'Beautiful' - Carol Ann Duffy

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talks in turn about four iconic and significant women in history - Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana: mainly talks about how their physical features (beauty) have influenced their popularity

Helen of Troy:

'a daughter of the gods' - informs us how she is the daughter of Zeus, a Greek god

'gorgeous, beautiful, a peach, a child of grace' gives us a positive description of her appearance

use of enjambment adds conversational tone. Use of chronological order and linear narrative

'skin's celebrity' suggests she is only famous for her beauty

'a thousand ships - on everyone one a thousand men' - reference to the Trojan War

'her name tattooed upon the muscle of his arm' shows the devotion men feel towards her

'superstar' could be seen as similar to the other figures mentioned in the poem

'turned into a cloud // falling there like rain' - pathetic fallacy

Cleopatra:

regular stanza structure, stanza 1 talks about the feminine features she possesses

'had him gibbering in bed by twelve' - example of lust, shows her popularity

'tough beauty' - oxymoron, example of contrast

'gambling', 'head between her teeth' - shows less feminine side of her - perhaps disliked by society for this?

Marilyn Monroe:

'till her hair was platinum, her teeth gems, her eyes sapphires' - unnatural descriptions of beauty showing signs of stress?

'coffee, pills, booze' highlights her dependancy on drugs

'she couldn't die when she died' - example of how the media manipulated her life so much that she was unable to die without the press knowing

'smoking cop' shows how she could be a possible sex image?

'dark roots of her pubic hair' - again, another sex image and could also suggest how she wasn't naturally blonde and her hair is fake, perhaps like her personality that she has to put on for the media?

Princess Diana:

'dead' - first word in stanza addresses her identity in a negative way

'crossed', 'clamped, 'clasped' - emphasises the reality of her death, quite forceful descriptions

'you' - refers to audience

'plain women turned in the streets where her shadow fell' - ideal woman, attractive, perhaps inspiring for 'plain women' (the rest of society)

'stare and stare and stare' - the use of repetition shows the obsession with her looks that everyone had

'beauty is fate' means beauty leads to eventual death

'posed' again refers to her appearance

'fucking', 'cunt' - rude language! use of italics shows it is quoted by someone - possibly seen as very shocking? lack of remorse and sympathy

'history's stinking breath in her face' contrasts with the above line, 'the acres of flowers' showing a juxtaposition and hypocrisy

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