Context

Carol Ann Dufy (1955-present) is one of the most celebrated modern British poets. She was made Poet Laureate in 2009, and seriously considered for the role a decade earlier in 1999 after the death of Ted Hughes. Duffy’s background, particularly her sexuality, made her a controversial choice for Poet Laureate and has had an important impact on her work. It has been argued that Duffy’s bisexuality is significant in contributing to her ability at presenting the erotic other. Some have stated that it gives her poems, and the subtext of female desire in ‘Warming Her Pearls’ would be an example of this, greater emotional and thematic range. Having been educated in a convent, repressed desire is a theme frequently explored. Indeed the form of ‘Warming Her Pearls’, that of a dramatic monologue focussed on love, is similar to much of Duffy’s poetry. Her ability to inhabit different voices is highly regarded. Her partner at the time of writing ‘Warming Her Pearls’, Jackie Kay, was also a poet and Duffy has commented on the influence they had on each other. Though now separated, Duffy remained with Kay for a long period and the two had a child together.

Perhaps more important is Duffy’s political background. Born in Glasgow to two radicals, Duffy has always been associated with the left. Her father was a trade unionist and Duffy herself as been described by Danette DiMarco as the poet of “post-post war England: Thatcher’s England” (Qtd. Poetry Foundation). The England which Duffy wrote much of her earlier poetry in provides a vital context for her frequent theme of class. Many of the speakers in her poems – including the maid in ‘Warming her Pearls’ – come from the margins of society. 

It was in 1999 that the watershed in her career came with the publication of The World’s Wife where she significantly widened her audience and appeal. She became a frequent feature on school syllabuses. ‘Warming Her Pearls’ was published prior to this breakthrough, in 1987, in the anthology Selling Manhattan. Interestingly Duffy argues states that the poem “Was very important to me” and it marked a stage in her career where she felt she “could walk across the tightrope on [her] own” (Qtd in Telegraph). The poem is critically acclaimed and provided the inspiration for Sarah Water’s best selling novel Fingersmith. The historical context of the poem is vague – the speaker is clearly a 19^th century servant, but whether this is in the Victorian or Edwardian period is unclear. The exact historical setting of the poem is inconsequential compared to the themes, however. Crucially the poem shows the power the upper class had over the lower classes in 19^th century society – the speaker sees the pearls as a rope around her neck. It is here where the context of Duffy’s contemporary society comes into play. Written as Thatcher entered her third term as Prime Minister, the poem can also be used to comment on the inequality that was rife in Thatcherite society. 

Gee Jones

"Carol Ann Duffy." Poems & poets. Poetry Foundation n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

“Carol Ann Duffy Interview” John Preston. Telegraph. 11 May 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.