Exploring unrequited love in both Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1. No lifting the red rose
from the room service tray
when you leave, as though
you might walk to the lip of
a grave and toss it down.
‘
‘
CUBA – Pg. 19,
Carol Ann Duffy,
Rapture

2. Unrequited
love

3. AO1
Carol
Ann
Duffy’s
poem
'Cuba'
is
the
turning
point
for
her
narrator
in
her
anthology
Rapture.
It
is
the
point
in
which
the
narrator’s
lover
has
rejected
the
romanBc
holiday
that
the
narrator
has
so
carefully
planned.
This,
in
turn,
leads
to
the
narrator
to
feel
spurned
because
the
love
and
careful
planning
is
not
being
reciprocated,
thereby
suggesBng
the
idea
of
unrequited
love.

4. AO2The
structure
plays
a
significant
part
in
Duffy’s
'Cuba',
as
the
short
sharp
sentences
emphasize
the
anger
that
the
narrator
is
feeling.
This
is
parBcularly
evident
when
compared
to
Duffy’s
earlier
poetry
in
Rapture
as
the
reader
is
able
to
compare
the
emoBons,
anger
and
love.
This
can
be
seen
when
looking
at
Duffy’s
line:
‘No
li'ing
the
red
rose
from
the
room
service
tray
when
you
leave,
as
though
you
might
walk
to
the
lip
of
a
grave
and
toss
it
down.’
From
'Cuba'
in
comparison
to
Duffy’s
earlier
poem
'Hand'
where
she
writes,
‘What
do
you
say?
in
my
heart?
I
bend
my
head
to
listen,
then
feel
your
hand
reach
out
and
stroke
my
hair,
as
real
as
the
wind
caressing
the
freAul
trees
above.’

5. AO2
The
use
of
the
comma
aLer
leave
in
'Cuba'
causes
the
sentence
to
be
broken
up
and
snappy
just
as
the
narrator
may,
in
fact,
feel.
However,
the
full
stop
aLer
down
causes
the
sentence,
as
a
whole,
to
become
short,
sharp
and
to
an
abrupt
stop.
Therefore,
when
looking
at
the
poem
'Hand',
and
Duffy’s
use
of
enjambment
and
mulBple
comma’s
before
the
final
full
stop
aLer
above,
gives
the
reader
the
impression
that
the
narrator
has
a
lot
to
say
about
her
lover,
thus
giving
it
a
wholly
posiBve
atmosphere.
Whereas,
in
'Cuba'
the
repeated
short
sentences
emphasize
the
idea
that
the
narrator
is
angered
by
this
situaBon,
is
closing
down
and
is
unable
to
talk
in
long
drawn
out
sentences.

6. AO2
In
conjuncBon
with
this,
Duffy’s
use
of
language
reinforces
this
point
even
further.
The
repeated
use
of
the
adverb
No
is
not
only
a
very
definiBve
one,
but
it
is
also
rather
ironic,
in
the
sense
that
an
adverb
modifies
a
verb.
Yet,
this
situaBon
cannot
be
modified,
however
much
the
narrator
wants
it
to.
Thus,
again
linking
it
to
the
theme
of
the
relaBonship
being
rather
one
sided,
and
the
love
being
unreturned
as
a
whole.

7. AO2It
is
easy
to
read
in
'Cuba'
that
Duffy
repeatedly
contrasts
romanBc
imagery
with
that
of
negaBve
and
depressive
ideas
and
imagery,
as
evident
in
the
key
line
‘No
li'ing
the
red
rose
from
the
room
service
tray
when
you
leave,
as
though
you
might
walk
to
the
lip
of
a
grave
and
toss
it
down.’
Duffy’s
choice
to
contrast
the
typically
romanBc
symbol
of
the
red
rose,
which
signifies
passion
and
love,
is
contrasted
beauBfully
with
her
use
of
lip
of
a
grave.
Duffy
has
used
the
romanBc
symbol
and
twisted
it
into
being
a
funeral
flower
thus
signifying
the
death
of
the
holiday
and
foreshadowing
the
death
of
the
relaBonship.
However,
even
more
interesBngly,
despite
the
fact
that
Duffy
uses
a
negaBve
image
in
that
of
death,
she
sBll
manages
to
romanBcize
it
as
the
use
of
the
noun
lip
is
ulBmately
a
sexual
one
as
lips
are
sexual
objects
associated
with
kissing.
Thus,
in
a
sense
causing
it
to
become
a
double
entendre.
As,
on
one
hand,
though
it
may
be
seen
as
an
unfavorable
image,
it
sBll
manages
to
have
that
sexual
connotaBon
to
it.

