Carol Ann Duffy - Havisham (Overview - Business Office 3)

This is the last part of the overview to Carol Ann Duffy's poesy form "Havisham" which covers stanzas three and four of the poesy form inwards damage of content, namely: the puce curses, might of words together with degeneration to an animal state, the incubus picture together with vampirism, the white veil, marriage ceremony cake, honeymoon, reddish balloon together with necrophilic thoughts together with terminal stutter present inwards a poesy form that comes total circle through the selection of words used at the beginning of each stanza.

Part 1 gave a brief biography, discussed the poem's construction (meter together with rhymes), the sounds introduce inwards the poesy form together with analyzed the persona of Miss Havisham (what is known well-nigh her from Great Expectations together with how Duffy treats her case).

Part 2 dealt with various points introduce inwards stanzas 1 together with 2 (enjambment, inability to escape, the notions of fourth dimension together with ageing, Miss Havisham's homicidal thoughts, greenish pebbles, ropes on the dorsum of her hands, the concept of the spinster, the yellowing dress together with slewed mirror, the bed, wall, wardrobe).

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Carol Ann Duffy - Havisham

Content

stanza 3

begins amongst the halt of the enjambment present at the halt of stanza 2: beginning, ending, splitting are concepts dear to Miss Havisham

time together with thought select operate a blend of contradictions:

sentences/thoughts start at the halt of a stanza together with halt at the get-go of some other ane
sentences halt or start inwards the middle of lines
the logic of starting at the get-go together with finishing at the halt is lost to this adult woman who cannot escape retentiveness yet sees fourth dimension progress
she is a static beingness inwards a dynamic environment: her thoughts revolve to a greater extent than or less the same someone or trial inwards her life, yet she feels the weight of “whole days” (stanza 2) plough into “some nights”, her agony prolonged yesteryear her obsession amongst her hurting (the whole poesy form is a witness to this) together with her awareness of the ravages of time
all this reveals her nation of mind: zero changes for her equally she constantly recalls events, yet everything does alter equally fourth dimension ages her ⇒ this leads to insanity (the inability to alive inwards the hither together with straightaway together with railroad train mentally equally your torso develops is what causes insanity)

stanza 1 contained prayers, this stanza curses

puce

is a black reddish to purple-brown coloring

it was linked to the coloring bloodstains left on bed sheets (either from flea droppings or crushed fleas)

etymologically it comes from the French “puce” which agency flea, but is too used equally a term of endearment important “love” or “sweetie”
even to a greater extent than interesting is the phrase “mettre la puce à l’oreille de quelqu’un” = set a flea inwards someone’s ear important larn someone thinking well-nigh something, start to select doubts well-nigh something

originally, the phrase meant “cause or select an amorous desire” inwards the 13^th century (viz. here)
in the 17^th century, the phrase changed to hateful “be worried or agitated”
the lines that follow the “puce curses” incorporate both wish together with agitation

in sum, “puce” evokes lack of hygiene, illness, decay

sounds non words

Miss Havisham has degenerated to a babbling animate beingness state
in stanza 2 she describes her cries equally caws (of a crow or raven)

after telling us well-nigh her days, she straightaway proceeds to depict her nights

the lost torso over me = incubus

male demon inwards folklore/ myths who seduces women equally they sleep
the Latin root of the give-and-take incubare (“lie upon”, cf. “incubate”) evokes an picture of such a demon lying on or weighing heavily on a woman, exactly equally the thought of Miss Havisham’s lover weighs on her mind
all the images that follow inwards this stanza are the trial of her imagined sexual run across amongst Compeyson – alluded to hither equally a demon lover – exactly a torso now, non a human being, lost to her forever
see connections to vampirism below ("bite")

note the emphasis on speech / the might of words throughout the poem

acts of speaking present: prayers, cawing “Nooooo”, curses, sounds non words
presence of torso parts connected to speech: fluent tongue, mouth
Miss Havisham’s nightmare started amongst deceitful words of love together with fidelity uttered yesteryear Compeyson, together with straightaway continues amongst her inability to arrive at a coherent sentence

it's equally if she has turned her dorsum on coherent speech communication after seeing what it tin Pb to

