Carol Ann Duffy - Close

• "Close"


  It's ambiguous as to whether its an adjective or verb, it could mean to cover an opening or short distance in space or time. It could also relate to being emotionally or physically close.
• "Lock the door. In the dark journey of our night,"


  Monosyllabic imperative sentence with spatial deixis opens the poem. The collective pronoun "our" immediately signals that the poem is about a shared experience.
• "two childhoods stand in the corner of the bedroom// watching the way we take each other to bits"


  The metaphor of the childhoods standing in the bedroom suggests that the two generations of self are separate and they see their past and present differently.
• "to stare at our heart. I hear a story// told in sleep in a lost accent. You know the words."

  The possessive plural modifier and grammatically deviant "stare at our heart" suggests that the two are so close they're intertwined, having only one heart. It suggests despite the generational gap, they're still more like their old selves than they want to believe.The sibilance is reminiscent of sleeping or dreaming.
• "Undress. A suitcase crammed with secrets// bursts in the wardrobe at the foot of the bed."

  The minor imperative sentence "Undress." suggests the poetic voice has a strained relationship with their past selves, trying to take control of their past.
• "Dress again. Undress. You have me like a drawing,// erased, coloured in, untitled, signed by your tongue."


  The deictic 'you' in subject position implies that the speaker is under control, which is emphasised by the metaphor 'signed by your tongue.'Minor sentences 'Dress again. Undress' contrast the complex nature of the poem.
• "unreadable. I tell myself where I live now,// but you move in close till I shake, homeless,// further than that."


  The enjambment between the stanzas reflects the space between the past and present. It could also be representative of confusion, or her becoming closer to the truth. The verb 'shake' connotes a lack of control.Ambiguous verb 'homeless' also connotes the loss of identity.
• "A coin falls from the bedside table,// spinning it's heads and tails. How the hell"

  A semantic field of luck, chance, risk. It also connotes being used or old.
• "can I win. How can I lose. Tell me again."

  The incorrect use of punctuation presents desperation, or that something has gone wrong.
• "Love won't give in. It makes a hired room tremble// with the pity of bells, a cigarette smokes itself// next to a full glass of wine, time ache// into space, space wants no more talk. Now"

  The imagery of 'bells' and 'hired room' has connotations of funerals and loss and grief.The concrete noun 'cigarette' connotes unhealthiness, the love is making her ill.
• "it has me where I want me, now you, you do,"

  The paradoxical phrase suggests she wants to be in the relationship but she also doesn't because the other person is in charge.The fourth stanza reads like an elegy (about death)
• "Put out the light. Years stand outside on the street"


  The imperative sentence gives a sense of urgency and also implies there's an intended reader.The personification of time implies that the past was a better time.
• "looking up to an open window, black as our mouth"


  The ambiguity of the open window could mean there's an opportunity for freedom or they're still losing control as they can't get to the window.The simile has connotations of lying, as the saying 'if you lie your tongue will turn black' is she lying to herself the reader?
• "which utters it's tuneless song. The ghosts of ourselves,"

  The plural of 'ghosts' suggest that the poetic voice is finally separating her present self form the past
• "behind and before us, throng in a mirror, blind,// laughing and weeping. They know who we are."


  The plosive alliteration 'behind and before' shows that the poetic voice is also including her future in he view of herself rather than fixating on the past as she has done throughout the poem.Duffy's use of asyndetic listing is separated over two lines and shows that the poetic voice feels differently about all three generations of herself, she is blind to the past, positive in the present but unsure about the future.
• Structure


  There's no rhyme scheme but all the stanzas are even, which could suggest the poetic voice has lead a steady life but it's not always been easy. The repeated use of imperatives suggests it's a forced relationship with power strugglesThere's connotations of intimacy at the start of each stanza.Lexical set of rooms and houses suggests there's secrets concealed but also links to stability and support.