Carol Ann Duffy in her poem Originally explores the themes of growing up, loneliness and isolation through her use of mood, imagery and contrast. To pin down to a central theme, loss of identity can be observed. As the title suggests, the poet tries to discover her originality or identity by exploring the factors which affect it. Identity can not only be shaped and defined by the environment but also can be affected by the dialect and culture.
Duffy chose to write the poem in the first person, which straight away draws us to the theme of isolation. The first stanza of the poem is her account on how the adult of the family is moving her and her brothers from one place to another. The poem starts with: "We came from our own country." Usage of "we" says that the poet is talking or trying to describe a personal experience or
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This captures the interest of the readers and makes the them feel that they are having a conversation with the poet itself. The poem is a monologue where the main character id doing all the talking. This adds to the idea of isolation. Immediately after this the poet says: “a red room which fell through the fields.” An imagery of a vehicle, which probably is red in colour, travelling through the fields is created in the minds of the reader. Though the poet tries to create a happy mood at the beginning through her use of rhyme: “fell through the fields” and “the turn of the wheels” as well as reference to the “mother singing”, all is not happy. The word "fell" in the gives a sense of something sad and uncomfortable happening. This sense of sadness is heightened by one of the brothers “bawling Home, Home” and another crying. There is the use of personification in describing the journey: “the miles rushed back to the city” which expresses poet's own desire to go back, and the clever use of a list which takes us back to the place she has just left: “the city, the street, the house, the vacant rooms where we didn’t live