Sub

• The title of the poem could refer to women acting as a substitution for men or submissive to them in history
• The speaker coming on in "extra time" refers to how women are given supporting roles in history often forced to sit on the sidelines
• Each stanza follows the idea of a woman playing a role in major events in history that exclusively involved men when they happened
• the first stanza follows the 1966 football world cup final where England won
• The speaker's "breasts bandaged beneath (her) ... shirt" symbolises how women are forced to conceal their femininity in order to be given a leading role in history as amplified by the passive sound created by the alliteration of the "b"
• asyndetic listing in the first stanza "off the head, back of the heel, the left foot from 30 yards out, hat-trick" quickens the meter of the poem reflecting the fast paced nature of the football game
• Subject specific terminology in the first stanza such as "hat trick" create a sense of authenticity within the speakers expertise in the subject of football
• While the speaker in stanza one is celebrated as her team mates "sang (her) name" she is still isolated within her "solitary shower" as emphasised by the deflating sound created by sibilance showing how, no matter their success, femininity symbolised by the speaker's "tampon" inferring she is on her period with the "blood and soap suds" in her shower "mingling to pink," excludes women from being able to bask in and celebrate their own success
• The "steam" in stanza one could be seen as a symbolic reminder of the glass ceiling providing an imaginary barrier between the spaces women are able to occupy and be successful within
• The speaker's "no. 13 shirt" could be a symbol of unluckiness as women are seen as less talented than men in sport so she would likely be seen as bringing the team down to others
• Caesura after "hat-trick" in stanza one creates a moment of metrical pause after the sped up pace of the asyndetic listing to emphasise the speaker's show stopping impressive final goal
• The second stanza sees the speaker take on the rugby world cup
• Once again in the second stanza the speaker is used as a last resort coming on "in the final gasps"
• onomatopoeia of "they roared my name" creates an atmospheric sense to the poem allowing the reader to understand the glory the speaker felt in that moment
• Stanza 3 sees the speaker joining the Beetles as an understudy for "Ringo" who "had flu"
• In stanza 3, the speaker is given a background role as the "drummer" not a front and centre role such as singing
• Virginia Woolf "for most of history anonymous was a woman" showing how women are omitted from history linking to the poem
• The fourth stanza follows the speaker stepping in for Buzz Aldrin being the second person on the moon showing how even; the moon is a feminine symbol and this displays that even when concerning the history of women and femininity women are kept on the sidelines and in supporting roles
• The poem combines society's idea of male success (career based) with ideas of female success (pregnancy and children)
• Itzin (1990) claims that society links a man's success to his career, and a woman's to her fertility and children
• Caesura following "and when I look back" creates metrical pause and emphasises a sense of nostalgia
• The colon and the end of the poem "what i think to myself is this" leaving the speaker's line of thought incomplete displays that at the end of the day, society does not value women's opinions or their input in history, as this woman has taken part in countless historical events, yet her true opinion on these experiences is not expressed showing women as diminished in history
• The poem focuses on reframing history to place women in the roles of men
• Repeated reference to the female body such as "my breasts" and "precious egg" to show how women must juggle their own desires with what is expected from them by society (children)
• 7 stanza, 10 lines each; consistent structure reflects consistent exclusion of women through history creating a tone of monotony
• There is no set rhyme scheme, instead metrical rhythm is created using enjambment and internal rhyming
• Semantic field of menstruation brings in an element of femininity within masculine atmospheres EG "Tampon"