Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Carol Ann Duffy's poem "Eurydice" presents a clever and subversive retelling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Duffy’s version offers a fresh perspective that empowers Eurydice, giving voice to her experience and feelings in a way that the original myth does not. The poem is characterized by its witty, contemporary tone, which challenges traditional narratives and explores themes of identity, autonomy, and the constraints of being defined by another.

The poem begins with Eurydice speaking directly to "girls," setting an intimate and conspiratorial tone. She describes her state in the Underworld as a shadow of her former self, a place where "language stopped," representing a cessation of her own voice and story. Duffy uses this setting to highlight Eurydice's initial contentment with her quiet, undisturbed existence in the realm of the dead, contrasting sharply with the life she led.

Eurydice's peaceful afterlife is interrupted by Orpheus, who is unable to accept her death and seeks to bring her back to the living world. Duffy paints Orpheus in a humorous light, critiquing his ego and poetic pretensions. Eurydice mocks Orpheus’s reputation and the hyperbolic praise of his poetry, which supposedly enchanted all creatures and even inanimate objects. Her skeptical and irreverent tone suggests a familiarity with Orpheus’s weaknesses, notably his penchant for "abstract nouns" and his self-importance, which she humorously dismisses with a curt "Bollocks."

Duffy’s Eurydice is acutely aware of her role as the muse in Orpheus’s narratives. She expresses a strong desire for autonomy, resenting how she has been objectified and idealized as "Dearest, Beloved, Dark Lady, White Goddess etc., etc." This litany of roles underscores her frustration with being seen not as herself, but as an extension of Orpheus’s poetic imagination. Her declaration, "In fact girls, I’d rather be dead," is both a literal truth and a figurative expression of her desire to escape Orpheus’s defining gaze.

As the myth unfolds, Duffy stays true to the original in that Orpheus is warned not to look back at Eurydice as they exit the Underworld. However, Duffy’s retelling diverges as Eurydice reveals that she actively sabotaged Orpheus’s attempt to rescue her. She describes her efforts to remain in the Underworld as deliberate and conscious, challenging the passive role traditionally assigned to her. This twist not only subverts the myth but also serves as a commentary on women's agency and the desire to define one’s own narrative.

The climax occurs when Eurydice tricks Orpheus into looking back by feigning interest in his poem, knowing this would ensure her return to the Underworld. Her successful plot to stay dead reflects her strong will and determination to escape Orpheus's influence, preferring the "wise, drowned silence of the dead" to the life he offers, which she perceives as a constriction within his poetic expressions.

Ultimately, "Eurydice" by Carol Ann Duffy is a powerful reclamation of voice and identity. It transforms Eurydice from a passive subject of tragedy into an active agent of her own story, critiquing the ways in which women are often silenced and defined through the perspectives of others. Duffy's Eurydice chooses silence not out of defeat, but as a powerful assertion of self, preferring the oblivion of death to the limitations of life defined by someone else’s words.

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