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THE KRAY SISTERS
Duffy has fun in this poem, with cockney
rhyming slang and with the idea of the Kray
twins being sisters rather brothers. She also
takes liberties with their personal history (and
with history itself too).

Glossary of rhyming slang used in the poem:

frog and toad road

whistle and flute suit
threepenny bits tits
mince pies eyes
God forbids kids
Vera Lynn gin
orchestra stalls balls

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The Kray twins, Ron and Reggie were famous for running a savage and violent East End
gang in the 1960‛s. They had been brought up by their mother, as their father had
deserted from the army during World War II and was constantly on the run. Although
they were seldom in trouble at school, they were both champion boxers. The twins, in
their turn, deserted from the army, where they had been called up for National
Service, and became involved in crime, finally being given a dishonourable discharge.
By this time they were in charge of a gang and were involved in hijacking, armed
robbery, protection rackets and arson. They owned a number of clubs that gave them
a ‘front‛ for their criminal activities. They were also well known for their social
connections, often appearing in the newspapers.
Ron was actually insane and was later certified as a paranoid, schizophrenic
psychopath. His twin protected him and worked with him until they were finally
imprisoned. It took the police a long time to secure a conviction, despite three
murders and a trail of violent criminality. This was partly because of the East End
code of silence, but more because of the intimidation of witnesses. At last they
arrested all the gang members together and witnesses finally came forward. The
Krays were given thirty years in 1968. Ron was detained in a secure mental unit, dying
in 1995, while Reg remained in a top security prison until 2000, when he was released,
suffering from cancer. He died later that year.

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How would you describe the tone of this poem?

Pick out the allusions to 20th Century history and

comment on the effect.

Find quotations that make reference to popular culture

and comment on the effect.

What is the effect of the cockney rhyming slang?

Find examples of cliche and comment on the effect.

What is the effect of the internal rhymes: 'back' and

'black', 'West' and 'best', 'ice' and 'nice'. in the first
stanza?

Find examples of Duffy's listing technique. Effect?

to Look for puns and comment on the effect.

e se q u estions
Use th em
n n o t a te the po
a

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Euphemism ­
The substitution of a mild term for a blunt one.
e.g
MILD BLUNT
a firm criminal gang

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In the late 20th and early 21st Centuries, the media was fascinated by the rise of girl
gangs. Read the following extracts and note down anything interesting about the role of
men and women in society and how they are represented in print.

But nowadays the roles have been dramatically

reversed. While 15 year old boys are content to
play on their computers, more girls are drinking,
smoking and taking drugs. The findings reflect
the rise of the ladette culture among young
women who try to keep pace with male drinking
and drug taking...
Dr Helen Sweeting, who led the study, said
social changes have given girls the independence
to ditch traditional female activities: "Girls are
freer to be seen out more and to hang around
the streets," she said. "They are also freer to
smoke and drink and go into pubs and clubs.
There are increased freedoms and opportunities
and that is great but this also brings some health
risks.
Twenty years ago boys drugged, drank, 
smoked, truanted, stole, vandalised and fought 
more than girls. Girls now significantly smoke 
and binge­drink more than boys. They truant, 
steal and fight at similar rates to boys but have 
started under­age sex earlier than boys with 17% 
of lads in Year 11 having had their First­Sexual­
Intercourse (FSI), whereas 31% of Year 11 girls 
have had their FSI.
Professor Colin Pritchard, Daily Mail, 18th May, 
2006

Daily Mail, 26th January 2004

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1. 'The Kray Sisters' shows a depressing alternative to a
patriarchal society, in which women adopt the same tactics as
the men.
2. The poem presents an alternative reality in which women use
strong-arm tactics to create a safer society.
3. The sisters are shown to be just as skillful as their male
counterparts at justifying their control of the underworld.
4. The poem is less about two 20th Century gangsters than a
celebration of a century in which women came to have a voice and
a place in society.
5. The playfulness of the language and the exuberance of the
poetic voice are more important than any theme or message.
6. The final stanza reveals that the Kray sisters' rule is long
over, suggesting that ultimately men will always have the most
power.
7. This is not a feminist poem; it is a parody of a feminist poem.
8. It is difficult to see what this poem adds to the female
voices and experiences as explored in 'The World's Wife'.
9. In this poem Duffy turns cliche, slang and street speak into a
vibrant, exuberant account of the women's movement.
10. The Krays and 60s London are used solely because they
provide a context for a clever, witty exploration of a woman's
eye view of the world.

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Elvis Presley was born in Mississippi, in 1935,

and he did have a twin - a brother who was
stillborn. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee
and became the most famous star in history,
selling over a billion records so far. His
singing style combined the influence of
country and western, gospel and black soul
music and he created a new interracial style
called Rock and Roll. Ironically, in view of his
Christian beliefs - which led him to call his
home Graceland - his music was called ‘the
devil‛s music‛ by religious conservatives. He
died in 1977, but his home remains a focus of
popular tourism.

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In the poem, Duffy imagines his twin as

alive and a sister [in more than one sense,
since she is also a nun]. There are two
quotations at the beginning; the first is
from one of Elvis‛s songs, ‘Are you
lonesome tonight?‛, the second from
Madonna is rather enigmatic - does she
have someone in mind? Duffy has not tried
to give ‘Sister Presley‛ a Tennessee accent,
although there are one or two phrases
from Southern America.

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Elvis is alive Madona made this comment about the
and she's female singer KD Lang. Also there was a great
deal of press and media coverage about
conspiracies surrounding Elvis' death
Why do you think Duffy chose to use
these two epigraphs?

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"Lawdy" 20th
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("Lawdy Miss
Claudy") "Don't step on
my blue suede
shoes" Read the poem and write brief notes to sum up
your thoughts.

Heart Think about how this poem is similar to or

br
Hotel eak
different from the others you have read.

Think about the epigraphs. In what way do they

illuminate or complicate your response to the
poem?
"Lonely
Street" Why do you think Duffy makes Elvis' sister a
nun?

Look closely at Duffy's choice of language.

What effects does she achieve from the

references to song lyrics?

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Attachments

Heartbreak Hotel

video The Kray Twins.mp4

Nancy Sinatra Boots.flv