No lifting the red rose

from the room service tray

when you leave, as though

you might walk to the lip of

a grave and toss it down.

‘   ‘  CUBA – Pg. 19, Carol Ann Duffy, Rapture

Unrequited love

AO1 Carol  Ann  Duffy’s  poem  'Cuba'  is  the  turning  point   for   her   narrator   in   her   anthology  Rapture.   It   is   the   point   in   which   the  narrator’s   lover   has   rejected   the   romanBc  holiday   that   the   narrator   has   so   carefully  planned.      This,  in  turn,  leads  to  the  narrator  to  feel  spurned  because  the  love  and  careful  planning   is   not   being   reciprocated,   thereby  suggesBng  the  idea  of  unrequited  love.    

AO2 The  structure  plays  a  significant  part  in  Duffy’s  'Cuba',  as  the  short  sharp  sentences  emphasize  the  anger  that  the  narrator  is  feeling.  This  is  parBcularly  evident  when  compared  to  Duffy’s  earlier  poetry  in  Rapture  as  the  reader  is  able  to  compare  the  emoBons,  anger  and  love.  This  can  be  seen  when  looking  at  Duffy’s  line:      ‘No  li'ing  the  red  rose  from  the  room  service  tray  when  you  leave,  as  though  you  might  walk  to  the  lip  of  a  grave  and  toss  it  down.’      From  'Cuba'  in  comparison  to  Duffy’s  earlier  poem  'Hand'  where  she  writes,      ‘What  do  you  say?      in  my  heart?  I  bend  my  head  to  listen,  then  feel  your  hand  reach  out  and  stroke  my  hair,  as  real  as  the  wind  caressing  the  freAul  trees  above.’    

AO2 The  use  of  the  comma  aLer   leave   in   'Cuba'  causes  the  sentence  to  be   broken   up   and   snappy   just   as   the   narrator   may,   in   fact,   feel.    However,  the  full  stop  aLer  down  causes  the  sentence,  as  a  whole,  to  become  short,  sharp  and  to  an  abrupt  stop.          Therefore,  when  looking   at   the   poem   'Hand',   and   Duffy’s   use   of   enjambment   and  mulBple   comma’s   before   the   final   full   stop   aLer   above,   gives   the  reader   the   impression   that   the  narrator  has  a   lot   to   say  about  her  lover,   thus   giving   it   a   wholly   posiBve   atmosphere.     Whereas,   in  'Cuba'   the   repeated   short   sentences   emphasize   the   idea   that   the  narrator  is  angered  by  this  situaBon,  is  closing  down  and  is  unable  to  talk  in  long  drawn  out  sentences.    

AO2 In   conjuncBon  with   this,   Duffy’s   use   of   language  reinforces   this  point  even   further.     The   repeated  use  of  the  adverb  No   is  not  only  a  very  definiBve  one,  but   it   is  also   rather   ironic,   in   the   sense   that  an   adverb   modifies   a   verb.     Yet,   this   situaBon  cannot   be  modified,   however  much   the   narrator  wants  it  to.    Thus,  again  linking  it  to  the  theme  of  the   relaBonship   being   rather   one   sided,   and   the  love  being  unreturned  as  a  whole.    

AO2 It  is  easy  to  read  in  'Cuba'  that  Duffy  repeatedly  contrasts  romanBc  imagery  with  that  of  negaBve  and  depressive  ideas  and  imagery,  as  evident  in  the  key  line  ‘No  li'ing  the  red  rose  from  the  room  service  tray  when  you  leave,  as  though  you  might  walk  to  the  lip  of  a  grave  and  toss  it  down.’  Duffy’s  choice  to  contrast  the  typically   romanBc   symbol   of   the   red   rose,   which   signifies   passion   and   love,   is  contrasted   beauBfully   with   her   use   of   lip   of   a   grave.   Duffy   has   used   the  romanBc   symbol   and   twisted   it   into   being   a   funeral   flower   thus   signifying   the  death  of  the  holiday  and  foreshadowing  the  death  of  the  relaBonship.  However,  even  more  interesBngly,  despite  the  fact  that  Duffy  uses  a  negaBve  image  in  that  of   death,   she   sBll   manages   to   romanBcize   it   as   the   use   of   the   noun   lip   is  ulBmately  a  sexual  one  as  lips  are  sexual  objects  associated  with  kissing.    Thus,  in  a  sense  causing  it  to  become  a  double  entendre.    As,  on  one  hand,  though  it  may   be   seen   as   an   unfavorable   image,   it   sBll   manages   to   have   that   sexual  connotaBon  to  it.    

