Ithaca: Poet & Context

Carol Ann Duffy, a Scottish poet and playwright, is renowned for her thought-provoking and deeply personal poetry.
Born in 1955, Duffy’s upbringing in Glasgow and Stafford greatly influenced her works, reflecting themes of identity, gender, and social inequalities.
In 2009, she became the first female and the first openly gay poet laureate in the United Kingdom, marking a significant milestone in British literature.
Duffy’s work tends to subvert traditional poetic forms and challenge societal norms, showcasing a unique blend of empathy, humour and insight.

“Ithaca” is part of Duffy’s 2011 collection ‘The World’s Wife’, wherein she reimagines the stories of women traditionally overshadowed by their famous husbands in mythology and history.
The poem presents a modern interpretation of Homer’s Odyssey, focusing on Penelope’s perspective, thus challenging the traditional male orientation of the epic.
The title, “Ithaca”, is the island home of Odysseus and Penelope. While in the Odyssey, Ithaca symbolises the end of a long journey and the longing for home, in Duffy’s poem it becomes a symbol of monotony and dissatisfaction.
The poetic voice of Penelope is filled with weariness and sarcasm, reflecting Duffy’s consistent engagement with the idea of voice and perspective in her poetry.
Written in free verse, Duffy utilises a conversational tone further highlighting the banality of Penelope’s existence while Odysseus is away, appearing to comment on the gender inequalities and societal expectations of women.