Comparing Carol Ann Duffys Havisham and Robert...

Comparing Carol Ann Duffys Havisham and Robert Brownings The Laboratory In the poem â€Å"Havisham†, Carol Ann Duffy presents the subject as an old, embittered woman with â€Å"ropes on the back of her hands†. In â€Å"The Laboratory† by Robert Browning the subject is a strong and determined, but very jealous and embittered, young woman. Both poems are written in the first person in the form of a dramatic monologue. Carol Ann Duffy writes about the feelings of rejection, isolation and desolation that a woman who has been jilted at the alter by her husband might feel. I think that feelings such as this in both of the poems have been based on either literature or historical events, for example â€Å"Havisham† was most likely based on Miss Havisham, a†¦show more content†¦Colour plays a considerable role in both of the poems. In â€Å"Havisham† Carol Ann Duffy describes her subject’s eyes as being â€Å"dark green pebbles† and her â€Å"puce curses†, these dark colours emphasise the lady’s violent, raging jealousy. In â€Å"The Laboratory† the lady enjoys the colours, saying â€Å"And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,† the lady’s unhealthy obsession with the poisons exposes her true, insane, twisted, fanatical nature. Alliteration is used in both the poems â€Å"Havisham† and â€Å"The Laboratory†. In â€Å"Havisham† the last word is â€Å"b-b-b-breaks†, I think that this suggests that the subject of the poem is about to break down or cry. â€Å"Moisten and mash up thy paste† and â€Å"Pound at thy powder† are examples of alliteration in â€Å"The Laboratory†. These are used to suggest the woman’s angry rage. Although both of the poems are written in, more or less, equal stanzas, there is no real rhythm or rhyme scheme to either of them. In â€Å"The Laboratory†, however, there are a few feminine rhymes where the stress is on the first syllable, such as â€Å"smithy† and â€Å"whitely†. This lack of rhyme and the use of enjambant and caesura emphasises even more that these women are thinking, interacting or reminiscing. The two women’s desires are exposes in both of the poems. In â€Å"The Laboratory† her obsession with the colours and the different kinds of poison has a slight