| Collection
Introduction | Selling Manhattan, 1987
Duffy moved from Scotland to England at the age of six
Her personal experiences, although maybe not fully autobiographical, reflect on how she writes |
| Subject | Duffy portrays the hardships of an immigrant worker in a foreign country, facing racial abuse, homesickness, difficulty in communication and uncomfortable lodgings |
| Form (3) | Four quintets
Written in the imperative; 'Imagine living in a strange, dark city'
Written in sentences rather than verses - prose characteristics |
| Theme (3) | Familiar vs unfamiliar; the worker had to leave behind everything familiar, everything which made up their identity, and move to a place of unfamiliarity
There is the need to belong amongst a culturally different society
Difficulty in assimilating to a new culture, despite being exposed to it for twenty years, including the difficulty to communicate
- Multiculturalism
- Living in a foreign country, otherness
- Racism and cynophobia
- Longing for love, belonging and acceptance
- Language and linguistic relativity
- Loneliness and isolation |
| Motifs (3) | "Inarticulate, because this is not home"
"strange, dark city"
"You think in a language of your own and talk in theirs" |
| Diction; Language
Lexical fields
Nouns (2)
Epithets
Italicisation
Economy on words | Colloquial - 'fruit', 'home', 'coins'; the immigrant uses simple language due to the unfamiliarity with the language
Living in a foreign country - 'hate name', 'inarticulate', 'foreign accent'
Concrete - 'home', 'public transport', 'streets'
Abstract - 'years', 'time', 'language', 'accent'; disconnect from the rest of the community (even after 'twenty years')
Distressing - 'dismal', 'strange'
'Me not know'; draws attention to the language barrier and breakdown in communication
'the coins in your palm will not translate'; the universal experience of foreign workers who migrate with very little financial security is captured in a single phrase |
| Cross References | Enoch Powell (British politician) gave a racist speech in which he warned about the dangers immigration posed to Britain, resulting in a 'River of Blood' - Duffy echoes this idea in her associational image 'A hate name. Red like blood'. |
| Rhythm (2) | Varied tempo suggests a struggle in comprehending and speaking a foreign language
- Tempo slows down 'Work.Sleep' - repetitive, dull lifestyle of immigrant
- Enjambment reflects the rush of emotions; 'Imagine one night/you saw a name for yourself sprayed in red/against a brick wall' |
| Rhyme (3) | Absence of regular rhyme reflects the ordinary, mundane life the immigrant endures
Approximate rhyme - 'lights', 'eyes'; disjointed outlook of the persona
Full rhyme - 'mean', 'dream'; when they think in their own language, their thoughts are clear, concise |
| Imagery; Visual (2)
Pictorial (2)
Auditory (3)
Associational
Synaesthetic | "Then you are writing home"; the foreigner is homesick and certainly doesn't percieve their current living situation as 'home'
"You use the public transport"; highlights the economic situation of the immigrant - increases the pathos
"coming to bits"; fragmentation highlights the splintered life that arises from unfamiliarity
"why your eyes are watering and what's the word for this"; struggle between the pain in missing home and the frustration in not understanding the language
"The sound of your foreign accent echoing down the stairs"; 'echo' implies a lack of response - no one is there to support the persona
"The voice in your head recites the letter in a local dialect"
"the sound of your mother singing to you"
"A hate name. Red like blood"; racism that results from a difference in culture (C.R to Enoch Powell)
"the coins in your palm will not translate"; refers to both the economic and linguistic struggle felt by the speaker (economy on words) |
| Tone
Mood | Empathetic, compassionate
Monotonous, drab (reflecting the life of the worker) |
| Conclusion | Duffy draws attention to those who feel disconnected because of their lack of skill in the English language |
