Havisham Carol Ann Duffy

Havisham Dramatic monologue First person narration Gives the reader an insight into the

mental and emotional state of the character.

Havisham Told from the perspective of Miss

Havisham, a character from Dickens’ novel “Great Expectations”, the poem reveals the emotional toll that being jilted by her fiancé in her youth has had on the ageing speaker. Driven mad by despair and grief, Havisham fantasises about taking violent revenge on the man who wronged her, but occasionally reveals glimpses of tenderness towards him.

Havisham – Title Dickens’ character is Miss Havisham,

but the title of the poem is simply “Havisham”. The implication here could be that the pain of spinsterhood is so great that the title “Miss” needs to obliterated, as it serves as a torturous reminder of the speaker’s unmarried state.

Havisham – Stanza 1 “Beloved sweetheart bastard”

Oxymoron/Paradox/Contrast – How can one be both a “beloved sweetheart” and a “bastard”?

“Beloved sweetheart” – suggests a deep love and affection.

“bastard” – highly emotive word choice, demonstrating the hatred she has for her former fiance.

Alliteration of the plosive “b” sound – suggests the words are being spat out aggressively by the speaker, helping to convey her anger.

Minor sentence – no verbs; suggestive perhaps of Miss Havisham’s inaction.

Havisham – Stanza 1 “Not a day since then I haven’t

wished him dead”.

“Not a day since” - highlights her longstanding desire for revenge.

“Wished him dead” – “wished” conveys the intensity of the hatred; she strongly desires his demise.

Havisham – Stanza 1 “Prayed”

“prayed” – Ordinarily one would seek divine intervention to secure a positive outcome, but here Havisham is asking for God’s help to exact revenge on the man who jilted her.

Havisham “dark green” – colour has

connotations of jealousy, which suggests that Havisham is envious of those who have found romantic happiness and fulfilment.

Havisham – Stanza 1 “so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for

eyes”.

“dark green pebbles for eyes” – metaphor; suggesting she has eyes of stone. This implies that she has hardened over the years as a consequence of being jilted. It suggests she has become a cold, unfeeling, cruel person as a consequence of being misused by her fiancé.

Havisham – Stanza 1 “ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle

with”.

“ropes on the back of my hands” – another metaphor suggesting the hardening of Miss Havisham’s personality. Rope is a coarse material that can cause a friction burn. This might indicate that Havisham is capable of inflicting pain. Moreover, rope is formed from twisted hemp, which complements Havisham’s twisted personality.

“strangle” – continues the violent tone established with “wished him dead”, which underlines the extent of Havisham’s murderous desire for revenge.

Havisham – Stanza 2 “Spinster” - One word sentence at the

beginning of the stanza. The word, like Havisham herself, is isolated and alone. The abruptness of the sentence suggests it is being spat out, possibly conveying Havisham’s disgust at having to endure the humiliation of being labelled in such a fashion.

Havisham – Stanza 2 “I stink” – a consequence of never

changing out of her wedding dress. “and remember” – she is fixated on

the past and cannot move on with her life; she is haunted by the way in which she has been wronged.

“Whole days in bed” – inert with grief; she cannot find the motivation to move on with her life.

Havisham – Stanza 2 “cawing” – the harsh, grating cry of a

crow. Such is Havisham’s anguish, she makes a similarly unpleasant sound.

By likening her to an animal, Duffy is perhaps suggesting that Havisham has been dehumanised by her grief, which is echoed by the murderous fantasies she has about her former love.

Havisham – Stanza 2 “Nooooo” – The onomatopoeic elongated vowel

sound helps to convey Havisham’s distressed howl and underlines the depth of her despair. The howling sound also ties in with the animal imagery.

“the dress yellowing” – indicative of decay as time passes. Literally, time has turned the dress from from white to yellow; metaphorically, Havisham’s personality has also decayed as she has become increasingly bitter over time.

Havisham – stanza 2 “trembling if I open the wardrobe” – Havisham

seems to be scared at the prospect of seeing her withered and dishevelled appearance in the mirror.

“slewed mirror” – To slew is to turn or slide violently or uncontrollably. This may suggest that Havisham, angered by the devastating impact of time and despair on her appearance, has thrown the mirror aside or attempted to smash it.

“her” – Havisham refers to herself in the third person. This suggests that she doesn’t recognise the decaying figure before her. It is almost as if she refuses to acknowledge the aged spinster reflected in the mirror as herself.

Havisham – stanza 2/3 “who did this/to me? – This is an

example of enjambment, which occurs when a line of verse “runs on” to the next line. It could be argued that this reflects the restless, frenzied nature of Havisham’s disturbed mind.

“who did this” – Is it her former fiance’s fault, or is she to blame for failing to move on with her life?

Havisham – Stanza 3 “puce” – puce is a dark, reddish brown.

This bloody imagery is commensurate with Havisham’s desire to kill her former fiance.

“curses” – trying to invoke a supernatural power to inflict punishment on her fiance.

Alternatively, “curses” could refer to the use of expletives, which would underline the rage she feels for the man who jilted her.

Havisham – Stanza 3 “sounds not words” – suggests that she has become

inarticulate with rage. Rage is now her only mode of communication. Her mental decline seems to have a negative impact on her linguistic ability, an idea which is revisited in the poem’s final line. This phrase also complements the animal imagery, as like Havisham here, they too are capable only of articulating “sounds not words”.

