‘The Cord’ is at the back of the collection with the autobiographical poems but it could be said to be a transition poem as, similar to the start of the collection, it has a dark, fairytale-like quality. It alludes to Rumpelstiltskin through the “golden spinning wheel” in a similar way to how ‘The Diet’ alludes to Alice in Wonderland, with the protagonist becoming “the height of a thimble” and going on an adventure. This allusion to Rumplestiltskin could relate to the mother worrying about losing her child to their obsession with the cord. This theme of allusion to fairytales runs throughout the collection, although, not necessarily to specific fairytales as in this poem and more to the genre as a whole.
Another way in which ‘The Cord’ has a fairytale-like feel is through its use of accentual verse with each line having three fixed stresses. This makes the poem sound like a fairytale by using natural speech patterns of spoken English in an impressively compelling way. It is the variation of this that emphasises the atmosphere of panic in the line “which disappeared, a waving hand; shadows”. This variation emphasises the denouement and gives the feeling of a happy ending when the accentual verse returns. This is due to the calming nature of accentual verse as it is a constant meter with no surprises. The chronological order of the poem, from birth to motherhood, further develops the stylistic allusion to fairytales in a very simple but very effective way. The interesting thing about the chronological order is that it does not come to an end, as the journey is not complete, as is found in a usual fairytale. This makes the poem almost bathetic. ‘Work’, similarly to ‘The Cord’, is in a chronological order but rather than the use of accentual verse for the style of an old folk tale it uses asyndetic listing such as “took in washing, ironing, sewing”. The asyndetic listing increases drama throughout the poem and emphasises the workload which, while being effective for this poem would, perhaps, decrease the recognition of the underlying meaning in ‘The Cord’. These poems are both, however, supposed to be pieces of didactic art in which, like the fable ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, there is a deeper message for the reader to act on. In ‘Work’ it is the demanding nature of work and its effect on the family and in ‘The Cord’ it is to emphasise the value of mother-daughter relationships and the potential for regenerative relationships to be formed. This interpretation can also be stretched to ‘The Light Gatherer’ in which a mother describes her daughter in terms of potential.
The value of these relationships is further emphasised through the form. The poem moves away from its octosyllabic form as the girl becomes more lost, but this structure reappears on the line “but the stars were her mother’s eyes”. This insinuates, as stars are used for navigation, that her mother has guided her to adulthood and that the daughter is no longer lost. Further without the stars, her mother’s eyes, the child is in “one huge darkness”. This could relate to naivety, in relation to the common phrase of being in the dark, without the things her mother has taught her. Her mother is in the stars which could indicate that she is dead as some people believe stars are past souls. This could insinuate her mother is guiding her even after death through the things she taught her as a child. This is moving away from the heteronormative fairytale ending through the mother saving the protagonist rather than an idealised male figure. Similarly, ‘The Long Queen’ ends in the union of sisterhood. These endings are ones of true love that discreetly question romantic love’s role and insinuates that familial love and platonic love are of more importance.
The cord itself could symbolises familial ties. It could literally be the umbilical cord embellished with the child’s imagination. The child in the story is very imaginative as demonstrated through the “wind in the grass scribbling sentences wherever she looked” (perhaps leading to the interpretation that the child is Duffy). Cutting the cord could symbolise forming their own identity. As the foetus is literally attached to their mother through the umbilical cord; but also metaphorically as they do not have their own identity. They are generally unnamed and are rarely referred to as their own separate being.
As the protagonist ages the cord loses value. It starts off as “gold” then becomes “silver” and finally becomes “rope”. This could again be forming their own identity so the familial ties matter less and therefore are of less value. They are no longer just their family and are a separate entity in their own right. This theme of identity is covered in ‘Tall’ and ‘Loud’. In ‘Loud’ the protagonist literally becomes louder to gain her own identity so in this poem the voice is a metaphor rather than the cord.
Urgency is created in this poem with internal rhymes which feature in almost every poem in the collection. Examples of these rhymes in ‘The Cord’ include “young” and “spun” or “oak” and “poke”. These give the poem a lyrical feel similar to the style of a fairytale or myth. Duffy has also used end rhymes in this poem for example “real” and “wheel”, which is a more unusual technique in this collection, along with a flurry of questions to create a sense of urgency. The urgency being the child’s desire to discover the cord. This sense of urgency is crafted in a similar way in ‘The Woman Who Shopped’ in which the end rhyme between “him” and “brim” emphasises the shopping addiction of the woman. Another poem in the collection, called ‘Wish’, creates urgency through a rapid, repeated use of caesura and enjambment. Although these techniques are used considerably less in ‘The Cord’ they are still present and add to the pressing atmosphere whilst effectively maintaining the style of a fairytale.
