Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

Abstract

This Extended Essay’s research question that is investigated is “How is Greek Mythology

used by Carol Ann Duffy and Margaret Atwood to convey significant meanings and feminist

ideals to a modern audience?”. The poets Margaret Atwood and Carol Ann Duffy use many

allusions to Greek Mythology to create more profound meanings for their poetry when being

read by modern audiences. These allusions help the intended audience gain a better

understanding to the themes being explored in the poems, with many of themes including

feminist ideas. The investigation was undertaken by reading and analysing the selected poetry

and then researching the Greek Myth that was referenced throughout. Similarities in themes

and ideas were grouped together so the alike poems could be discussed simultaneously. The

allusions provided a greater insight into the poems’ meaning as well as strengthen their

overarching significance. Carol Ann Duffy writes poems that coincide with particular

mythological figures, as seen in Thetis 1 , Circe 2 , and Demeter 3 , by not explicitly stating the

myth in her poetry which the title figures refer to she is able to almost retell the myths in a

modern situation and highlights important themes such as the power of love and the

continuous mistreatment of women. Similarly, Margaret Atwood uses Greek Mythology to

convey her connotations of feminist ideas and observations of mankind in Siren Song 4 , as

well as views on love and abusive relationships as seen in her poem Eurydice 5 .

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Goldsmith