Lord Latimer, a second cousin once removed.  A Catholic, Neville was the target of Protestant rebels, who briefly held Parr and his two children hostage in 1536 to protest the kings religious policies. Neville died in 1543. Parr had been widowed twice when she became part of the household of Princess Mary, the kings daughter, and attracted Henrys attention. Parr wasnt the first woman to draw the kings eye. Henry had put aside his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and split with the Church of Rome to divorce her, so that he could marry his second wife, Anne Boleyn, only to have her executed for treason for betraying him. He had lost his third wife, Jane Seymour, who died from complications after giving birth to his only legitimate son, who was to become Edward VI. He had divorced his fourth queen, Anne of Cleves, because he was not attracted to her. He noticed Parr not long after he had had his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, executed for deceiving him. Knowing his history and, apparently, already engaged to Jane Seymours brother Thomas, Parr was naturally reluctant to marry Henry. But she also was aware that refusing him could have serious consequences for herself and her family. Marriage to Henry Parr married King Henry VIII on July 12, 1543, four months after her second husband died. By all accounts she was a patient, loving, pious wife to him in his last years of illness, disillusion, and pain. As was typical in noble circles, Parr and Henry had a number of common ancestors and were third cousins once removed in two different ways. Parr helped reconcile Henry to his two daughters, Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn. Under her influence, they were educated and restored to the succession. Parr also directed the education of her stepson, the future Edward VI, and advanced her stepchildren with Neville. Parr was sympathetic to the Protestant cause.  She could argue fine points of theology with Henry, occasionally infuriating him so much that he threatened her with execution. She probably tempered his persecution of Protestants under the Act of the Six Articles, which  reasserted some traditional Catholic doctrine into the English Church. Parr herself narrowly escaped being implicated with Anne Askew, a Protestant martyr. A 1545 warrant for her arrest was canceled when she and the king reconciled. Deaths Parr served as Henrys regent in 1544 when he was in France, but when Henry died in 1547, she was not made regent for his son Edward. Parr and her former love Thomas Seymour, who was Edwards uncle, did have some influence with Edward, including obtaining his permission to marry, which they received sometime after they had secretly married on April 4, 1547.  She also was granted permission to be called the Dowager Queen.  Henry had provided her with an allowance after his death. She also was the guardian of Princess Elizabeth after Henrys death, though this led to a scandal when rumors circulated about a relationship between Seymour and Elizabeth. Parr apparently was surprised to find herself pregnant for the first time in her fourth marriage. She gave birth to her only child, Mary Seymour, on Aug. 30, 1548, and died only a few days later, on Sept. 5, 1548, in Gloucestershire, England. The cause of death was puerperal fever, the same postpartum complication that had taken Jane Seymour. There were rumors that her husband had poisoned her, hoping to marry Princess Elizabeth. Thomas Seymour was executed for treason in 1549, a year after his wifes death.  Mary Seymour went to live with a close friend of Parr, but there are no records of her after her second birthday. Although there have been rumors, it isnt known whether she survived. Legacy Catherine Parr sacrificed her love for Seymour and married  Henry VIII, a display of loyalty to the crown that has maintained her good reputation throughout English history. She took good care of her stepchildren, providing education and culture, and strongly encouraged stepdaughter Elizabeths education, which helped to make the future  Queen Elizabeth  one of the most learned monarchs in English history. Additionally, her support of Protestantism encouraged the translation of religious works into English and furthered the cause of the  Protestant Reformation  in England. Parr left two devotional works that were published with her name after her death: Prayers and Meditations (1545) and Lamentation of a Sinner (1547). In 1782, Parrs coffin was found in a ruined chapel at Sudeley Castle, where she had lived with Seymour up to her death. In time, a proper tomb and memorial were built there. Sources Catherine Parr. New World Encyclopedia.Katherine Parr. TudorHistory.org