Compeyson’s betrayal has robbed her of ane of the primary traits that brand us human which is linguistic communication / communication together with straightaway she tin only dream of her “fluent tongue” equally compensation
her devolution from intelligibility to animality is too shown through the alter her articulators (speech organs) undergo inwards this stanza: the fluent natural language turns to a bite

connections betwixt incubi together with vampires were made equally early on equally the foremost millennium equally demon spirits sought to possess a dead torso inwards guild to inseminate their unwary woman someone victims
the similarity to folkloric vampires (pre-18^th century) – dead yet living beings (i.e. undead) – who render to their loved ones to crusade choke or other misfortune ties inwards amongst the picture nosotros select of Miss Havisham inwards this poem:

a recluse
locked away inwards her room pining for her onetime lover
wearing a yellowing dress
libidinous
desires to kill him together with alive together amongst his corpse

loss of speech communication ultimately ties inwards amongst the violence present throughout the poem: Miss Havisham’s regression to an animate beingness nation is introduce inwards her thoughts together with actions

she wants him dead
she tin imagine strangling him amongst her bare hands
love’s kisses operate bites
she stabs at her marriage ceremony cake
the purity of a white veil gives way to necrophiliac fantasies

enjambment at the halt creates a consummate partition betwixt love together with hate that are unified inwards a contradictory vogue only logical to those who are insane

Miss Havisham has these ii forces raging within her, vehement her apart which is what Duffy does yesteryear placing the 2 words apart inwards dissimilar stanzas (even though they are joined together inwards the same sentence)

stanza 4

this stanza closes the cruel bicycle Miss Havisham finds herself trapped in

if nosotros await at the 1^st words of each stanza, nosotros consider the primary thought that reigns inwards her hear inwards each stanza

stanza 1: “Beloved” (her foremost thoughts are of her onetime fiancé, her love of him mixed amongst hatred equally nosotros abide by out when nosotros read ii words after this one)
stanza 2: “Spinster” (her thoughts plough upon herself, she describes her introduce state)
stanza 3: “to me?” (she ponders what she has coming her way, what she gets out of all this; this is why inwards that stanza she talks well-nigh the love she was supposed to savour which can only live imagined each night)
stanza 4: “hate” (from “beloved” nosotros come upwardly full circle to “hate” equally Miss Havisham’s the world – exposed inwards this poesy form – is enclosed betwixt the limitations laid upwardly yesteryear love together with hatred)

imagery of matrimony / weddings

the 3 things mentioned inwards this paragraph all follow the logical sequence of events of a normal wedding
white veil

event 1 = the bridal veil worn at weddings
in ancient times: veils were worn to ward of evil spirits that wanted to foreclose the bride’s happiness

in sentiment of this explanation, the irony is obvious: the veil doesn’t protect the bride from unhappiness but is in that place to maintain the hatred locked within Miss Havisham forever

later: symbol of chastity, modesty (not at all the instance amongst what was seen inwards stanza 3)
the lifting of the veil during the ceremony is symbolic of a wedding’s consummation (the veil symbolizing the hymen): in that place is no lifting here, however, equally Miss Havisham never experiences the marriage ceremony night
instead, she tastes (as she “bites” inwards stanza 3) the hatred that springs from love behind a veil that has never been lifted

wedding cake

event 2 = the bridal cake at the marriage ceremony reception
in ancient times: a unproblematic wheat or barley cake was broken over the bride’s caput to select practiced luck
in the Middle Ages: it was thrown at the bride to growth fertility or baked goods were piled upwardly high together with if the duad managed to osculation over the pile without toppling it, this meant a successful lifelong matrimony
in general, such cakes symbolized fertility together with prosperity
the cutting of the cake is carried out yesteryear both bride together with groom inwards our days

before, it was exactly the bride who cutting together with distributed pieces to the guests – in ane trial to a greater extent than a symbol of fecundity
now, both cutting the cake together together with give each other a combat to eat: this symbolizes the assistance each gives to the other + the hope to render

