Comparative (Rezkallah vs. Duffy)

Eli Rezkallah and Carol Ann Duffy both explore the representation of gender roles and stereotypes, feminism and relationships. Through Rezkallah’s collection, ‘In a parallel universe’, he ridicules the connotations that come with women and their expected perfection in society. Duffy uses an unorthodox approach towards addressing the faults within feminine connotations by societies, through poetry that reiterates the normality in women behaving in the same manner as a man. Duffy’s depiction of the poem ‘Valentine’ from Mean Time well portrays an uncommon insight into a woman’s feelings about romantic gestures. Both forms of representation intend to empower the alienated voices of women. 

 

The presentation of Rezkallah’s work parodically mocks the misogynistic manner of traditional advertisements. The way he alludes the misrepresentation and sexualisation of women is through the use of satirical humour. By using satire, he is subtly suggesting to the audience the appalling nature of adverts to depict women. Through these means, the audience gets a sense of how advertising uses the misinterpreted connotations attached to women; Rezkallah does this is a light and joking way. Similarly, Duffy uses women to overrule the faulty presentations of women itself. She enhances her content by framing women’s voices through a persona to represent an idea rather than a person. ‘In a parallel universe’ specifically reverses gender roles and inverts the generalised relationship between a man and woman. Just like Rezkallah, Duffy defies women’s norms that are derived from male dominance. Although, her style uses a depiction of a woman’s story, allowing readers to attempt to empathise. More than simply alleviating the misused connotations, she reinstates neglected voices. The poem ‘Valentine’ uses a persona to suggest an alternative way of looking at romance, in opposition to the typically expected view on romance from a woman.

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One Comment

  1. tsw@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Reply

    There are some solid ideas about gender here T.

    Consider:

    * There is no close analysis or evidence here. It is a lot of fairly vague, generalised content. Where you do attempt it, it is not explained fully (what persona? How? When? Give evidence, explain etc.)

    * Consider your word order carefully. You write: “Duffy uses an unorthodox approach towards addressing the faults within feminine connotations by societies.” This is confusing. Duffy is really questioning society’s female stereotypes, but in yours, you separate the ideas so it is hard to follow.

    * You introduce the specific text for Duffy, but not for Rezkallah – why?

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