Disgrace

• A02:  "a thickening cyst of dust and gloom,"

  • Metaphor - immense sense of desperation and desolation within the relationship. A cyst is an abnormality which suggests that the relationship is unhealthy and damaging - state of their love is progressively worsening
  • Pairing of nouns ‘dust and gloom’ - old and decaying at the neglected love, fighting a losing battle. love has expired and has been maltreated beyond repair - inconsideration in neglecting love’s expectations in order to cultivate it
  • Premodifier ‘thickening’ symbolises passing of time and crumbling circumstance of the relationship.
• A02: “to a bowl of apples rotten to the core”

  • can say that the relationship is “rotten to the core” — a dead metaphor in common usage. Duffy gives it life by taking it literally and using it to describe apples with her use of personification. metaphor for the broken partnership.
  • 'apples’ were once sweet and fresh, everything is once fresh and new, however with time, everything ages and decays too, it's a natural process, perhaps Duffy implies this journey is one we must all have to go on.
  • Rotten to the core’ No preservation, most food, even with the best preservation will eventually rot.
• A03: Duffy is inspired by T S Elliot

  she has a more abrupt and raw deception of romance
• A05: Elizabeth O'Reilly states 'Duffy's poetry should be read as an exploration of the deepest recess of human emotion, both joy and pain'

  • can be argued that this relationship is exclusively about pain as it is exploring the decay and rot of this toxic and unloving relationship.