MRS BEAST

This is loosely based on the story of

‘Beauty and the Beast’ but, as usual in
this collection, it has a different
viewpoint from the original, where
Beauty’s love transforms the beast into a
handsome prince. In Duffy’s poem, the
beast stays a beast (that is an ugly man)
and Beauty herself networks with other
women in a similar position. These are
powerful women, not only by reason of
their looks, but because they have
partners who are very ugly and therefore
extremely grateful to them for staying
around. These women play what is
usually considered the masculine role.

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Gaze

Dump
Invited

Hard
Beautiful

Beast
MRS
MRS BEAST
Chuck Touch Charming

Bastards Girls Tossed

Pretty Ladies Bad

Stashed Blessed Serious

Wildly Tears Stud

Unloved Rich Cheroot

Look at the list above. Try to put them into three 
groups:
• male associations
• female associations
• neutral words with neither male nor female 
associations

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 MRS BEAST
This poem links all the sources for her poems: 
history, the bible, literature and media with 
fairy tales, with which she began her collection

Now read the whole poem paying attention to 
the groups of words. Does anything surprise you?
To what extent does the poem rely on the reader 
having certain expectations of male and female 
relationships, behaviour and language?

What is your impression of Mrs Beast herself?
Is she a character who challenges stereotypes ‐ 
particularly those based on gender.
Or has she escaped the stereotype of 'beauty' 
only to fall into the stereotype of the dominatrix?

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 MRS BEAST
GROUPS OF WOMEN

Women from Literature, history, myth, music and 
popular culture:

Group 1:Helen, Cleopatra, Queen of Sheba, Juliet, 
Nefertiti, Mona Lisa, Greta Garbo, Little Mermaid

Group 2:Goldilocks, the Minataur's wife, Frau 
Yellow Dwarf, Bride of the Bearded Lesbian

Group 3:Henry VIII's wives, Princess Diana, Bessie 
Smith, Rapunzel, Snow White

What do you know about these women?
Which women have something in common?
How would you divide them up into groups?

Now re‐read the poem paying attention to the 
women in your group.

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 MRS BEAST
Mrs Beast claims : "I had the language, girls" e
th e!
suggesting that this is something desirable ad ag
I h ngu
la
What do you think she means by this?
Is there any significance in her choice of word, 
"girls"?

Why do you think Mrs Beast put this claim in the 
mouth of Mrs Beast?

List all the poems in 'The World's Wife' in which 
language is a central concern. Can you see any 
patterns?

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 MRS BEAST
LOOKING OUTWARDS:

Compare 'Mrs Beast' and 'Little Red Cap'

Mrs Beast is the penultimate poem.

'Little Red Cap' opens the collection.

Draw up two headings:

SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES

Look at
• content and themes
• style use of language, imagery, word choice,
sound etc
• style use of form
• style use of structure

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 MRS BEAST
Some critics have called 'Little Red Cap' an 
agenda for the whole collection; others have 
described 'Mrs Beast' as its manifesto.

An agenda is defined as a 'a list of matters to be 
discussed'
A manifesto is defined as 'a public declaration of 
policy and aims'

In what ways might 'Little Red Cap' be 
interpreted as an agenda for the collection? Is 
'Mrs Beast' 'a public declaration of aims'?

Try arguing in favour and against these 
interpretations.

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 MRS BEAST
'Mrs Beast' sums up Carol Ann Duffy's aim in The  Feminism has moved on beyond a
World's Wife to give a voice to the marginalised  polarised view of gender but 'Mrs Beast'
and misrepresented women of history and  reflects an earlier feminist stance
literature.

Despite the word play and exuberance, this is a

This text is particularly interesting as an
bleak and depressing poem, showing the
impossibility of equal love between men and exploration of feminism in the latter half of
women the 20th Century

This is a magnificent poem in its playful, 
THAT WORD AGAIN! subversive uses of language and cultural 
material 

This poem is simply feminist propaganda The quality of the poetry is to be admired along 

which doesn't really hold its own as a with its accomplished poetic techniques 
poem of lasting value