Duffy’s themes include language and the representation of reality; the construction of the self; gender issues; contemporary culture; and many different forms of alienation, oppression and social inequality. She writes in everyday, conversational language, making her poems appear deceptively simple. With this demotic style she creates contemporary versions of traditional poetic forms - she makes frequent use of the dramatic monologue in her exploration of different voices and different identities, and she also uses the sonnet form. Duffy is both serious and humorous, often writing in a mischievous, playful style - in particular, she plays with words as she explores the way in which meaning and reality are constructed through language. In this, her work has been linked to postmodernism and poststructuralism, but this is a thematic influence rather than a stylistic one: consequently, there is an interesting contrast between the postmodern content and the conservative forms.

Another theme that Duffy explores throughout Beautiful is the female body. Indeed, the title word ‘Beautiful’ refers to female beauty. Yet, this beauty is often a negative thing, leading to exploitation. Duffy argues that the female body is used as a point of manipulation, and society sexualizes these bodies for its own gain. Especially in the third section of the poem, Duffy suggests that society focuses on Marilyn Monroe due to her beauty. While some could see this as a form of gaining power, it seems that Duffy focuses more so on how this attention leads to the eventual demise of these women. The second character discussed is Cleopatra, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. She ruled from 51-30BC. Cleo, similarly to Helen of Troy, is a figure much favored by art and literature. In 30 BC, her naval fleet (including her husband, Mark Anthony) was defeated. This led to Antony’s suicide. Once Cleopatra learned of this, she killed herself by poisoning. While history is not certain if this death comes from self-poison or being bitten by an asp, many believe she self-inflicted the snake bite. Honorary Graduates 2009" (PDF). 1.hw.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2009 . Retrieved 17 July 2016. The first of the women explored in Beautiful is Helen of Troy. Helen is a character from Greek Mythology, known as the daughter of Zeus and Leda. She is commonly referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world, hence her inclusion in the poem. She became a figure much loved in art and history, with much of literature touching on her story. Duffy likes to take a familiar psychological reality and extend it as an outrageous metaphor. In "The Map Woman", for instance, an A-to-Z street map of the town in which a woman has grown up is tattooed over the skin of her whole body. Wherever she goes, and whatever she becomes, that geography remains an indelible pattern she cannot escape; until, that is, almost accidentally, she hits on the remedy. She decides to return to the real town that haunts her. In the intervening years, the place she remembers has become almost unrecognisable under newly built arcades and shopping malls. Bewildered by these changes, she retreats to her hotel room. There, she sloughs her skin like a snake. In the last verse, Duffy escapes from the metaphor to close the poem with a resonance that recalls some of Larkin's memorable conclusions:

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Demara, Bruce (7 July 2016). "The Bizzaro History of the Poet L aureate". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016.

References to Queen Elizabeth I, who rejected various suitors. 'Long Queen' could be seen as patron saint of women, as she rejects most patriarchal standards

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Nonetheless, Feminine Gospels (2002), as the title suggests, is a concentration on the female point of view. It is a celebration of female experience, and it has a strong sense of magic and fairytale discourse. However, as in traditional fairytales, there is sometimes a sense of darkness as well as joy. Birth, death and the cycles and stages of life feature strongly, including menstruation, motherhood and aging. Duffy’s beloved daughter Ella was born in 1995, and her experience of motherhood has deeply influenced her poetry (as well as inspiring her to write other works for children). Poems such as 'The Cord' and 'The Light Gatherer' rejoice in new life, while ‘Death and the Moon’ mourns those who have passed on: ‘[…] I cannot say where you are. Unreachable / by prayer, even if poems are prayers. Unseeable / in the air, even if souls are stars […]’. Each of the girls referenced in The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High, such as Carolann Clare, has four syllables. Duffy could be using this to comment on the education system of England, and how they are more interested in pumping out identical students. This is furthered with the introduction of the rote memorization technique. Duffy presents the list of ‘rivers of England’ in a long asyndetic list. The use of asyndeton, at first, creates a seemingly never-ending list that must be memorized. This is then followed by an ellipsis, ‘Wharfe…’, signalling that the list continues on and on. The slight metrical pause caused by the caesura between each river name further slows down the poem. Duffy is presenting the task of memorization as arduous and boring. This is a technique that repeats throughout the early poem. British Academy Fellowship reaches 1,000 as 42 new UK Fellows are welcomed". British Academy. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018.

