The Full Text of “Recognition”
The Full Text of “Recognition”
-
“Recognition” Introduction
-
-
“Recognition” Summary
-
-
“Recognition” Themes
-
Aging, Relationships, and Regret
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-32
-
Aging and Womanhood
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2
- Lines 5-9
- Lines 14-24
- Lines 26-32
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Recognition”
-
Lines 1-4
Things get away ...
... even know them. -
Lines 5-8
I strain to ...
... put powder on, -
Lines 9-12
but it flakes ...
... all the essentials -
Lines 13-16
on one trip. ...
... promised the earth. -
Lines 17-20
You see this ...
... held a pose -
Lines 21-24
which left me ...
... Claret. I blushed. -
Lines 25-28
Cheese. Kleenex. ...
... flush, and bumped -
Lines 29-32
into an anxious, ...
... sorry sorry sorry.
-
-
“Recognition” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 2: “I’ve,” “know”
- Line 3: “I’ve”
- Line 4: “know”
- Line 5: “I”
- Line 7: “Years”
- Line 8: “I”
- Line 9: “but,” “I”
- Line 10: “but”
- Line 12: “I”
- Line 14: “weepy”
- Line 19: “wept”
- Line 24: “I”
- Line 26: “I”
- Line 27: “Years,” “I”
- Line 31: “and,” “stared,” “Stared”
- Line 32: “and,” “sorry sorry sorry”
-
Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 8: “put,” “powder”
- Line 15: “blond,” “boy”
- Line 18: “stood,” “scales”
- Line 20: “creamy”
- Line 21: “clogged”
- Line 22: “waste,” “forgotten”
- Line 23: “fumbled”
- Line 24: “compassionless,” “Claret”
- Line 25: “Kleenex”
- Line 28: “blind,” “bumped”
- Line 31: “stared,” “Stared”
- Line 32: “said,” “sorry,” “sorry,” “sorry”
-
Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “go,” “know”
- Line 4: “don’t,” “know”
- Line 5: “time”
- Line 6: “lighter”
- Line 11: “gets,” “upset”
- Line 20: “ladies,” “pose”
- Line 21: “old”
- Line 22: “waste”
- Line 23: “gaped”
- Line 24: “compassionless. Claret.”
- Line 25: “Cheese,” “Kleenex,” “happen”
- Line 26: “grass”
- Line 27: “laughing,” “rush”
- Line 28: “flush,” “bumped”
-
Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 3-4: “three / and”
- Lines 5-6: “time / when”
- Lines 7-8: “swollen / with”
- Lines 10-11: “proof / has”
- Lines 12-13: “essentials / on”
- Lines 15-16: “up / in”
- Lines 17-18: “me / as”
- Lines 19-20: “window / creamy”
- Lines 20-21: “pose / which”
- Lines 28-29: “bumped / into”
- Lines 29-30: “matron / who”
- Lines 30-31: “mirror / and”
- Lines 31-32: “Stared / and”
-
Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Lines 9-11
- Lines 14-32
-
-
“Recognition” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Evaporated
- Quiche
- Shallots
- Clogged
- Fumbled
- Shopgirl
- Gaped
- Claret
- Slip
- Dowdy matron
-
(Location in poem: Lines 10-11: “but the proof / has evaporated”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Recognition”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Recognition” Speaker
-
-
“Recognition” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Recognition”
-
-
More “Recognition” Resources
-
External Resources
-
An Introduction to the Poet — Learn more about Duffy's life and career in this article by the Poetry Foundation.
-
An Interview with Duffy for her 2009 Poetry Collection, Sincerity — An interview with Duffy for the Scottish Review of Books in which Duffy discusses her life, work, influences, and her role as Poet Laureate.
-
Pan Macmillan Synopsis of Selling Manhattan — Read the publisher's synopsis for Selling Manhattan, the collection in which "Recognition" was published.
-
A History of the Dramatic Monologue — A brief look at the history of the dramatic monologue, a form Duffy frequently uses for her poems, including "Recognition."
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
-
