Loud Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is the poem about?
The poem represents female power through a woman who achieves the superhuman quality of a loud voice, and who attains some kind of metamorphosis (albeit one that isolates her) for the good of society.
The effect of News on an individual, coming from a female perspective.
‘The News had often made her shout’
Violent imagery to show the extent to which the News affects her.
‘her voice ripped out of her throat’
In a cleansing sort of way, she is becoming herself and using her voice. She has untapped potential as a female.
‘with a terrible sulphurous crack that made her jump’
Being heard above the crowd; being noticed.
‘Now she was loud’
Being unimportant, no individual identity and cannot have individual thoughts
‘Before, she’d been easily led,/one of the crowd’
Growing in power and confidence. She is set apart from other people - this isolates her.
‘Not any more. Now/she could roar’
Expressing yourself, this voice is representative of women all over the world who are voiceless.
found/she could call abroad without using the phone, could song/like an orchestra in the bath’
Hints at the persecution of people all over the world, no matter the religion.
‘It was all about.Muslims, Christians, Jews.’
She forms her own opinions; distances herself from the “crowd” as she gains confidence to express herself
’ a huge bird/that flew her away into the dark’
The voice is truthful, so the way it’d be received would be controversial. Not holding back.
‘awful to hear, the beak the sickening hiss of a thrown spear’
Being a force of nature. She is angry at the world and loses control of herself in this process. Connotes both the importance and danger in having a voice.
‘rumbling/like an avalanche’
The bias and unrepresentative nature of the news is shown.
‘their News’
The media’s focus and scrutiny and religion. No one taking ownership fro their crime.
‘ran into the church and sprayed/the congregation with bullets no one has claimed’
Like the News, she treats everyone the same way, no discrimination.
‘Her voice stomped through the city’
Her actions start to impact her environment; is this good or bad as a response to the news? Disturbance of the natural order.
‘swelling the rivers, felling/the woods’
Reference to the feminine link to the Moon. Has a fairy tale quality, supernatural. Shows that at times she is directing her voice at he wrong places.
‘She bawled at the moon’
Her voice is vicious and the whole world has to listen
‘She howled till every noise in the world/sang in the spit on the tip of her tongue’
Link to the tragedies of the world that are covered by the news.
‘the shriek of a bomb,/the bang of a gun’
Covers how the media puts groups of religion and violence together so it can provoke further violence.
‘the screams/of the children cowering under their pews’
Only when your voice is loud enough, then it is the News. Shows the selectiveness of the News, which Duffy is pointing out as wrong.
‘loud, loud,/louder, the News’