In conclusion, ‘The Cord’ demonstrates motherhood as a gratifying experience. Within this theme it raises the notion of rewarding, positive relationships between women as individuals in a way that is unique to the other poems in this collection.
Another way in which ‘The Cord’ has a fairytale-like feel is through its use of accentual verse with each line having three fixed stresses. This makes the poem sound like a fairytale by using natural speech patterns of spoken English in an impressively compelling way. It is the variation of this that emphasises the atmosphere of panic in the line “which disappeared, a waving hand; shadows”. This variation emphasises the denouement and gives the feeling of a happy ending when the accentual verse returns. This is due to the calming nature of accentual verse as it is a constant meter with no surprises. The chronological order of the poem, from birth to motherhood, further develops the stylistic allusion to fairytales in a very simple but very effective way. The interesting thing about the chronological order is that it does not come to an end, as the journey is not complete, as is found in a usual fairytale. This makes the poem almost bathetic. ‘Work’, similarly to ‘The Cord’, is in a chronological order but rather than the use of accentual verse for the style of an old folk tale it uses asyndetic listing such as “took in washing, ironing, sewing”. The asyndetic listing increases drama throughout the poem and emphasises the workload which, while being effective for this poem would, perhaps, decrease the recognition of the underlying meaning in ‘The Cord’. These poems are both, however, supposed to be pieces of didactic art in which, like the fable ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, there is a deeper message for the reader to act on. In ‘Work’ it is the demanding nature of work and its effect on the family and in ‘The Cord’ it is to emphasise the value of mother-daughter relationships and the potential for regenerative relationships to be formed. This interpretation can also be stretched to ‘The Light Gatherer’ in which a mother describes her daughter in terms of potential.
The value of these relationships is further emphasised through the form. The poem moves away from its octosyllabic form as the girl becomes more lost, but this structure reappears on the line “but the stars were her mother’s eyes”. This insinuates, as stars are used for navigation, that her mother has guided her to adulthood and that the daughter is no longer lost. Further without the stars, her mother’s eyes, the child is in “one huge darkness”. This could relate to naivety, in relation to the common phrase of being in the dark, without the things her mother has taught her. Her mother is in the stars which could indicate that she is dead as some people believe stars are past souls. This could insinuate her mother is guiding her even after death through the things she taught her as a child. This is moving away from the heteronormative fairytale ending through the mother saving the protagonist rather than an idealised male figure. Similarly, ‘The Long Queen’ ends in the union of sisterhood. These endings are ones of true love that discreetly question romantic love’s role and insinuates that familial love and platonic love are of more importance.
The cord itself could symbolises familial ties. It could literally be the umbilical cord embellished with the child’s imagination. The child in the story is very imaginative as demonstrated through the “wind in the grass scribbling sentences wherever she looked” (perhaps leading to the interpretation that the child is Duffy). Cutting the cord could symbolise forming their own identity. As the foetus is literally attached to their mother through the umbilical cord; but also metaphorically as they do not have their own identity. They are generally unnamed and are rarely referred to as their own separate being.
As the protagonist ages the cord loses value. It starts off as “gold” then becomes “silver” and finally becomes “rope”. This could again be forming their own identity so the familial ties matter less and therefore are of less value. They are no longer just their family and are a separate entity in their own right. This theme of identity is covered in ‘Tall’ and ‘Loud’. In ‘Loud’ the protagonist literally becomes louder to gain her own identity so in this poem the voice is a metaphor rather than the cord.
Urgency is created in this poem with internal rhymes which feature in almost every poem in the collection. Examples of these rhymes in ‘The Cord’ include “young” and “spun” or “oak” and “poke”. These give the poem a lyrical feel similar to the style of a fairytale or myth. Duffy has also used end rhymes in this poem for example “real” and “wheel”, which is a more unusual technique in this collection, along with a flurry of questions to create a sense of urgency. The urgency being the child’s desire to discover the cord. This sense of urgency is crafted in a similar way in ‘The Woman Who Shopped’ in which the end rhyme between “him” and “brim” emphasises the shopping addiction of the woman. Another poem in the collection, called ‘Wish’, creates urgency through a rapid, repeated use of caesura and enjambment. Although these techniques are used considerably less in ‘The Cord’ they are still present and add to the pressing atmosphere whilst effectively maintaining the style of a fairytale.
In conclusion, ‘The Cord’ demonstrates motherhood as a gratifying experience. Within this theme it raises the notion of rewarding, positive relationships between women as individuals in a way that is unique to the other poems in this collection.
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