Elegy: Poet & Context

“Elegy: Poet & Context” Key Themes

Mourning & Loss:

• “Elegy” is a touching exploration of personal grief, focusing on the death of someone close. Carol Ann Duffy uses the structure of the traditional elegy to give voice to her mourning.

The Role of the Poet:

• Duffy’s past role as Poet Laureate is essential in understanding her approach to “Elegy”. The poem explores the role of the poet within society: to document, commemorate, and express emotional truths.

Creativity as a Response to Grief:

• Central to “Elegy” is the idea that creativity can be a salve to grief. Duffy uses the act of poetry to articulate feelings, creating a lasting memorial to the person she’s lost.

Identity, Personal and Public:

• The interplay between public and personal identities is a key theme. “Elegy” encourages reflection on the dual roles of the poet: the public figurehead and the private individual.

Linking “Elegy” to Other Poems

To “Rapture”:

• “Rapture” shares with “Elegy” an exploration of love and loss, although their perspectives are markedly different. “Elegy” deals with loss through death, whereas “Rapture” mourns a lost relationship.

To “The Bees”:

• The Bees, much like “Elegy”, reflects on the transformative power of the natural world and the potential for renewal and rebirth in the face of loss.

To “Havisham”:

• “Havisham”, like “Elegy”, also deals with grief and loss. However, in “Havisham” the loss is due to rejection in love, and the response is more about anger and revenge rather than the solemn mourning found in “Elegy”.

To “Anne Hathaway”:

• Both “Elegy” and “Anne Hathaway” use creative outputs as a way of dealing with death and loss - “Elegy” through writing and “Anne Hathaway” through acting.

In conclusion, “Elegy” shows Duffy’s adept use of traditional forms in innovative ways to express raw emotions and explore her roles as a poet and an individual.