Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry Essay

Delilah by Carol Ann Duffy has an undeniably arouseual element running end-to-end an element which is highlighted by its suggestive actors line and presentation of gender roles between the characters pig and Delilah. umteen of Duffys poems have a similar element running through them such as in Salome, Little Red Riding Cap and Pygmalions Bride thitherfore it can be said that her rime is mainly concerned with the politics of sex. However, Carol Ann Duffy states in an interview in 2005 that Delilah is not somewhat sex but is a love poem exploring the nature of horseshits deficiency to snuff it gentle, benignant and tender. This would therefore suggest that the main concern of the poem is more to do with love, power and gender.There are several wings to sex through out(a) the poem, however the most direct reference comes in the fourth stanza where Samson fucks Delilah. This is in stark contrast to his request in the third stanza unless three lines above of wanting to learn how to care, or be gentle or loving or tender. Despite wanting to become gentle, Samson fucks Delilah kind of than makes love to her, implying that his wish was only a half-hearted one i.e. a wish he only makes but not something he would act upon. He fuck(s her) again further shows this is not the first time Delilah has been fucked suggesting a continual nature of this act. Furthermore, Delilah allows herself to be fucked through Delilahs submission, Duffy could be devising a contestation that women can not break relinquish from this subordinate role in sex.Samsons language is also sexually suggestive, possibly implying that a man can not have his libido driven out of him regardless of the short letter. For example, in the second stanza Samson is boasting about his achievements which demonstrate his strength and fearlessness, however he is distracted by a sexually suggestive note, telling Delilah to put your hand here -. This continues in the third stanza he asks for a cure for his inability to be gentle and in the undermentioned line proceeds to fuck her as though he believes the cure is in fucking her. The situation Samson opening up to Delilah about something personal- would usually be assumed to be free from anything conjuring violence however Samson fucks her anyway suggesting that regardless of the time or place, sex is something which ashes rampant in a mans mind.On the other hand, it could be said that rather than sex, the main concern of the poem is with power scattering in this relationship. Whilst many would argue that Delilah was dominated by Samson in the poem due to the sex, in the end Delilah cut Samsons hair which biblically represented the demise of his strength. Cutting his hair in the poem may be symbolic of her dominating Samson as she has successfully seduced him and at his most vulnerable (during slumber) she has taken out-of-door his strength. This is also in sync with the biblical story in which Delilah disarms Samson and gives him up to the Philistines, in the long run dominating him.Sex is only a way by which Samson is pacified after which he goes to short sleep and becomes soft, thus vulnerable. Furthermore, Delilah cuts Samsons hair with deliberate, passionate hands suggesting she enjoyed disarming him and stealing his power away from him. This is a reversal of the typical gender roles in literature and Delilahs passionate hands may be showing that Delilah enjoyed this.Furthermore, the idea that Delilah had to pacify Samson through sex suggests an element of power on Delilahs side as sex was a method through which she satisfied Samson and put him to sleep, leaving him vulnerable. Duffy may be making a statement through this that women can use their sexuality as a weapon to subvert men and thus overpower them. This interpretation is concerned with both sexual politics and power distribution demonstrating that Duffys poetry is not only concerned with the politics of sex.