Imagery
Carol Ann Duffy utilizes a lot of of concrete detail when describing the images in her poem. The concrete detail allows the reader to effectively create the scenes described in the poems. The more vivid the image, the more the disturbed and disgusted the reader would feel.
When she first describes St. John's head, she describes his hair as dark, rather matted, and his "reddish " beard as "several shades lighter". This detail helps paint a picture in the reader's mind of a man's head with matted hair and a red beard. These descriptions all apply that there is blood on the head and that the head is maybe dislocated from the rest of its body but the context of the poem makes the description of the head seem normal and suggest that the head has red hair. Which implies that the poem is just about an average on night stand.
She then creates the picture of the "very deep lines around the eyes". This has the reader assume that the head is in a smiling expression. This false sense of security that is being created is carried on throughout the poem until the end of the second stanza. The assumption that the poem is about a one night stand gets shut down once she depicts the lips as "colder than pewter". Since the feeling of cold is usually associated with death.
"for tea, dry toast, no butter" (line 16) is an anachronism, meaning that elements that are out of time is utilised . Duffy uses this technique to portray Salome as a "modern-day figure". "and there, like I said- and ain't life a bitch" is another example. "ain't" is colloquial and is a contemporary language. Duffy on purposely used the word "bitch" and "fags" to portray Salome as a "normal" figure who swears, distancing her from a high-class figure. She is depicted as the exaggerated version of a stereotypical slovenly women by the details such as "I needed to clean up my act, get fitter, cut out the booze and the fags and the sex" (lines 25-27), meaning that she has to rethink over about the life she lives and the woeful action that she takes.
"so rang for the maid (17)" shows how Salome is from a high status family, a daughter of Herodis and a step daughter of Herod Antipas by having a maid to serve her. In addition, it can also portray how Salome is a dominant figure.
"And, indeed, her innocent clatter (18)" personifies the noise of the activity by the use of the word "innocent". The juxtaposition of the dark figure Salome and the innocent pure maid can be highlighted, strengthening the argument on how Salome is a grotesque figure.
When she first describes St. John's head, she describes his hair as dark, rather matted, and his "reddish " beard as "several shades lighter". This detail helps paint a picture in the reader's mind of a man's head with matted hair and a red beard. These descriptions all apply that there is blood on the head and that the head is maybe dislocated from the rest of its body but the context of the poem makes the description of the head seem normal and suggest that the head has red hair. Which implies that the poem is just about an average on night stand.
She then creates the picture of the "very deep lines around the eyes". This has the reader assume that the head is in a smiling expression. This false sense of security that is being created is carried on throughout the poem until the end of the second stanza. The assumption that the poem is about a one night stand gets shut down once she depicts the lips as "colder than pewter". Since the feeling of cold is usually associated with death.
"for tea, dry toast, no butter" (line 16) is an anachronism, meaning that elements that are out of time is utilised . Duffy uses this technique to portray Salome as a "modern-day figure". "and there, like I said- and ain't life a bitch" is another example. "ain't" is colloquial and is a contemporary language. Duffy on purposely used the word "bitch" and "fags" to portray Salome as a "normal" figure who swears, distancing her from a high-class figure. She is depicted as the exaggerated version of a stereotypical slovenly women by the details such as "I needed to clean up my act, get fitter, cut out the booze and the fags and the sex" (lines 25-27), meaning that she has to rethink over about the life she lives and the woeful action that she takes.
"so rang for the maid (17)" shows how Salome is from a high status family, a daughter of Herodis and a step daughter of Herod Antipas by having a maid to serve her. In addition, it can also portray how Salome is a dominant figure.
"And, indeed, her innocent clatter (18)" personifies the noise of the activity by the use of the word "innocent". The juxtaposition of the dark figure Salome and the innocent pure maid can be highlighted, strengthening the argument on how Salome is a grotesque figure.