AO2 Since,   the   further   use   of   the   as   though,   in   the   sentence,   proposes   that   the  narrator  is,  in  fact  the  grave,  and  by  the  lover  not  giving  this  offering  of  love  to  them,   they   are   not   reciprocaBng   the   narrator's   love.   This   further   links   with  Duffy’s  poem   'You'  which  exhibits   the   line  Falling   in   love   is  glamorous  hell  as  the  tradiBonal  meaning  of  glamour  or  glamorous  was,  in  fact,  fatally  aRracBve,  or   to   cast   a   hex,   or   spell.     This   conveniently   links   with   Duffy’s   theme   of  unrequited   love,   as   for   something   to   be   fatally   aRracBve   again   has   a  connotaBon  of  death,  which  obviously  you  are  unable  to  return  from.  Likewise,  in  terms  of  glamour  meaning  to  cast  a  spell,  or  hex,  it  is  again  suggesBve  of  this  unrequited   love   expressed   in   the   relaBonship.     Since,   if   a   sorcerer,   or   witch  were  to  cast  a  hex  on  someone,  they  are  condemning  him  or  her  to  bad   luck,  which  is  almost  impossible  to  undo,  just  as  it  is  nigh  on  impossible  for  the  lover  to   return   the   love   they   are   receiving   from   the   narrator.   Furthermore,  Duffy’s  image   of   hell   further   implies   that   this   is   a   love   that   is   unreturned   from   the  lover,  as  hell,  unlike  purgatory  is  impossible  to  leave.    However,  if  this  love  were  a  blissful,  harmonious  one  that  was  both  received  and  reciprocated,  it  would  be  compared  to  heaven  instead  of  hell.  

AO2 Moreover,   it   is   further   emphasized   in   Duffy’s   poem   that   the  cancellaBon   of   this   holiday   symbolizes   the   narrator's   unrequited  love,  for  the  lover.    As,  when  Duffy  writes  No  future  plans,  she  is  conjuring  up  a  bold  sentence  full  of  dramaBc  tension,  as  the  use  of  the  three  words  causes  it  to  become  an  extremely  strong  one,  as  three  is  typically  used  as  it  is  one  of  the  numbers  the  human  brain  remembers   the   most.   Therefore,   by   using   just   three   words   the  sentence   becomes   extremely   sharp   and   strong.   Likewise,   by  combining  the  adverb  No  and  the  noun  future  Duffy   is  ulBmately  saying,  on  one  hand  there  is  no  future,  in  terms  of  the  holiday,  as  it   has   been   cancelled   by   the   narrator'   lover,   but   also   the  relaBonship  itself,  has  no  future,  as  the  lover  does  not  reciprocate  the  narrators   love.  Therefore,   it   is   impossible   for   there  to  be  any  future  plans  as  they  will  not  work.    

AO3 Just  as  Duffy  presents  the  theme  of  unrequited  love  in  her   poem   'Cuba'   Fitzgerald   chooses   to   do   the   same  throughout   his   novel   'The   Great   Gatsby'   between  Daisy   Buchanan   and   Jay   Gatsby.   Their   relaBonship   is  infamous,  as  readers  know,  in  that  it  is  built  up  almost  enBrely   on   unrequited   love.   Despite   the   fact   that  Fitzgerald   suggests  Daisy   once   loved  Gatsby,   it   is   her  love   for   status   and   wealth   that   is   most   at   heart   for  Daisy   therefore   causing   Gatsby   to   dream   for   a   love  that   he   is   unable   of   aRaining   no   maRer   how   much  wealth  he  gains.    

