"Litany" by Carol Ann Duffy

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Carol Ann Duffy's Poem "Litany" has various themes contained within it with the most predominany being that of language. "Litany" is set in the ninety fifties where a young girl grows up listening to the transparent views of her mother and her friends and through the poem the girl mocks these women because of their fear of language. It looks at how the women are shocked, ashamed and most importantly scared of language and how the mother is disgusted that her daughter does not share her fear of language.

From the Paper:

"It is extremely clear from the beginning of this poem that the mother and her friends are shocked by language. "Sharp hands poised over biscuits as a word / was spelled out." The word "sharp" relates to the harsh atmosphere in the room when the women are discussing "embarrassing" topics. As "poised" means stopped I feel that this word adds to the tension in the room as the women are frozen in shock. Because the women spell out their "shocking" words this shows that they feel too ashamed or scared to just simply say them. I feel that these women have no real understanding of language as they are so shocked by the most harmless words."

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