Loud documents one woman’s rage against mainstream media and the ignorance of society towards the various conflicts in the world.
Loud is unique, as Duffy begins it with an epigraph, which is an excerpt from a news article publish by The Guardian, a British daily newspaper.
Being loud is a female taboo - it represents rebellion and resistance.
"The News had often made her shout, but one day her voice ripped out of her throat like a firework"
Many members of the public are outraged by what they see on the news but do not do anything about it, or don’t see themselves holding the power to. The poem explores one woman’s ultimate rage with the news and her using her voice to protest.
Fireworks can be beautiful and celebratory, yet dangerous
"Not any more. Now she could roar."
Caesuras - sense of finality to her passiveness, now she is determined to make a change
Onomatopoeia - animalistic and powerful
"Then her scream was a huge bird ... each vast wing a shriek ... the beak the sickening hiss of a thrown spear"
Reference to Greek Mythology - Harpies
Her voice is unwelcome to the idealised calm of the typical British public
"She bawled at the moon and it span away into space"
The moon is often a symbol of femininity, but here it seems unwilling to be seen with her, as she has strayed from typical expectations for women.
She is isolated - her voice has not helped her gain support
"the shriek of a bomb ... the thump of the drop"
Parallelism, harsh onomatopoeia, and plosive consonance creates an overwhelming cacophonous effect.
"loud, loud, louder, the News."
Despite her voice being a deafening cacophony of different sounds, she is ultimately drowned out by the News.