1. Introduction

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we provide a brief introduction to Carol Ann Duffy and her 1993 collection, 'Mean Time', focusing in particular on: (i) the stage in Carol Ann Duffy's career that 'Mean Time' was written; (ii) some of the key themes and preoccupations of the collection; and (iii) the multiple meanings of the collection's title, 'Mean Time'.

Course

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Carol Ann Duffy’s 1993 collection, ‘Mean Time'. After an introductory module in which we think about the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy in general and the collection as a whole – and especially the implications of its title – the course continues with a reading and analysis of each of the thirty-nine poems in the collection, one by one.

Lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.