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A review by mxpiggy
The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'll preface this review by emphasising that I am not a literary scholar. I did A level English literature last year, and achieved an A* for anyone curious, but I am, by no means, someone who has studied poetry to a level of being able to offer any insightful thoughts. I am looking forward to reading some academic literature about this collection, though I opted to limit the analysis I read before writing this review so that I could share my own opinion without mindlessly parroting the opinions of people who probably have PhDs. Instead, I read resources aimed at GCSE and A level students to ensure I hadn't completely missed the point of each poem, and to enhance my understanding and connection to each poem upon rereading them.
Overall, the World's Wife was an engaging read. I've been familiar with Duffy's poetry since I was 11, so for around eight years now, and I have enjoyed the work of hers that I have read before this collection. Even when I found a poem in this collection somewhat dull or tedious, I still enjoyed Duffy's language and structure. I listened to the World's Wife as an audiobook whilst also reading a copy of the poem, so I was able to admire the sound of each poem. Admittedly, Duffy's style has influenced my own as a novice poet; I like to play around with assonance, for example. So, yeah, I greatly admire Duffy's writing style, and I hope to develop my skills to even a fraction of her level.
Additionally, I liked the storytelling of this collection. As I was unfamiliar with a lot of these characters, I was afforded the opportunity to learn about fairytales, historical figures and mythology. Actually, reading this collection sparked an interest in Greek mythology that I would like to pursue. Most of these speakers were compelling female characters, even in shorter poems like Mrs Darwin and Mrs Icarus, which presented women with Duffy's signature wit in so few lines. I thought that Duffy was very skilful in the way that she weaved modernity into the classic or historical stories of these women, allowing for mostly interesting and resonant Feminist retellings of these stories.
My favourite poems of the collection are Salome (which I was admittedly already familiar with prior to reading the whole collection) and Little Red Cap. Of all the poems, I can see myself revisiting these the most.
I do have some critical comments about this collection, though, let's face it, who am I to tell a poet laureate how to poetry? As I've already mentioned, some of these poems did feel a bit tedious, but that's a matter of personal taste.
My main issue with the World's Wife is the existence of my least favourite poem from the collection, From Mrs Tiresias. As a transgender person (though, note, I am not an AMAB or transfeminine person) I obviously dislike and disagree with the implications of this poem, that being that transgender women are not women, but men who appropriate femininity. The speaker and the poem itself discredits its transgender subject by referring to them as 'he', and paints the trans community in an uncharitable light. However, I do think that, regardless of my personal discomfort with the poem, the messaging of From Mrs Tiresias is discordant with that of the collection of a whole. Considering the fact that the World's Wife seeks to highlight the complexity and diversity of womanhood and the experiences of women, Mrs Tiresias undermines its own Feminist ideals by invalidating and mocking an unconventional experience of femininity, 'unconventional' referring to an experience outside of cisheteronormative womanhood.
At the very least, that's what I thought.
I rated this collection four stars because I really enjoy Duffy's style and way of storytelling through poetry, even if I found the occasional poem a little tedious or forgettable, and, of course, I outright dislike From Mrs Tiresias.
I may write an extended, polished piece about this specific idea on my website, once I've done some critical reading, as writing this review has reinvigorated the burnt out student in me (I'm taking some years out of education so I haven't had to write critically about a book in well over a year).
Overall, the World's Wife was an engaging read. I've been familiar with Duffy's poetry since I was 11, so for around eight years now, and I have enjoyed the work of hers that I have read before this collection. Even when I found a poem in this collection somewhat dull or tedious, I still enjoyed Duffy's language and structure. I listened to the World's Wife as an audiobook whilst also reading a copy of the poem, so I was able to admire the sound of each poem. Admittedly, Duffy's style has influenced my own as a novice poet; I like to play around with assonance, for example. So, yeah, I greatly admire Duffy's writing style, and I hope to develop my skills to even a fraction of her level.
Additionally, I liked the storytelling of this collection. As I was unfamiliar with a lot of these characters, I was afforded the opportunity to learn about fairytales, historical figures and mythology. Actually, reading this collection sparked an interest in Greek mythology that I would like to pursue. Most of these speakers were compelling female characters, even in shorter poems like Mrs Darwin and Mrs Icarus, which presented women with Duffy's signature wit in so few lines. I thought that Duffy was very skilful in the way that she weaved modernity into the classic or historical stories of these women, allowing for mostly interesting and resonant Feminist retellings of these stories.
My favourite poems of the collection are Salome (which I was admittedly already familiar with prior to reading the whole collection) and Little Red Cap. Of all the poems, I can see myself revisiting these the most.
I do have some critical comments about this collection, though, let's face it, who am I to tell a poet laureate how to poetry? As I've already mentioned, some of these poems did feel a bit tedious, but that's a matter of personal taste.
My main issue with the World's Wife is the existence of my least favourite poem from the collection, From Mrs Tiresias. As a transgender person (though, note, I am not an AMAB or transfeminine person) I obviously dislike and disagree with the implications of this poem, that being that transgender women are not women, but men who appropriate femininity. The speaker and the poem itself discredits its transgender subject by referring to them as 'he', and paints the trans community in an uncharitable light. However, I do think that, regardless of my personal discomfort with the poem, the messaging of From Mrs Tiresias is discordant with that of the collection of a whole. Considering the fact that the World's Wife seeks to highlight the complexity and diversity of womanhood and the experiences of women, Mrs Tiresias undermines its own Feminist ideals by invalidating and mocking an unconventional experience of femininity, 'unconventional' referring to an experience outside of cisheteronormative womanhood.
At the very least, that's what I thought.
I rated this collection four stars because I really enjoy Duffy's style and way of storytelling through poetry, even if I found the occasional poem a little tedious or forgettable, and, of course, I outright dislike From Mrs Tiresias.
I may write an extended, polished piece about this specific idea on my website, once I've done some critical reading, as writing this review has reinvigorated the burnt out student in me (I'm taking some years out of education so I haven't had to write critically about a book in well over a year).
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
One of the poems, From Mrs Tiresias, is highly questionable by today's standards. I'd go as far to say that it is transphobic. It reflects a lot of TERF talking points you see, implying that transgender women wear femininity like an offensive costume and invalidate cisgender women by claiming to relate to their experiences.