AO2&3 Just   as  Duffy  explores  unrequited   love  within  her  narrator’s   relaBonship  using  language,   Fitzgerald   uses   the   same   technique.   He   does   this   in   parBcular   in  Chapter  7.    Readers   first   experience   this   intense   use   of   language   in   Chapter   7   when  Fitzgerald   writes   ‘Only   the   dead   dream   fought   on   as   the   a'ernoon   slipped  away,   trying   to   touch   what   was   no   longer   tangible,   struggling   unhappily,  undespairingly,   toward   that   lost   voice   across   the   room.’   There   is   a   severe  sense  of  finality   in  Fitzgerald’s  wriBng  here  which  is  emphasized  parBcularly   in  his  use  of  alliteraBon  in  the  adjecBve  dead  and  noun  dream  by  pairing  the  two  and  choosing  to  use  alliteraBon  here,  Fitzgerald  is  able  to  reiterate  and  finalize  the  fact  that  Daisy  will  never  love  Gatsby,  she  will  not  return  his  love  yet  he  sBll  strives  to  succeed  in  his  dream.  Likewise,  as  previously  explored  in  Duffy’s  Cuba  readers   were   able   to   pick   up   on   the   constant   references   to   death   such   as  shroud,  grave  and  sad  hearse  similarly,  Fitzgerald  uses   the  same  technique  of  repeBBon  of  negaBve  language.    

AO2&3 His  use  of  the  string  of  three  when  wriBng  no  longer  tangible,  struggling  unhappily,  undespairingly,  again  is  pin  poinBng  that  Gatsby’s  dream  is  nothing  but  a  dream.    As  Duffy  states  in  Cuba,  No  future  plans,  it  is  exactly  the  same  for  Gatsby.    Although  he  dreams   of   this   elaborate   future   with   Daisy,   it   will   never  transpire,  as  she  does  not  return  the   love  he  so  willingly  gives  her  as  highlighted  in  Chapter  7  when  Fitzgerald  writes  she  had  never,  all  along,  intended  doing  anything  at  all.  This  sentence  is  one  of  the  most  poignant  ones  in  all  of  the  Great  Gatsby  as  it  is  the  turning  point  for  both  the  reader  and  Daisy  as  Fitzgerald’s  use   of   the   adverb   never   paired   with   the   adjecBve   intended  highlight   that   Daisy   has   finally   realized   that   she   had   no  intenBons  of  future  plans  as  Duffy  writes,  at  all.      

AO2&3 This  may  be  linked  with  Duffy’s  poem  'Wintering'  as  in  stanza  2  Duffy  writes  The  stars  begin  their  lies,  nothing  to  lose.  Duffy  uses  the  binary  opposiBon  of  stars  in  'Wintering'  as  a  reference  to  the  narrator’s  lover  who  is  assumed  to  be  a  woman.  Women  were  believed  to  be  conducted  by  the  moon  and  stars  and  men  by  the  sun,  thus  the  reference  to  the  stars  paired  with  the  noun  lies  is  suggesBve  that  the  lover  has  lied  to  the  narrator  about  how  much  they  really  do  love  them.    This  can  be  linked  with  Daisy  in  Chapter  7,  as  when  Fitzgerald  writes,  she  said  with  visible  effort,  the  use  of  the  adjecBve  visible,  and  the  noun  effort,  suggest  that  Daisy  is  in  fact  lying  when  she  says  she  is  leaving  Tom,  as  both  lexis  suggest  that  if  Daisy  truly  reciprocated  Gatsby’s  love,  and  meant  what  she  was  saying,  she  would  not  have  to  make  visible  effort  at  all.    

AO2&3 Moreover,  Duffy’s  use  of  the  noun  nothing,  and  verb  lose,  suggest  that  the  narrator  is  of  no  great  importance  to  the  lover,  as  nothing  suggests  that  they  are  not  significant,  and  when  paired  with  lose,  further  suggests  that  by  lying  to  the  narrator  it  does  not  affect  them  in  any  way.    This  idea  is  mirrored  in  terms  of  Fitzgerald’s  character  of  Daisy,  as  towards  the  end  of  Chapter  9,  when  Fitzgerald  writes  gone  away  early  that  a'ernoon,  and  taken  baggage  with  them.  Fitzgerald’s  use  of  the  adverb  early  suggests  that  due  to  Daisy’s  situaBon  in  life,  she  is  able  to  escape  the  mess  of  the  affair  with  no  hesitaBon,  as  early  hints  that  both  Tom  and  Daisy  are  able  to  just  move  across  the  country,  without  pausing,  as  they  have  done  before  in  response  to  Tom’s  affair  in  Chicago.  In  terms  of  Duffy’s  use  of  nothing  to  lose,  Daisy  truly  has  nothing  to  lose,  as  aLer  the  whole  affair  with  Gatsby,  she  is  able  to  keep  her  wealth,  husband  and  status  without  slight  damage  her  reputaBon,  therefore  she  able  to  pretend  to  love  Gatsby  but  in  reality  she  did  not  return  his  love.  

