The Dramatic Monologue and the New "Democratic Voice" in the Poetry of Carol Ann Duffy

This paper intends to examine the use by Carol Ann DufJY (b. 19 55) of the dramatic monologue in order to dramatize the anxieties of foreigners, immigrants, and social misfits in contemporary British society. The paper advances from the premise that DufJY is part of a new "democratic voice, " a term used by some critics to describe the ethnically diverse, contemporary British poets. It contends that, just as she is part of this "democratic voice" (Scottish, female, poet from outside the establishment,) her poetry showcases that "democratic voice," not only in the "accessibility" of its language but also in the plurality of its speakers who would not have a chance to voice their anxieties except on a democratic platform. Just as she, as a poet, has succeeded to conquer the center-the first woman ever to become Britain's Poet Laureate in 2009-her marginalized speakers are brought to the center of attention, surprisingly, in the dramatic monologue, the conventional poetic form associated with Browning, and linked with "imperial" England that marginalized women and the other. While DuffY employs the dramatic monologue in the manner of Browning, she, meantime, undermines it. In her monologues, she constructs a democratic platform on which she uses non-standard forms of English to give fresh insights into the inner life of some lower elements of contemporary British society, mentioned above. On that platform, we listen to each one of them, caught at a crucial moment of his/her life, revealing his/her fantasies, fears and preoccupations. Most of these characters struggle against hard circumstances. By dramatizing their anxieties, DuffY is able to examine British society's narrow assumptions about identity and authority.