Carol Ann Duffy’s anthology Mean Time Essay

Carol Ann Duffys anthology Mean Time is littered with references to the gone. With the gentle Mean Time in its self referring to time in an indeterminate ways, like Greenwhich mean time, or time associated with angry emotions. The most greens interpretation being that the characters re sticked in many of Mean generation songs as in mingled with two states, prehistoric and present. The characters atomic number 18 trapped, escaping, or reminiscing about quondam(prenominal) times retrospectively from a present time. some(prenominal) of there ult is what is now influencing there present situation or state of mind and Duffy accentuates this factor by being explicit and draught attention to manner of speaking that would draw a conclusion to that notion. The master key of the 1964 conk of the Form Team is a 1960s quiz taper between competing teams of condition children who, representing their school and in school uni blueprint, would answer general companionship questions in front of an audience of school children.The individually competitive mite of the name of the show individual competition was emphasized in the preparation system of the 50s and 60s (it would not be unusual for a class to be sat in their rank order according to the terminal bushel of exams) and it precedes the change to a comprehensive system. This competitive tone, the reason of a hierarchy, is an grave element in the poem. This poem questions the romantic view of the retiring(a) forming a persona to there present as he characterises his children as his dim kids and his wife as stale.He ambiguously illustrates his past in that he want it back, The headwaiter. The captain is a symbol of his offspring and past in that he wants it back however its so isolated and remote that he cant obtain it and entirely exists as memories in his mind. The comparison between the first six stanzass representing the past and the last stanza representing the present exhibits a prohibition between the two. The changeless music references mentioned within the poem to past artists and songs reflects the rich memories that are illustrated to the reader, by good-hearted to more senses, the eyes and hears.Duffys purpose for inclusion of these songs is not only that they are connected to the time arrest and create a richer spectacle further they clearly reveal the more desired time period of the character, showing him to feel nostalgia. We see the nostalgia form as he sop ups his family and veritable situation in the last stanza previously discussed. Carol Ann Duffys striking soliloquy The Suicide provides an intriguing insight into the forces of the past having an effect on a situation in the present. This poem establishes how the past and present are interconnectivly dependant on each other.This is explained as, without a past of experience and solutions that chassis u as a person there can be no present effects. This notion is also reversed in that without a pr esent the past would never be expressed fully all emotionally or physically with no results or effects seen from past causes. The poem title explicitly provides the reader with exactly what the context of the poem is. The reasons for this is possibly to engage the reader into how is Duffy going to describe the feelings of suicide appealing to our macabre sides of personality.It is commonly thought that language fails to describe many feelings specially that of suicide. The poem analyses the nature of suicidal impulse, by letting a manque suicide talk to us in the moments out front her death. It compares with The Captain of the 1964 expire of the Form Team (The captain), as it is also a dramatic monologue but fails in comparison similarities to that poem. It does refer to the past like The Captain does, however not as explicitly. In The Suicide the reference to the past is, Kisses on a collar. Lies. Blood. The above is a strong reference to a past event of what implicitly seems t o be infidelity by the partner. This is followed by short sharp sentences of Lies and Blood. These single emphasised words more or less tell a complete story the history of a relationship, write in lies. Lies that lead to blood (perhaps the blood of the suicide). There is a sense that the whole story is told in these few words. But this whole event can not be ignoring the fact that it was all triggered by a past event that is now influencing if not directly causing the present situation of suicide.The Good Teachers is one of Duffys explicit references to the past but written in present tense which instantly makes the reader form the opinion of reminiscence and living in the past letting past events form the future. We believe to be a male because of the hints to passion for female teachers, as he reveals that you love Miss Pirie. It describes his memories of his animation in school as a child but most significantly how he retrospectively looks back and regrets the tom foolery th at took place and then and how he wasted his time in school.This forms similar themes to End of pureness about regret of the past and wants to effluence it. The short sentences in the last stanza can be symbolic of time and how it speedily passed by to reach him where he is now which we never quite find out. Again a barrier is formed between the past and the present by the describe But theres the mole you climb. The wall denoting the barrier between past and present and shows how the two are separate. The context before the wall line is about the past, the context of the poem after the wall line is about the present.This structure reinforces the separation of the past and present. in any case this show how the past forms a barrier that forms the future and weather or not you accomplish successfully by getting over or somewhat the barrier will have an impact on your life to come. The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team, The Suicide and The Good Teachers all portray the p ast, but in separate ways. In The Captain the past is seen as a rich rejoicing memory, with dignity and pride at the forefront of it where the past was contrasted to the future to reinforce how commendable the past was.The nostalgia was accentuated by the language and references to his stream situation of him having a stale wife and thick kids. The suicide depicts the past consuming the character and a direct cause for her present situation. The language illustrates a dyer situation and forms the opinion that suicide is not chosen, it happens when pain exceeds resources for lintel with pain. It fails to by the inadequacy of language and context fully describe the emotion and direct feeling of suicide caused from the past events. It only refers to quadruplet words to describe the past, kisses on a collar.This is a classical example of the notion that the past is represented as irretrievable and irreplaceable. Also that not being able to alter the mistakes made in life will undoubt edly form the situation of present and which is suicide in this case but also that those events will characterise you for the future. The Good Teachers forms a view of the past being one of regret and wanting to escape from it. This also, like The Captain and The Suicide, forms a barrier separating the past and present by language and contrasting stanzas.