Havisham as a First-Person Poem - Essay Example

The poem starts with the words “beloved sweetheart bastard,” (Duffy web) meaning that Havisham allowed herself to fall in love. After things went sour with her marriage, she resulted in a mere wish and prayer that her dear would die. “Not a day since then, I haven’t wished him dead” (Duffy web). The word “dead” represents the dark imagery of Havisham’s desire to revenge her husband’s betrayal. Havisham also turns into prayer closing her eyes so tight making them sink inside and become like a green pebble.

In addition, she holds her hands so tightly together in prayer that they have formed sinews the size of a rope, which she virtualizes using to strangle her lover. Ropes on the back of my hands are metaphorically representing old age in that Havisham has allowed herself to stay with the grieve, anger, and poor emotions for many years, which has left her ageing. Havisham is responsible for her own misery in that she chooses to concentrate on the betrayal from her lover in a way that day in day out.

She refuses to shower but remain in her stinking wedding dress considering killing her lover as a way of revenge. Reading this poem leaves the audience sympathizing with Havisham. Her character represents famous people in her society who make decisions in life with great expectations, only to get disappointed by those they trust. Havisham calls her lover sweetheart and then a bastard portraying love and hatred. All she thinks of all day is to strangle, bite, bang, or stab her former lover. Bearing in mind Havisham former position in society, it is inevitable to sympathise with the extent of her sinking.

The use of the first person in the poem helps the audience to identify with the suffering. That is, the suffering could beget anyone in the society regardless of the status. A woman with class of her own previously and now cannot even shower? Havisham’s body stinks her wedding dress that she will not change yellowing with dirt. Havisham seems helpless, lost, and overtaken by confusion. She does not even understand that she has done this to herself, we see her asking who did this to her. The level of desperation makes the audience pity her and sympathise with her.

From the tone of the poem, we understand the extent of Havisham’s desperation in her quest for revenge. For instance, she says Noooo and later retorts that it is not only the heart that b-b-b-breaks. Her muddled thought comes out when she talks of a spinster seems spat out. The audience sympathises with her quest for revenge because it is not the solution to her problems.