AO2&3 Furthermore,  In  'Cuba'  Duffy  employs  the  line  franFc  bubbles  swimming  for  light.  This  line  is  perfect   to   draw   parallel   with   Gatsby’s   obsession  with   the   green   light.   Fitzgerald   uses   the  green   light   at   the   end   of   Daisy’s   dock   as   symbol   of   everything   Gatsby   dreams   of.     It   is  symbolizes  Daisy  in  that  it  not  only  highlights  where  she  is,  but  also  that  Gatsby  will  never  be  able   to   reach   her   as   in   Chapter   1  when   Fitzgerald  writes  he   stretched   out   his   arms   […]   I  could  have  sworn  he  was  trembling.    The  use  of  the  verb  stretched,  combined  with  the  use  of  the  verb  trembling,  propose  that  the  green  light  isn’t  quite  possible  to  reach,  no  maRer  how   hard   he   tries   as   stretched.     This   suggests   that   Gatsby   has   to   really   try   to   reach   the  unreachable,  which  is  then  confirmed  in  Chapter  7  with  Fitzgerald’s  use  of  the  alliteraBon  of  dead  dream,   and   trying   to   touch.    Both   these   suggests   that  Gatsby  will  never  achieve  his  goal  of  being  with  Daisy,  as  she  does  not  return  his  love,  therefore  she  is  untangible  just  as  Fitzgerald   suggests.   This   same   noBon   can   be   applied   to   Duffy’s   use   of   franFc   bubbles  swimming  for  light.  As  both  the  verb  trembling,  and  the  adjecBve  franFc,  suggest  agitaBon  and  desperaBon  to  reach  something  that  they  never  will  aRain.  Furthermore,  the  reference  to  light  in  Duffy’s  'Cuba'  is  poignant,  in  that  it  symbolizes  an  unreachable  goal,  that  being  the  relaBonship   for  both  Gatsby  and  Duffy’s  narrator.  However,   the  only  difference   is   that   the  light   for   Duffy’s   narrator   is   metaphorical   and   suggesBve   of   unrequited   love   within   the  relaBonship,   and   for   Fitzgerald   it   is   instead   physical,   in   terms   of   its   representaBon   of  Gatsby’s  dream  for  Daisy.  

AO4 It  is  oLen  thought  that  Fitzgerald  puts  elements  of  his  own  life  

into  his  work  and  'The  Great  Gatsby'  is  no  excepBon.  Fitzgerald’s  reference  to  the  Plaza  is  a  significant  one  in  

Gatsby  as  it  is  the  place  in  which  everything  is  revealed  in  terms  of  Gatsby  and  Daisy’s  affair  and  the  secret  to  Gatsby’s  wealth.  However,  it  is  the  reference  to  the  Plaza  alone  that  

becomes  symbolic  in  its  own  right.      

Founded  in  1907,  The  Plaza  became  a  spot  for  the  elite  in  the  early  1920’s  so  much  so  that  when  Fitzgerald  and  his  wife  

Zelda  rented  an  apartment  on  59th  street  in  New  York,  they  became  regular  customers  at  the  Plaza  grill  mixing  with  the  

uber  rich  and  upper  class  of  society.  In  fact,  it  is  believed  that  Ernest  Hemingway  once  joked  to  Fitzgerald  that  when  he  dies  he  is  to  give  his  liver  to  Princeton  and  his  heart  to  the  Plaza.  This  suggests  that  Fitzgerald  was  very  familiar  with  the  social  spot  in  New  York,  thus  making  it  a  key  locaBon  for  The  Great  

Gatsby,  as  it  would  be  one  that  readers  of  the  Bme  would  recognize  instantaneously,  gives  it  a  far  greater  impact.    