Shakespeare's much ado about nothing adds to light hearted tone, the song is nonsense but celebratory The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High is the central bridge in the Feminine Gospels, Duffy moving from abstract to personal poems. Due to the role of the bridge, The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High has many shared themes with other Duffy poems. The poems near the end of the book - which are closer to prayers or love poems - have that kind of intensity in abundance, particularly those that lament the dead, and tease the living with the hope that after all The use of sibilance to describe ‘Señora Devizes’, ’sartorial, strict, slim, severe, teacher of Spanish’ furthers the qualities it names. The constant /s/ carried across these words create a whisper-like quality, reflecting the quiet anger of the teacher. For all her shouting, ‘Callaos! Callaos! Callaos! Quédense!’, she cannot control the ‘young lungs flowering’. The use of floral imagery relates to classical femininity, the use of ‘flowering’ suggesting that the girls are blossoming due to their combined laughter. They are described as animals, furthering the connection with the power of nature, ‘The Hall was a zoo’.

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Duffy uses The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High to explore the power of female voices. There is also a deep sense of community, grounded within the title school ‘Stafford Girls’. The girls use their laughter to lift each other up, laughter spreading across the school. Eventually, this laughter allows the teachers to liberate themselves from their own lives. Women allow women to rise up and achieve what they have always wanted to do. This poem represents how a community of women can turn the tide of society. Duffy’s poem can also be understood as a metaphor for second-wave feminism. Both community and the female voice are at the heart of this poem. Duffy's rise rather wrong-footed the Oxbridge poetry establishment. The first issue of the Oxford little magazine Thumbscrew (Winter 1994/5) carried a critical essay by Simon Brittain. He concludes: "By employing simplistic language and overstated imagery, Duffy is perfect for those no longer accustomed nor inclined to close reading". But according to her supporters, he comes to this conclusion by ignoring her best poems. On ‘Monday morning’, Doctor Dream tries to rally the children, stopping their laughter. She begins a religious ‘vow’, ‘All earthly things above’ in italics signalling Duffy’s distaste. Rote memorization has permeated even religion. Although staff ‘joined in’, they cannot stop the girls, ‘hysterical’ and laughing. Rebuffing the ‘giggling sea’, ‘Clarice Maud Bream’ pulls up ‘Nigella Dawn’‘from her seat and made to stand on the chair on the stage’. The singling out of one girl forces the others to realize their mistake. The daughter, again using the semantics of water, ‘drained from the Hall.’. The capitalization of ‘SILENCE!’ reflects the stern attitude of the headteacher. The frequent caesura similarly emulates the stunted laughter, ‘news. The bell rang. Nobody/moved. Nobly made a sound’. Duffy presents a moment of silence in the poem, the girls ‘stared in shame at their shoes’. It is ironic that the first two women cited — one mythological and the other drawn from ancient history — were powerful and high status. The other women lived in the twentieth century but, despite the burgeoning feminist movement, were powerless victims.

The hallucinatory, almost feverish, presentation of Monroe’s life begins with ‘slept’. Duffy presents the woman exploited from the moment she wakes right till she sleeps. Everything in between is connected with hellish asyndeton, propelling the poem onwards, ‘coffee, pills, booze’. The reference to addictive substances foreshadows Monroe’s death, overdosing on sleeping pills. The language is a mix of colloquial and lyrical, the opening stanza about Helen of Troy being a good example, with “divinely fair” juxtaposed with “drop-dead gorgeous”. The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High by Carol Ann Duffy traces the developing wave of laughter. Duffy represents how female voices can lift each other up and lead to liberation. Flood, Alison (27 April 2009). "Betting closed on next poet laureate amid speculation that Carol Ann Duffy has been chosen". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009.

Firstly, the consonance across ‘deep, dumped’ creates a sense of oppression, the language flowing in hypnotic circles. Furthermore, the plosive ‘p’ within both these words cuts through the narrative, representing the brutality Monroe experienced on a daily basis. The stories of the women are told by a third person narrator. The tone is ironic and bleakly humorous. The pace is fast, relying particularly on lists that carry their own significance to the reader. College Notices – Cambridge University Reporter 6160". University of Cambridge. 7 October 2009 . Retrieved 11 April 2012.