Analysis of Pope Joan
Pope Joan by Carol Ann Duffy describes Pope Joan, the only female who reigns and leads the Church, loses faith in God. However, she sensed that she was the closest to God when she gave birth to her child before dying.
The poem starts off with Pope Joan describing her job as the Pope. The imagery of a ‘blue- green snake’ makes readers feels the sliminess and creepiness of the smoke produced from the frankincense. It also symbolizes the frankincense is an incense that makes Pope Joan unpleasant and sick. It seems ironic that the Pope, who worships God wholeheartedly, would be disgusted by the incense used in rituals. The imagery of the smokes of the frankincense ‘coiled around the hem’ of her body like chains, indicating that Pope Joan thinks that her position as a Pope is restricting her, specifically restricting her from having an honest and open relationship with her lover. The use of the word ‘fervent’ describing the crowds allows readers to imagine the passion of the crowd was hot and fiery, as if they were believing the religion blindly without understanding it. This shows that Pope Joan started to question the way the Church recruits followers ad believers, is it by force or by the charisma of the religion. She feels that her life and her responsibility as a Pope is dull and repetitive, ‘blessing and blessing ‘air’ which cannot be seen or touch, making the blessings seems pointless. It had influenced her thoughts on being a Pope, leading her to compare her life as a Pope and a life as a mother. As a Pope, Pope Joan ‘came to believe that I did not believe a word ’, she was explaining to the readers, especially women, ‘daughters or brides of the Lord’- the nuns. She was advising them not to believe what was given to them, not to believe that if they have the chance to sit on the papal does not mean that they will be closer to God compared to others. Pope Joan reveals that the moment she had felt that she was nearest to God was the moment she gave birth to her child. She felt that God’s hands were ‘lifting me, flinging me down’ the use of repetition emphasize on the pain experienced and the time had passed slowly. When the ‘baby pushed out’, she felt that she was in a miracle, not as ‘a man or a pope’ but as a mother receiving her most precious gift from God. At this point, Pope Joan had regained her confidence and faith in God. She felt that the child was a gift from God that had led her to her final destiny- to become a mother. The identity of the child’s father was not reveal, indicating that Pope Joan had been through all these, experienced and undergone stress all by herself, showing her independence and strength. In the last stanza when she was ‘lay [lying] in the road’, and giving birth shows that her secret had been revealed and the crowds would kill her for being a Pope. The words Pope Joan had used were light and calm, the use of ‘lay’ makes the poem seems relaxed, indicating that Pope Joan weren’t afraid of the death she was facing, but rather peaceful as she had found her meaning of life.
The poem has 3 verses per Stanza, which symbolizes the three holy trinities of Catholic. There are no end points in the poems, which means it is a continuous life story of Pope Joan that never ends. The poem was written in first person, the direct address by Pope Joan makes her friendly and welcoming, not a Pope who stands high above and looks down at others.
Through the poem Pope Joan, Duffy wants to put emphasis on women’s ability to be independence without depending on a man. Duffy intentionally not reveal Pope Joan’s lover’s name to stress that Pope Joan did not succeed in becoming a Pope by the help of a man but had gained her position through her own talent and hard work.
Pope Joan by Carol Ann Duffy describes Pope Joan, the only female who reigns and leads the Church, loses faith in God. However, she sensed that she was the closest to God when she gave birth to her child before dying.
The poem starts off with Pope Joan describing her job as the Pope. The imagery of a ‘blue- green snake’ makes readers feels the sliminess and creepiness of the smoke produced from the frankincense. It also symbolizes the frankincense is an incense that makes Pope Joan unpleasant and sick. It seems ironic that the Pope, who worships God wholeheartedly, would be disgusted by the incense used in rituals. The imagery of the smokes of the frankincense ‘coiled around the hem’ of her body like chains, indicating that Pope Joan thinks that her position as a Pope is restricting her, specifically restricting her from having an honest and open relationship with her lover. The use of the word ‘fervent’ describing the crowds allows readers to imagine the passion of the crowd was hot and fiery, as if they were believing the religion blindly without understanding it. This shows that Pope Joan started to question the way the Church recruits followers ad believers, is it by force or by the charisma of the religion. She feels that her life and her responsibility as a Pope is dull and repetitive, ‘blessing and blessing ‘air’ which cannot be seen or touch, making the blessings seems pointless. It had influenced her thoughts on being a Pope, leading her to compare her life as a Pope and a life as a mother. As a Pope, Pope Joan ‘came to believe that I did not believe a word ’, she was explaining to the readers, especially women, ‘daughters or brides of the Lord’- the nuns. She was advising them not to believe what was given to them, not to believe that if they have the chance to sit on the papal does not mean that they will be closer to God compared to others. Pope Joan reveals that the moment she had felt that she was nearest to God was the moment she gave birth to her child. She felt that God’s hands were ‘lifting me, flinging me down’ the use of repetition emphasize on the pain experienced and the time had passed slowly. When the ‘baby pushed out’, she felt that she was in a miracle, not as ‘a man or a pope’ but as a mother receiving her most precious gift from God. At this point, Pope Joan had regained her confidence and faith in God. She felt that the child was a gift from God that had led her to her final destiny- to become a mother. The identity of the child’s father was not reveal, indicating that Pope Joan had been through all these, experienced and undergone stress all by herself, showing her independence and strength. In the last stanza when she was ‘lay [lying] in the road’, and giving birth shows that her secret had been revealed and the crowds would kill her for being a Pope. The words Pope Joan had used were light and calm, the use of ‘lay’ makes the poem seems relaxed, indicating that Pope Joan weren’t afraid of the death she was facing, but rather peaceful as she had found her meaning of life.
The poem has 3 verses per Stanza, which symbolizes the three holy trinities of Catholic. There are no end points in the poems, which means it is a continuous life story of Pope Joan that never ends. The poem was written in first person, the direct address by Pope Joan makes her friendly and welcoming, not a Pope who stands high above and looks down at others.
Through the poem Pope Joan, Duffy wants to put emphasis on women’s ability to be independence without depending on a man. Duffy intentionally not reveal Pope Joan’s lover’s name to stress that Pope Joan did not succeed in becoming a Pope by the help of a man but had gained her position through her own talent and hard work.