in the poesy form Miss Havisham stabs at the marriage ceremony cake, non cuts it

this instance shows her loneliness together with anger lashing out
she is lonely inwards an endeavour that would ordinarily consist of a loving hubby together with married adult woman sharing their foremost seize amongst teeth together (note the relation to the “bite” inwards stanza 2)
instead, Miss Havisham is left lonely to bargain amongst the cake
not able to larn her hands on Compeyson to kill him, she stabs at the nearest affair she tin larn her hands on that symbolically constitutes a purpose of him (thus far, the marriage ceremony clothing & white veil that are remnants of the marriage ceremony are items alone pertaining to her)

this is the foremost fourth dimension inwards the poesy form nosotros consider an active verb inwards yesteryear unproblematic tense beingness used: hence far, introduce tenses were used (present perfect, introduce simple, introduce continuous or these tenses amongst the helping verb omitted)

the only other cases are inwards the enquiry “who did this to me?” together with the hypothetical “could” inwards the 1^st stanza when she talks well-nigh strangling him
this is the foremost instance where she describes an activeness she herself did which she hasn’t imagined herself doing
this judgement appears exactly before the ane where the imperative “Give me” is used, showing a to a greater extent than assertive side to Miss Havisham

honeymoon

tradition similar to today’s began inwards the early on 19^th century: upper bird families would locomote to see relatives who couldn’t attend the wedding
origins:

bridal kidnapping: grooms hid their brides for ane or to a greater extent than months from her identify unit of measurement until

families had to consent to avoid world disgrace
brides became pregnant

mead: newlyweds were given a month’s worth of mead (fermented honey) to drink

it was believed to live an aphrodisiac together with was gifted to guarantee pregnancy

in the poem: positive, romantic connotation the give-and-take “honeymoon” evokes (married bliss) clashes amongst the picture of the “male corpse” equally partner

the reddish balloon

it is a childhood picture which bursts inwards her face

her betrayal marked the halt of all that was pure together with ethical inwards her mind
all her thoughts are straightaway homicidal, vengeful, necrophilic: she becomes an aberration in ane trial she becomes disillusioned
the balloon marks this 2d of disillusionment

this buoyant toy of innocence mingles amongst her night-time fantasies (her thoughts blend amongst reality)

if nosotros operate along her thought of biting from the previous stanza, Miss Havisham awakes from her dreams amongst a blood reddish explosion inwards her human face upwardly

necrophilia

cf. the lost torso from stanza 3 for connections to incubi + vampirism
Rosman together with Resnick categorized the motives behind such behavior:

to possess a non-resisting / non-rejecting partner
to reunite amongst a loved one
conscious sexual attraction to corpses
feeling of comfort / to overcome feelings of isolation
as an facial expression of might over a homicide victim
most of their assay out subjects had multiple motives, together with the same seems truthful of Miss Havisham (all these categories apply to her except the 3^rd because no prove is introduce inwards the poesy form to corroborate)

it seems only natural that Miss Havisham, wanting Compeyson dead but too a companion yesteryear her side, would select necrophilic desires
her distress doesn’t exactly arise from her lack of fellowship but too sexual fulfillment, which is why inwards the lastly poesy she stresses the fact that non only the heart has suffered from this entire ordeal

as stated earlier, her realization is ane of fourth dimension wreaking havoc on her physically

she knows what she looks similar equally she gazes at herself inwards the slewed mirror, together with sees she’s only gibe for a cadaver (the dead amongst the dead, to alter the quote ‘let the dead bury the dead’)
it's non her biological clock ticking in this instance equally much equally her 'sexual fulfillment clock'

stutter (“b-b-b-breaks”)

shows she’s no longer capable of speaking fluently (cf. speech communication / the might of words from stanza 3 above)
though stuttering is genetically connected, it is aggravated yesteryear stress: the greater the tension felt, the to a greater extent than probable a someone predisposed to stuttering volition display this impediment
elicits audio of multiple fragmentation (as if she is bringing forth the audio of a pump or herself keen a divulge of times)
also implies she’s ageing: repetitive “b” evokes an picture of someone running out of breath (interesting to complaint that a farther implication is that she is left spent at the halt of her dream sequence that began inwards stanza 3)

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Carol Ann Duffy - Havisham (Overview - Business Office 3)

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