“Stealing” by Carol Ann Duffy

The most unusual thing I ever stole? A snowman.
Midnight. He looked magnificent; a tall, white mute
beneath the winter moon. I wanted him, a mate
with a mind as cold as the slice of ice
within my own brain. I started with the head.

Better off dead than giving in, not taking
what you want. He weighed a ton; his torso,
frozen stiff, hugged to my chest, a fierce chill
piercing my gut. Part of the thrill was knowing
that children would cry in the morning. Life's tough.

Sometimes I steal things I don't need. I joy-ride cars
to nowhere, break into houses just to have a look.
I'm a mucky ghost, leave a mess, maybe pinch a camera.
I watch my gloved hand twisting the doorknob.
A stranger's bedroom. Mirrors. I sigh like this - Aah.

It took some time. Reassembled in the yard,
he didn't look the same. I took a run
and booted him. Again. Again. My breath ripped out
in rags. It seems daft now. Then I was standing
alone among lumps of snow, sick of the world.

Boredom. Mostly I'm so bored I could eat myself.
One time, I stole a guitar and thought I might
learn to play. I nicked a bust of Shakespeare once,
flogged it, but the snowman was the strangest.
You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?

1. Syntax in poetry can be meaningful but confusing. Syntax is the sentence structure, the way wards go together to make sentences. Do you see any unusual word order? Why do you think the poet diverges from usual word order? Are there any fractured sentences? Are there any questions?
The poem is framed by two questions: “The most unusual thing I ever stole?” and “You don’t understand a word I’m saying, do you?” This gives the entire poem a conversational tone. We assume that the speaker is answering somebody’s answer. Based on the first question asked and the lack of understanding shown by the questioner, we can assume that the speaker is talking to a policeman or social worker. The syntax is not always correct, as in the fragmented sentences (“A stranger’s bedroom,” “Midnight”), which emphasises the conversational tone. There are also enjambments which interrupt actions (“I took a run / and booted him”). Agnese thinks this has the effect of emphasising the teenage energy of the speaker.

2. Structure is the way the whole poem is organized and put together. Free verse is poetry without meter It is arranged in lines, it often has units that look like stanzas, and it has alliteration, rhyme, rhythmic phrasing, and nuanced diction. Find examples of the structure and the poetic devices named above in the poem. How does the structure give meaning. Think of chaos and order. Explain.
The structure of the poem helps characterise the speaker. The use of free verse, sentence fragments and enjambments make the narrator seem unruly, wild and young. S/he, like his/her speech, does not follow order and lives by his/her own rules.

3. Who is the speaker or voice of the poem? Can you find examples of the use of enjambment, as well as natural speech to find a speaker?
The speaker is probably a young disillusioned person. The natural speech is found in the grammatically incorrect structure of the fragments and the enjambments, like “I joy-ride cars / to nowhere.” There are other examples, but they all contribute to giving the poem a conversational tone.

4. Internal rhyme is when the rhymed words are in the middle or within the line. Where do you find an example of this? What does it emphasise?
An example of internal rhyme is “I started with the head. / Better off dead”. This rhyme emphasises two things: (1) the brutality of the speaker’s actions “started with the head” and (2) the fact that the speaker think that s/he would be “better off dead” than stop rebelling. Other examples of internal rhyme is “slice of ice”. These rhymes highlight the speaker’s uses of figurative language.

5. Caesura is a rhythmic device for emphasizing meaning with a strong pause somewhere in the line. It can be in the middle of the line. Where do you find caesura in the middle of lines. What words are being emphasized? Are there any strong contrasts?
The caesuras enforce the conversational tone of the poem. Examples of caesura include “A snowman. Midnight. He looked magnificent” and “I took a run and booted him. Again. Again.” The words emphasised are bolded.

6. A lot of colloquial language is used in this poem. How does it help define the speaker?
The colloquial language of the speaker (“ton,” “booted,” “gut,” etc.) hints at the identity of the speaker. This type of language encourages the assumption that the speaker is young, probably a teenager. We also assume that the speaker is somewhat of a troublemaker, probably due to the use of the word “midnight”. Another example of colloquial language is “It seems daft now.”

7. What is the snowman symbolic for? In what way can it reflect onto the speaker?
The snowman is literally the strangest thing the speaker ever stole, but is a symbol for the anger and disillusionment that s/he is feeling and his/her delinquency.

 

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Interesting things brought up during class discussions:

• Pace dictated by syntax – actions are urgent because the speaker is stealing.
• Theft of the camera: a personal item of no value to the thief.
• Steals the snowman because she wants to hold on to her childhood. Also to teach the children about the difficulty of life. Speaker has sadistic tendencies.
• “A stranger’s bedroom. Mirrors. I sigh like this – Aah.” The word “mirror” acts as a mirror in terms of the syllables before and after the word. Moment of reflection for the speaker? Or, relief that it was only her reflection, not another person?
• Rhythm mixed with chaos. “slice of ice” and free verse. Moments of calm, and moments of disturbance.
• Enjambment gives the poem a beat/rhythm.