Compare the way in which poets create a threatening or menacing

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Compare the way in which poets create a threatening or menacing

atmosphere in four poems. Write about Salome by Carol Ann Duffy and

compare it with one poem from Simon Armitage and two from the pre 1914

bank.

The poem ‘Salome’, by Carol Ann Duffy, is written in the first person,

seemingly from the perspective of a woman given indicators such as the

fact that the person has been involved intimately with a man; ‘the

reddish beard’. The first three lines of the poem, all of which uses

enjambment, only come to make sense as the poem is read, meaningless

on their own. Carol Ann Duffy then immediately establishes an ominous

ambience to the poem with the line ‘woke up…head…beside me’. The odd

singularity of the head being mentioned by itself, as opposed to a

body or person suggests that perhaps the head is indeed detached from

its body, a suggestion that is later confirmed.

The first stanza focuses upon the apparent victim and the speaker’s

reaction and opinion of him. Lines such as ‘What did it matter?’ and

‘What was his name?’ create a flippant nonchalance to the speaker in a

chilling manner as, far from feeling remorse for these appalling and

condemnable actions, she clearly feels very little, appearing

indifferent. Words used such as ‘colder’ and ‘dry’ further establish a

menacing atmosphere, and Carol Ann Duffy introduces very contemporary

ideas and slang to the poem, such as cigarettes, and expressions such

as ‘turf out’, ‘booze’ and ‘ain’t life a bitch’. There are internal

rhymes throughout the stanzas, all with words with the suffix ‘-er’;

for example, ‘butter’, ‘clatter’, ‘clutter’, ‘patter’ and ‘batter’ –

all words that appear in the second stanza. Along with the general

tone of the speaker, these ...

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not match the previous speakers makes the poem less threatening when

compared to, for example, ‘Salome’. The speaker in ‘The Laboratory’ is

much more visibly unbalanced, entering into a ‘black humour’ category

along with ‘Salome’ because of its rhyming scheme. The poem’s rhyming

scheme further backs this idea; the rhythm of the poem, ‘they know…

what they do’ creates a lighter effect. This indicates that Browning

intended to the poem to be more comic then horrific as it so

outrageous, especially in comparison to the quite, subdued

ruthlessness of the speaker in ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Salome’. The

poem creates a vaguely menacing atmosphere in its topic, premeditated

murder, but the way in it is written makes it very different from the

other three, which are much darker and far more threatening in the

atmosphere they create for the reader.

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