Analysis of “Prayer” by Carol Ann Duffy - 1755 Words

Analysis of â€Å"Prayer† by Carol Ann DuffyLouise Erdrich Yue Jiang 105034154 The Prayer, written in 1993 by, Carol Ann DuffyLouise Erdrich, has a close relationship with Julia Kristeva’s essay â€Å"Revolution in Poetic Language†. According to psychoanalysis, when people are babies, they are irrational and emotional. All their need is to be cared for. Their needs should be demandedmet, either for food, or caring or other things. A baby considers the person who offers satisfies them this need as â€Å"mother†. In addition, all their language and image of the world in this stage are acquired through the mother. The essay, â€Å"Revolution in Poetic Language†, written by Julia Kristeva, selected in The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism says†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, it lets the minims in, which may mean something that can comfort her and ease her. It is a way of searching for the peace and tranquility of heart. â€Å"So me nights, although we are faithless, the truth enters our heart, that small familiar pain; then a man will stand stock-still, hearing his youth in the distant Latin chanting of a train.† (DuffyErdrich, P2007)6. Truth always hurts people, especially when they are faithless. The third and fourth lines of the second quatrain give such an image of a man, though painful, heartbreaking, seeing his youth far away in the darkness, hearing the chanting, which makes him reflect about himself, find his identity and realise the world. This quatrain reveals the ruthlessness of reality, and how much people are longing for the care-free and warm, comforting babyhood. In the â€Å"Revolution in Poetic Language†, KristevaJulia cited that, â€Å"Freud notes that the most instinctual drive is the death drive. In this way, the term ‘drive’ denotes waves of attack against stases, which are themselves constituted by the repetition of these charges; together, charges and stases lead to no identity (not even that of the ‘body proper’) that could be seen as a result of their functioning.† (Kristeva, P2173)7. In this way, people go to great lengths to defendse themselves and to looking for security and identity. â€Å"Pray for us now. Grade I pianoShow MoreRelatedCarol Ann Duffy Poems Analysis8144 Words   |  33 PagesOriginally Introduction Memories play a significant role in the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy, particularly her recollections of childhood places and events. The poem â€Å"Originally,† published in The Other Country (1990), draws specifically from memories of Duffys familys move from Scotland to England when she and her siblings were very young. The first-born child, Duffy was just old enough to feel a deep sense of personal loss and fear as she traveled farther and farther away from the only place sheRead MoreCarol Ann Duffy2780 Words   |  12 PagesAnalysis by theme – Carol Ann Duffy CHILDHOOD Notes from â€Å"Originally† Repeatedly returns to the metaphor of childhood as a â€Å"country† – echoes of L.P. Hartley’s â€Å"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Notion of past being intimately associated with place, and that adulthood is a journey away from it. â€Å"All childhood is an emigration.†/ â€Å"I want our own country†. Fear of being in an alien place as a child reflected in the alienation of adult life. â€Å"I lost a riverRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesSouthern Adventist University Scott Campbell, Francis Marion University Elena Capella, University of San Francisco ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xxxi Don Capener, Monmouth University Dan Caprar, University of Iowa David Carmichael, Oklahoma City University Carol Carnevale, SUNY Empire State College Donald W. Caudill, Bluefield College Suzanne Chan, Tulane University Anthony Chelte, Midwestern State University Bongsoon Cho, State University of New York—Buffalo Savannah Clay, Central Piedmont Community College