This poem is a dramatic monologue.
A dramatic monologue includes: an implied audience, no dialogue, and the poet speaks through an assumed voice—a character, a fictional identity, or a persona. A dramatic monologue is by definition according to "Poetic Technique: Dramatic Monologue": "one person’s speech offered without overt analysis or commentary, placing emphasis on subjective qualities that are left to the audience to interpret" ("Poetic Technique: Dramatic Monologue").
A dramatic monologue includes: an implied audience, no dialogue, and the poet speaks through an assumed voice—a character, a fictional identity, or a persona. A dramatic monologue is by definition according to "Poetic Technique: Dramatic Monologue": "one person’s speech offered without overt analysis or commentary, placing emphasis on subjective qualities that are left to the audience to interpret" ("Poetic Technique: Dramatic Monologue").
"Havisham" VS. "Miss Havisham" (The Title)
Instead of titling the poem, "Miss Havisham", Duffy titled it only "Havisham" removing the title as a spinster for Miss Havisham. The removal of "Miss" takes away from Miss Havisham's identity and creates a distance between Duffy and Miss Havisham. This distance may have been created in order to induce more sympathy towards Miss Havisham because her identity as a spinster is what has destroyed of mind.
Terms
Spinster (Line 5): An unmarried (usually old and seems unlikely to marry) woman
Puce (Line 9): A purplish-brown color
Puce (Line 9): A purplish-brown color
Structure
The poem contains 4 stanzas consistent of 4 lines each.
There is an incorporation of both of short, one-worded sentences and long sentences to show the disjointed mental state of Miss Havisham.
There is an incorporation of both of short, one-worded sentences and long sentences to show the disjointed mental state of Miss Havisham.
Short Sentences
The single-worded sentences such as "Spinster." in line 5 emphasize Miss Havisham's disjointed mind and her contradictory feelings of love and hatred.
Caesura
There are numerous appearances of caesurae in "Havisham". Caesurae either come in the form of semi-colons, commas or full stops. When caesurae appear to end short sentences such as "Bang." (14), it is done to emphasize the word. It also tells the reader a certain way to read the sentence. The semicolons in lines 6 and 13 tell the readers to pause before moving onto a different point in the poem. The caesura in "Havisham" helps the readers when reading the text because they can hear the pauses and hesitant speech of Miss Havisham. This expresses the disjoined and unstable mind of Miss Havisham who has been greatly disturbed from her past event.