AO3 ‘Love  is  an  extremity,  rivaled  only  by  death.  It  is  more  o'en  ‘glamorous  hell’  than  heaven.  And  desire  is  almost  a  death  wish.’  –  Kate  Kellaway  The  Observer,  9th  October  2005      Kellaway’s  point  is  ulBmately  a  very  universal  one,  as  it  not  only  fits  Rapture  but  almost  all  relaBonships,  and  it  is  in  this  universal  comment  that  Kellaway  describes  Duffy’s  work  perfectly,  as  it  is  Duffy’s  ability  to  make  her  poetry  universal  that  enBces  readers.    In  conjuncBon  with  this,  Kellaway’s  point  that  desire  is  almost  a  death  wish  is  significant,  as  it  is  Duffy’s  narrator’s  desire  for  their  lover  that  causes  the  death  of  the  relaBonship.  Duffy’s  narrator  is  so  in  love  with  their  lover  that  they  are  willing  to  fulfill  all  their  wishes,  as  evident  in  Duffy’s  poem  'Give'  when  she  writes  you  listened,  at  dawn,  to  the  gliMering  story  I  told.  However,  it  is  in  stanza  5  that  we  see  the  mood  shiL  when  Duffy  then  writes,  I  saw  you  were  deaf  to  the  blustering  story  I  told.  The  contrast  of  the  verb  listened  and  adjecBve  deaf  hint  to  the  gradual  death  of  the  relaBonship  and  that  the  narrator's  desire  and  willingness  for  their  lover  has  caused  this  subsequent  death.  Just  like  in  Duffy’s  Cuba,  the  cancelled  holiday  becomes  symbolic  of  the  subsequent  death  of  the  resulBng  relaBonship.    As  again,  the  reference  to  the  lip  of  a  grave  foreshadows  that  the  unreturned  love,  or  desire  for  the  narrator  allows  it  to  die.  

AO3 Fitzgerald’s  use  of  Gatsby’s  murder  is  largely  symbolic  of  his  desire  for  Daisy.  As  it  becomes  the  cause  of  his  death,  thus  aptly  linking  with  Kellaway’s  point.  This  is  parBcularly  poignant  in  Chapter  8,  when  Fitzgerald  writes  the  holocaust  was  complete  Gatsby  essenBally  sacrifice’s  himself  in  order  for  Daisy’s  survival,  but  it  is  due  to  his  desire  for  Daisy  that  this  holocaust  is  able  to  happen.    He  ulBmately  takes  the  blame  for  Myrtle’s  death  in  Chapter  7  when  Fitzgerald  writes  I’ll  say  I  was.  Gatsby  is  so  deeply  in  love  with  Daisy  that  his  desire  takes  hold  of  him  allowing  himself  to  sacrifice  himself  for  someone  who  does  not  return  the  love.  

AO3 Likewise,  this  idea  of  unrequited  love  or  desire  being  the  cause  of  death  exhibited  in  both  Rapture  and  Gatsby  whether  it  be  metaphorical,  or  physical  can  be  further  linked  with  Gilbert  Seldes  point,  where  he  states  ‘He  (Gatsby)  had  dedicated  himself  to  the  accomplishment  of  a  supreme  object;  to  restore  himself  an  illusion  he  had  lost  […]’  Seldes  reference  to  Fitzgerald’s  creaBon  of  an  illusion  he  (Gatsby)  had  lost  highlights  Gatsby’s  whole  dream.  He  lost  Daisy  five  years  ago,  and  in  response  has  spent  his  life  unBl  his  death  creaBng  a  façade,  to  make  the  cloak  he  wore  to  get  Daisy  to  love  him  a  reality.  The  only  difference  here  being  that  Daisy  is  no  longer  in  love,  and  she  has  become  nothing  more  than  illusion.    She  has  become  Gatsby’s  dead  dream  as  stated  in  Chapter  7  and  in  return  he  must  like  his  dream,  die  as  a  consequence  for  his  desire  made  forbidden  by  his  true  wealth  and  status  and  not  the  factual  imitaFon  he  had  created.  Finally,  this  may  again  be  linked  with  Duffy,  as  just  like  Fitzgerald’s  use  of  fighBng  for  a  love,  which  is  not  returned.  Duffy  uses  the  same  theme  in  Cuba,  Duffy’s  use  of  No  geTng  away  from  this.  The  last  line  of  Cuba  is  suggesBve  of  the  idea  that  the  narrator  is  unable  to  escape  this  situaBon,  whether  it  be  escape  from  their  desire  for  the  lover,  or  escape  from  the  pain  it  will  cause  the  relaBonship.    Either,  way  Duffy’s  narrator’s  illusion  is  their  lover  and  by  the  holiday  being  cancelled  they  have  lost  this  illusion,  thus  making  it  difficult  for  Duffy’s  narrator  to  restore  the  now  damaged  relaBonship.  

Beatrice

Yates

THANK YOU