Anne Hathaway Analysis

Why does Duffy use an extract from Shakespeare's will ? The reason Duffy had used an extract from Shakespeare's will is because she had a different view towards Shakespeare’s will. The poem “Anne Hathaway” acts as an revisionist exercise, where Duffy challenges Shakespeare’s idea of the second best bed with an alternative opinion of her own. Duffy interprets the second bed as not simply the second best bed or a sign of neglect, but a sign and proof of love and devotion to the reader as it is actually the bed that they love the most, this is because even it might not be the best in terms of its value, it is the bed they slept in together;the bed where they share all their best moments. This is achieved through speaking in the point of view of Anne Hathaway, which is in contrast to one of Carol Ann Duffy’s poem “The World’s Wife” as women was not able to speak for themselves and are overshadowed by their husbands. Overall, the extract of Shakespeare’s will act as a signpost to the reader as it links the whole poem together and emphasises the theme of love between Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway in a positive way as Shakespeare was not actually giving the …show more content…
In this poem the physical world would be what the second best bed looks like visually. It might not look very elegant or it might not be a very expensive bed that everyone would think when referring to “the best bed”, but through the idea and incorporation of Duffy’s imagination it would be a whole different story. In the poem the invisible world or the “World of otherness” would be the imaginations of Duffy, as Duffy describes the second best bed as the symbol of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s love, through the imagination of beautiful and romantic sceneries such as "forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas.", poetically describing what the two lovers would feel and experience at the side of their