Analysis of Queen Herod by Carol Ann Duffy
‘Queen Herod’ is a poem by Carol Ann Duffy. Three wise woman warned Queen Herod that a men would break her daughter’s heart. In order to protect her daughter, Queen Herod ordered all the new born males to be slaughtered.
In the first line, ‘ice in the trees’ informs the readers about the season and atmosphere. The narrator describes the three queens as ‘dressed in furs, accented’, showing that the Queens appear to be elegant and speaks with foreign accent. The luxurious lifestyle in the palace is shown through the listing of what was provided to the three Queens after they arrived. ‘Those vivid three’ shows that the three Queens are exotic and lively.
The narrator links the Queen’s wisdom with their age, ‘They were wise. Older than I.’. The Queens waits till the males are asleep and then ask to see the narrator’s baby. The Queens presented the baby with grace, strength and happiness, which alludes the tale ‘Sleeping beauty’. The baby is described as ‘fast asleep’, ‘silver and gold’, ‘soft bowl of her face’, showing that the baby is small, precious and vulnerable. The third queen stared at the narrator ‘lustfully’, suggesting lesbian love.
The ‘star in the East’ symbolizes the birth of a newborn male. In the line ‘pierced through the night like a nail’, the use of simile emphasizes and foreshadows the unpleasant pain and suffering of the baby girl. This line evokes a sense of pain. The three Queens continues to describe the newborn male with roles. It seems like these roles are dissimilar, however, the author uses alliteration and internal rhyme to link these roles. Perhaps the author is suggesting that these roles are somehow linked and similar, for example they all possess male qualities. The terms are mostly negative, used to describe men who are unfaithful and disloyal.
The vulnerability of the baby is further described, ‘My baby stirred, suckled the empty air for milk’. After the Queen makes the vow ‘no man will make her shed one tear’, ‘a peacock screamed outside.’ The infeasible vow shows how much the queen cherishes her baby. On the other hand, the scream of the peacock acts as a protest from the males.
The narrator fears that a ‘swaggering lad’ or ‘wincing prince’ will break her daughter’s heart or marry her and ‘take her name away.’ This represents that the narrator consider marriage as the loss of identity of a women. The ring is a symbol of marriage, to which the narrator refers to ‘nothing, nowt in gold’. This is also an excuse for her decision. She orders the Chief of Staff to bring weapons like ‘knives, swords, cutlasses’, showing that she is becoming more vicious and determined. In her instructions, it is obvious that she realizes each son has a mother, however she decides to remain ruthless.
The surrounding atmosphere is described using personification - stars shivered and the sky is nervous. The use of personification foreshadows the following massacre and creates a sense of anxiety on the reader’s part. The narrator mentions Orion the hunter ‘who knew the score’ with his ‘yapping dog star’ at his heels, and’a studded, diamond W’ to build up tension in order to foreshadow the appearance of the star prophesied by the Queens. The narrator use aggressive adjectives to describe the star and the newborn male, ‘blatant, brazen, buoyant’, ‘blue’, ‘boyfriend’s star’, the use of alliteration adds up to the impression of arrogance. This emphasizes Queen Herod’s disgust towards the male baby who would break her daughter’s heart.
The final part of the poem shows that the narrator has fierce protection towards her daughter. The narrator is extremely protective, and turns into a fierce murderer when she realizes any threat to her child. In the history, it was King Herod who intends to murder the baby as he realizes the baby might be a potential threat to his throne. After Mary and Joseph travelled to Egypt before King Herod can carry out his plan, King Herod is furious and ordered that all male babies of appropriate age should be killed. In this poem, the author alludes the three wise men to women, and Queen Herod ordered the massacre instead of the King. The author seems to be reversing the gender roles and attitudes of churches through the rise power of Queen Herod.
‘Queen Herod’ is a poem by Carol Ann Duffy. Three wise woman warned Queen Herod that a men would break her daughter’s heart. In order to protect her daughter, Queen Herod ordered all the new born males to be slaughtered.
In the first line, ‘ice in the trees’ informs the readers about the season and atmosphere. The narrator describes the three queens as ‘dressed in furs, accented’, showing that the Queens appear to be elegant and speaks with foreign accent. The luxurious lifestyle in the palace is shown through the listing of what was provided to the three Queens after they arrived. ‘Those vivid three’ shows that the three Queens are exotic and lively.
The narrator links the Queen’s wisdom with their age, ‘They were wise. Older than I.’. The Queens waits till the males are asleep and then ask to see the narrator’s baby. The Queens presented the baby with grace, strength and happiness, which alludes the tale ‘Sleeping beauty’. The baby is described as ‘fast asleep’, ‘silver and gold’, ‘soft bowl of her face’, showing that the baby is small, precious and vulnerable. The third queen stared at the narrator ‘lustfully’, suggesting lesbian love.
The ‘star in the East’ symbolizes the birth of a newborn male. In the line ‘pierced through the night like a nail’, the use of simile emphasizes and foreshadows the unpleasant pain and suffering of the baby girl. This line evokes a sense of pain. The three Queens continues to describe the newborn male with roles. It seems like these roles are dissimilar, however, the author uses alliteration and internal rhyme to link these roles. Perhaps the author is suggesting that these roles are somehow linked and similar, for example they all possess male qualities. The terms are mostly negative, used to describe men who are unfaithful and disloyal.
The vulnerability of the baby is further described, ‘My baby stirred, suckled the empty air for milk’. After the Queen makes the vow ‘no man will make her shed one tear’, ‘a peacock screamed outside.’ The infeasible vow shows how much the queen cherishes her baby. On the other hand, the scream of the peacock acts as a protest from the males.
The narrator fears that a ‘swaggering lad’ or ‘wincing prince’ will break her daughter’s heart or marry her and ‘take her name away.’ This represents that the narrator consider marriage as the loss of identity of a women. The ring is a symbol of marriage, to which the narrator refers to ‘nothing, nowt in gold’. This is also an excuse for her decision. She orders the Chief of Staff to bring weapons like ‘knives, swords, cutlasses’, showing that she is becoming more vicious and determined. In her instructions, it is obvious that she realizes each son has a mother, however she decides to remain ruthless.
The surrounding atmosphere is described using personification - stars shivered and the sky is nervous. The use of personification foreshadows the following massacre and creates a sense of anxiety on the reader’s part. The narrator mentions Orion the hunter ‘who knew the score’ with his ‘yapping dog star’ at his heels, and’a studded, diamond W’ to build up tension in order to foreshadow the appearance of the star prophesied by the Queens. The narrator use aggressive adjectives to describe the star and the newborn male, ‘blatant, brazen, buoyant’, ‘blue’, ‘boyfriend’s star’, the use of alliteration adds up to the impression of arrogance. This emphasizes Queen Herod’s disgust towards the male baby who would break her daughter’s heart.
The final part of the poem shows that the narrator has fierce protection towards her daughter. The narrator is extremely protective, and turns into a fierce murderer when she realizes any threat to her child. In the history, it was King Herod who intends to murder the baby as he realizes the baby might be a potential threat to his throne. After Mary and Joseph travelled to Egypt before King Herod can carry out his plan, King Herod is furious and ordered that all male babies of appropriate age should be killed. In this poem, the author alludes the three wise men to women, and Queen Herod ordered the massacre instead of the King. The author seems to be reversing the gender roles and attitudes of churches through the rise power of Queen Herod.