Havisham and Anne Hathaway Poem Comparison Essay

The poems Havisham and Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy both portray two women thinking some men however they have very opposite emotions. The vocaliser in Havisham feels a mix of emotions but mainly bitter hatred and violence towards the homo who left her at the altar. Anne Hathaway, however, thinks very fondly of Shakespeare in the second poem. Both poems involve strong emotions and the use of the first person in each helps to secure the emotions seem more personal and immediate.The first three words of Havisham are beloved sweetheart bastard, this oxymoron shows the speakers contrasting emotions towards her lover she utilise to love him but now hates him for leaving her. The speaker in Anne Hathaway however, recognizes Shakespeare as My living laughing love, she has affectionate memories of him and even though he is beat(p) she talks as if he were alive. The speaker in Havisham has been completely consumed by her hatred. She says there is not a day since then/I havent wishe d him dead. She is unable to stop thinking about him she can neither forgive nor forget him.It seems that Anne Hathaway, too, often thinks about her loved one. She, however, telephones him in the context of the cheat we loved in and remembers how blissful and contented she felt with him in that bed. Anne Hathaway uses vivid imagery to describe Shakespeare and their bed. The speaker describes their bed as a spinning creative activity/of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas. It is as if when she is in bed with Shakespeare she is in one of his plays, in some exotic location or enchanted, magical world. Imagery is also used to describe the effects that the intense anger has had on missy Havisham.When she looks in the mirror she says Her, myself, who did this to me? This shows that her appearance seems unfamiliar to her and she is shocked by her transformation. She now has dark green pebbles for eye, this suggests she is stony and dead inside, unable to feel love because of the pain she has suffered. She also now has ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with by give tongue to this it shows not just how she has physically changed but also shows her murderous thoughts. Both Havisham and Anne Hathaway involve beds.In Anne Hathaway, Anne and Shakespeares bed is the stage for romance and drama, and period in bed with him Anne feels like hed written me, as if he has brought her into being. In their bed they are making poetry together, whilst in their silk hat bed, guests are dribbling prose. Miss Havisham, however, is alone in her bed, it is devoid of romance. Instead her bed is saturated with grief and hatred as all she does is stink and remember, she is not making poetry in her bed, instead she spends whole days/in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall.In her bed she fantasises having her sweethearts lost body over her, and she imagines her fluent tongue in its mouth, this macabre image shows how underneath her anger Miss Havisham feels lonely. The s tructures used for the poems transfigure. Anne Hathaway is written in the form of a sonnet. This form was often used by Shakespeare so it is fitting that the character of Anne Hathaway should use it too. In Havisham the structure looks orderly with four lines in each verse but this contrasts with the content of the poem and doesnt reflect Miss Havishams confusion.The characters in both of the poems are holding onto memories of their loved ones. Miss Havisham cannot stop thinking about the day her sweetheart left her. She has been unable to move on and she is even still wearing her yellowing wedding dress. Anne Hathaway says she is holding onto the extraordinary memories of Shakespeare, in the casket of my widows head, this is an apt metaphor because a casket is where you put valuable items and she is therefore keeping her memories safe. Both poems vary in nature. Anne Hathaway is quite a sensual poem.Havisham, however is quite an angry and at times violent poem, for example in the final verse the speaker says I stabbed at a wedding-cake Give me a antheral corpse for a long slow honeymoon Her stabbing shows her violent and maniacal behaviour, and when she says male corpse she is showing her underlying hatred of men and maliciousness towards them. Havisham is a poem full of grief and regret while Anne Hathaway is a celebration of Anne Hathaway and Shakespeares love. The women in both poems behave in very different manners and feel very differently towards their loved ones.