Litany
Carol Ann Duffy, Mean Time
(1993)
Litany: noun (1) a prayer consisting of a series of
invocations and supplications by the leader with
alternate responses by the congregation; (2) a
resonant or repetitive chant; (3) a usually
lengthy recitation or enumeration
Merriam-Webster
Litany
The soundtrack then was a litany – candlewick
1
bedspread three piece suite display cabinet and stiff-haired wives balanced their red smiles,
passing the catalogue. Pyrex. A tiny ladder
ran up Mrs Barr's American Tan leg, sly
5
like a rumour. Language embarrassed them.
The terrible marriages crackled, cellophane
round polyester shirts, and then The Lounge
would seem to bristle with eyes, hard
as the bright stones in engagement rings,
10
and sharp hands poised over biscuits as a word
was spelled out. An embarrassing word, broken
to bits, which tensed the air like an accident.
This was the code I learnt at my mother's knee, pretending
to read, where no one had cancer, or sex, or debts,
15
and certainly not leukaemia, which no one could spell.
The year a mass grave of wasps bobbed in a jam-jar;
a butterfly stammered itself in my curious hands.
A boy in the playground, I said, told me
to fuck off; and a thrilled, malicious pause
20
salted my tongue like an imminent storm. Then
uproar. I'm sorry, Mrs Barr, Mrs Hunt, Mrs Emery,
sorry, Mrs Raine. Yes, I can summon their names.
My mother's mute shame. The taste of soap.
24
Litany, markup
The soundtrack then was a litany - candlewick
bedspread three piece suite display cabinet and stiff-haired wives balanced their red smiles,
passing the catalogue. Pyrex. A tiny ladder
Markup key:
prosodic devices
ran up Mrs Barr's American Tan leg, sly
enjambment
imagery
like a rumour. Language embarrassed them.
juxtaposition
simile/metaphor
The terrible marriages crackled, cellophane
allusion
personification
round polyester shirts, and then The Lounge
miscellaneous
enumeration
would seem to bristle with eyes, (hard
as the (bright stones in engagement rings)),
and sharp hands poised over biscuits as a word
was spelled out. An embarrassing word, broken
Litany, markup (cont’d)
to bits, which tensed the air like an accident.
This was the code I learnt at my mother's knee, pretending
to read, where no one had cancer, or sex, or debts,
and certainly not leukaemia, which no one could spell.
The year a (mass grave of wasps bobbed in a jam-jar;
a butterfly stammered) itself in my curious hands.
A boy in the playground, I said, told me
to fuck off; and a thrilled, malicious pause
salted my tongue like (an imminent storm). Then
uproar. I'm sorry, Mrs Barr, Mrs Hunt, Mrs Emery,
sorry, Mrs Raine. Yes, I can summon their names.
My mother's mute shame. The taste of soap.
Form:
• 24 lines; 1 stanza (dense block)
• Most lines with 10-12 syllables
• Free verse
• No end rhyme
• Frequent enjambment (11 lines)
• Relatively frequent alliteration,
assonance, consonance
• One instance of internal rhyme
Literal meaning:
• Speaker: adult reminiscing
• Observing adults
• 1960’s housewives
• Exaggerated modesty
• Reverence for commercial products
• Child intentionally shocks adults
• Punishment ensues
• Tone is a blend of nostalgia,
bitterness, and playful mockery
Figurative Meaning & Ideas:
• The natural / dirty vs. the artificial / clean
• Fragility of the social veneer / façade
• Misplaced reverence for consumer goods
• Child’s desire to shock, rebel and express self
• Stiffness, sterility of 1960’s society
• Discomfort with the raw and real
• Repression and false appearances
• Power of language
• Coming of age; sexual awareness
Figurative Language:
• “…a tiny ladder / ran up Mrs. Barr’s
American Tan leg, sly / like a
rumour”(4-6).
• “the terrible marriages crackled” (7)
• “…The Lounge / would seem to
bristle with eyes” (8-9).
• “An embarrassing word…/ tensed the
air…like an accident” (12-13).
• “…I learnt at my mother’s knee” (14)
• “…a thrilled, malicious pause” (20).
• “My mother’s mute shame” (24).
Imagery:
• “stiff-haired wives” (3) •
• “red smiles” (3)
• “cellophane / round
polyester shirts” (7-8)
•
• “hard / as the bright
stones in engagement
rings” (9-10)
• “sharp hands poised
•
over biscuits” (11)
•
• “the taste of soap” (24)
“mass grave
of wasps
bobbed in a
jam-jar” (17)
“butterfly
stammered . . . in my
curious hands” (18)
“salted my tongue” (21)
“imminent storm” (21)
Juxtaposition:
• Allusions: religious
(Catholic) litany against
1960’s consumer products
– “candlewick / . . . cabinet” (1-2)
– “passing the catalogue” (4)
• Horrors: “cancer,” “sex,” “debts” (15)
• Artificial and natural images
• Adjectives:
– “stiff-haired,” “red” (3), “terrible” (7), “hard” (9), “sharp,”
“poised” (11), “mute” (24)
– “curious” (18), “thrilled,” “malicious” (20)
Discussion questions:
• Is this poem’s power limited by the fact
that it is so rooted in the specifics of its
time? Or do the forces at play here
transcend the cultural references?
• Are the impulses the speaker feels
common and natural for a child her age?
• What is the effect of the speaker being
older and looking back upon childhood?
Bibliography
Information:
•
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Connor, G. "Carol Ann Duffy, Litany." Mister Connor's English Classes. Blogger, n.d.
Web. 04 Sept. 2014.
Lewision, Janet. "Tusitala – Expert English Tuition » Carol Ann Duffy's Litany." Tusitala
Expert English Tuition. Tutorpages.co.uk, 05 Apr. 2007. Web. 04 Sept. 2014.
Images:
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Dictionary definition: http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Soap in mouth: http://www.sodahead.com/
Pyrex advertisement: http://comfycosy.blogspot.com/2007/06/retro-atomic-pie-house.
html
Litany of the Saints, Latin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=KiM9uJIN64g&feature=related
Run in stockings: http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soubor:Stocking_run.jpg
Wasp jar: http://www.gapphotos.com/imagedetails.asp?imageno=112072
1950’s era family: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.
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Collection basket: http://www.davidscottwritings.com/stweardship.html
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com/~megabytes/george_mary_smith.html