“Some nights better, the lost body over me, my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear” - Suggests that some tenderness towards her former fiance remains. Here she is dreaming about making love to the man who jilted her.

Havisham – Stanza 3 “Some nights better, the lost body

over me – Despite her resentment towards her former fiancé, Miss Havisham seems to gain some respite from her anguished mind when she dreams of making love to him.

Havisham – Stanza 3 “my fluent tongue in its mouth in its

ear” – Here her tongue is fluent, compared to the previous assertion that it could utter only “sounds not words”. This contrast suggests that Havisham temporarily regains her composure – and possibly her sanity – when dreaming that she and her lover are still together. However, she only seems to experience this calmness while asleep.

Havisham – Stanza 3 “bite awake” – Havisham’s calmness

is short-lived. As she begins to regain consciousness her anger awakes too. “Bite” shows that she is still committed to inflicting pain on the man she blames for ruining her life. It is also commensurate with the depiction of Havisham as an animal elsewhere in the poem.

Havisham – Stanzas 3/4 “Love’s/hate” – enjambment is used

again here to highlight the contrasting feelings Havisham has for her fiance. The rapid transition from love to hate shows the disorientated and disordered state of her mind, which helps to convey her mental instability.

Havisham – Stanza 4 “A red balloon bursting in my face”

– violent imagery; the alliterative plosive “b” and word choice of “bursting” indicates a violent explosion, possibly of the speaker’s heart. “Red” connotes blood, which deepens the menacing atmosphere.

Havisham – Stanza 4 “Bang” – The isolation of the

onomatopoeic “Bang” in a sentence of its own helps to convey the awakening the speaker from her dream. The sharp, loud, aggressiveness of the sound – and its connotations with gunfire/explosions – complements Havisham’s vengeful personality.

Havisham – Stanza 4 “I stabbed at a wedding cake” –

ordinarily the happy couple would cut the cake, but Havisham stabs it, demonstrating her violent rage towards the man who ruined her happiness.

Havisham – Stanza 4 “Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon”

“Give me” – a command, which highlights the extent to which she is intent on revenge.

“ a male corpse” – she is so angry with the man who jilted her that she wants him dead.

“for a long slow honeymoon” – gruesome imagery of honeymooning with a dead body. This might suggest that Havisham is so desperate to lose her spinster status, she would be willing to wed a corpse. A corpse may appeal to her as it would allow her to control her former love in death unlike in life. More sinisterly, it could imply a sexual relationship, which would obviously indicate her insanity.

Havisham – Stanza 4 “Don’t think it’s only the hear that

b-b-breaks.” – In addition to a broken heart, the stammer suggests the fragility of Havisham’s mental state. Just as her mind is broken, her language is too, possibly reflecting the turmoil she is experiencing inside.

Havisham – Themes Destructive power of love Emotional complexity of love Love and hate Betrayal and revenge Violence Madness Despair

Havisham – Imagery “I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes” –

metaphor “ropes on the back of my hands” –

metaphor “cawing” – metaphor “red balloon bursting in my face” –

metaphor

Havisham – Sound Techniques “Beloved sweetheart bastard” –

alliterative plosive “b” “Spinster. I stink” – sibilance “Nooooo” – elongated vowel sound “ balloon bursting” and “Bang” –

onomatopoeic, alliterative and plosive “b-b-b-breaks” – stuttering “b” sound

Havisham – Form and Structure Dramatic monologue First person narration Written in free verse – the poem does not have a

fixed rhyme scheme or meter. This lends the poem an air of unpredictability, which reflects the unpredictable nature of Havisham’s moods. The lack of control here complements Havisham’s lack of self control.

Four stanzas of equal length – suggestive perhaps of some order, which is perhaps a reflection of the moments when Havisham seems more lucid and sane.

Sentence Structure “Beloved sweetheart bastard” –

minor sentence “Spinster” – one word sentence “who did this to me?” – question “Love’s/hate behind a white veil” –

enjambment “b-b-b-breaks” – stuttering “b” sound.

Contrast “Beloved sweetheart” and “bastard” “Wished him dead” and “a corpse” “Prayed” and “curses” “my fluent tongue” and “sounds not

words”.

Havisham – Tone, Mood Atmosphere Stanza 1 – First sentence is both loving

and hateful. Rest of stanza 1 – Spiteful, aggressive,

violent, murderous. Stanza 2 – Despairing and vulnerable. Stanza 3 – vengeful, erotic and violent. Stanza 4 – Spiteful, aggressive, violent

and murderous.

Havisham – Word Choice – Violence and Aggression bastard wished him dead prayed for it dark green pebbles for eyes Puce curses bite awake bursting Bang stabbed corpse

Havisham – Word Choice – Madness Give me a male corpse wished him dead I stink her (3rd person) bite awake stabbed at a wedding cake b-b-b-breaks

Havisham – Word Choice – Vulnerability and Despair Spinster I stink and remember Whole days in bed cawing Nooooo Trembling who did this to me?

Colour Symbolism Dark green pebbles the dress yellowing Puce curses white veil red balloon bursting