Comparing Carol Ann Duffys Havisham and Robert Brownings The Laborato

Comparing Carol Ann Duffy's Havisham and Robert Browning's The Laboratory In the poem â€Å"Havisham†, Carol Ann Duffy presents the subject as an old, embittered woman with â€Å"ropes on the back of her hands†. In â€Å"The Laboratory† by Robert Browning the subject is a strong and determined, but very jealous and embittered, young woman. Both poems are written in the first person in the form of a dramatic monologue. Carol Ann Duffy writes about the feelings of rejection, isolation and desolation that a woman who has been jilted at the alter by her husband might feel. I think that feelings such as this in both of the poems have been based on either literature or historical events, for example â€Å"Havisham† was most likely based on Miss Havisham, a rich lady in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and â€Å"The Laboratory† was probably influenced by the celebrated French murderess (who has been said to have poisoned her family). Oxymoronic phrases are used throughout the poem â€Å"Havisham† such as â€Å"Beloved Sweetheart Bastard† and â€Å"Love’s/hate† to express the ambivalence that this woman ...