Carol Ann Duffy's "Selling Manhattan" Quiz

Answer: True

In the poem 'Recognition', Carol Ann Duffy presents a dowdy, menopausal woman who realises that life has passed her by. She 'strains to remember a time' when things were different and anxiously touches 'the cold mirror', searching for something within that she recognises.

Answer: And How Are We Today?

"And How Are We Today?" is another of Carol Ann Duffy's dramatic monologues. As always with poetry, there are a number of possible readings and this particular poem is no exception. In fact I read this poem as an insight into the mind of an individual who may be incapacitated in a mental hospital. "I live in someone else's head" seems to me to refer to schizophrenia, and this person is undoubtedly forgotten about, so much so that they feel they might have to take their eye out "and swallow it/ to bring some attention to" themself.

As with "Psychopath" and "Stealing", in "And How Are We Today?" Carol Ann Duffy brings attention to the unconventional individuals in our society, but without judging or ridiculing them.

Answer: Jimmy Dean, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley.

The poem "Psychopath" is one of Carol Ann Duffy's most memorable poems, due to its gritty and extremely convincing portrayal of the psychopath. At times it is almost unbearable to read. It is uncomfortable, because it essentially forces the reader to consider the "warped" mind of a very dangerous man.

Moreover Duffy forces the reader to confront the reality that such individuals exist, which is something that society as a whole tends to shy away from. Yet you cannot ignore the fact that this psychopath was once an innocent little boy, whose 'old man sloped/ off, sharpish" and who suffered violence himself as a child.

Answer: A snowman

The poem "Stealing" is another of Duffy's dramatic monologues, which offers the reader an insight into the mind of a possible kleptomaniac. The mood is sombre, and despite his crimes, one cannot help but feel a little sorry for him, as he yearns for human contact.

Answer: The Virgin Punishing the Infant

Carol Ann Duffy's poem, "The Virgin Punishing the Infant", was inspired by an oil painting painted by the surrealist Max Ernst in 1926, which depicted the baby Jesus being smacked by the Virgin Mary.

Answer: Bette Davis

In the poem "Big Sue and Now, Voyager", Carol Ann Duffy presents the sad tale of Big Sue, an insecure and overweight young woman who yearns for the fairytale, for a life where she takes center stage. She wants the kisses and the attention of men, but instead she lives on 'the wrong side of the glass' and is forced to listen to the nasty comments of others and jibes such as "great cow".

Answer: True

After reading Carol Ann Duffy's "Telegrams" for the first time, one can be forgiven for finding it almost unintelligible. This is largely due to the fact that it takes more than one reading to figure out exactly who "C" and "B" are and what is actually going on between them. One of the most interesting things about this poem is that the lack of punctuation, (apart from a few lone question marks), forces the reader to (at the very least) put some full stops in themselves, in order to clarify the situation. Of course this seems to have been Duffy's intent.

After all, the whole idea is that the telegram was only ever meant to convey basic messages, and was never intended as a vehicle for discussing what actually turns out to be a very secret, complex human relationship.

Answer: 6 pm

Carol Ann Duffy's poem "Warming her Pearls" is arguably the most erotic poem in "Selling Manhattan", and yet it uses none of the cliches one might expect. It is, in its essence, a rather sad poem, which leaves the reader feeling sympathy for the forgotten servant girl, who works "willingly", whilst silently lusting after her mistress.

Answer: Day of Birth

The poem "Dies Natalis" is the very first poem in this collection and is rather complex, as it involves four different identities, but one single consciousness which is ever changing its physical form. The first is a cat, the second a bird, the third a man, and the fourth a newborn baby. All four physical forms bring something new to the experience of living, but the pleasure of this doesn't last - it inevitably gives way to loneliness and uncertainty.

Answer: A heart, which symbolises love

The poem "Lovesick" is a very powerful poem. The narrator is intensely possessive of the "cool apple", which represents the heart, and as an extension, love.