8. AO2Since,
the
further
use
of
the
as
though,
in
the
sentence,
proposes
that
the
narrator
is,
in
fact
the
grave,
and
by
the
lover
not
giving
this
offering
of
love
to
them,
they
are
not
reciprocaBng
the
narrator's
love.
This
further
links
with
Duffy’s
poem
'You'
which
exhibits
the
line
Falling
in
love
is
glamorous
hell
as
the
tradiBonal
meaning
of
glamour
or
glamorous
was,
in
fact,
fatally
aRracBve,
or
to
cast
a
hex,
or
spell.
This
conveniently
links
with
Duffy’s
theme
of
unrequited
love,
as
for
something
to
be
fatally
aRracBve
again
has
a
connotaBon
of
death,
which
obviously
you
are
unable
to
return
from.
Likewise,
in
terms
of
glamour
meaning
to
cast
a
spell,
or
hex,
it
is
again
suggesBve
of
this
unrequited
love
expressed
in
the
relaBonship.
Since,
if
a
sorcerer,
or
witch
were
to
cast
a
hex
on
someone,
they
are
condemning
him
or
her
to
bad
luck,
which
is
almost
impossible
to
undo,
just
as
it
is
nigh
on
impossible
for
the
lover
to
return
the
love
they
are
receiving
from
the
narrator.
Furthermore,
Duffy’s
image
of
hell
further
implies
that
this
is
a
love
that
is
unreturned
from
the
lover,
as
hell,
unlike
purgatory
is
impossible
to
leave.
However,
if
this
love
were
a
blissful,
harmonious
one
that
was
both
received
and
reciprocated,
it
would
be
compared
to
heaven
instead
of
hell.

9. AO2Moreover,
it
is
further
emphasized
in
Duffy’s
poem
that
the
cancellaBon
of
this
holiday
symbolizes
the
narrator's
unrequited
love,
for
the
lover.
As,
when
Duffy
writes
No
future
plans,
she
is
conjuring
up
a
bold
sentence
full
of
dramaBc
tension,
as
the
use
of
the
three
words
causes
it
to
become
an
extremely
strong
one,
as
three
is
typically
used
as
it
is
one
of
the
numbers
the
human
brain
remembers
the
most.
Therefore,
by
using
just
three
words
the
sentence
becomes
extremely
sharp
and
strong.
Likewise,
by
combining
the
adverb
No
and
the
noun
future
Duffy
is
ulBmately
saying,
on
one
hand
there
is
no
future,
in
terms
of
the
holiday,
as
it
has
been
cancelled
by
the
narrator'
lover,
but
also
the
relaBonship
itself,
has
no
future,
as
the
lover
does
not
reciprocate
the
narrators
love.
Therefore,
it
is
impossible
for
there
to
be
any
future
plans
as
they
will
not
work.

10. AO3Just
as
Duffy
presents
the
theme
of
unrequited
love
in
her
poem
'Cuba'
Fitzgerald
chooses
to
do
the
same
throughout
his
novel
'The
Great
Gatsby'
between
Daisy
Buchanan
and
Jay
Gatsby.
Their
relaBonship
is
infamous,
as
readers
know,
in
that
it
is
built
up
almost
enBrely
on
unrequited
love.
Despite
the
fact
that
Fitzgerald
suggests
Daisy
once
loved
Gatsby,
it
is
her
love
for
status
and
wealth
that
is
most
at
heart
for
Daisy
therefore
causing
Gatsby
to
dream
for
a
love
that
he
is
unable
of
aRaining
no
maRer
how
much
wealth
he
gains.

11. AO2&3Just
as
Duffy
explores
unrequited
love
within
her
narrator’s
relaBonship
using
language,
Fitzgerald
uses
the
same
technique.
He
does
this
in
parBcular
in
Chapter
7.
Readers
first
experience
this
intense
use
of
language
in
Chapter
7
when
Fitzgerald
writes
‘Only
the
dead
dream
fought
on
as
the
a'ernoon
slipped
away,
trying
to
touch
what
was
no
longer
tangible,
struggling
unhappily,
undespairingly,
toward
that
lost
voice
across
the
room.’
There
is
a
severe
sense
of
finality
in
Fitzgerald’s
wriBng
here
which
is
emphasized
parBcularly
in
his
use
of
alliteraBon
in
the
adjecBve
dead
and
noun
dream
by
pairing
the
two
and
choosing
to
use
alliteraBon
here,
Fitzgerald
is
able
to
reiterate
and
finalize
the
fact
that
Daisy
will
never
love
Gatsby,
she
will
not
return
his
love
yet
he
sBll
strives
to
succeed
in
his
dream.
Likewise,
as
previously
explored
in
Duffy’s
Cuba
readers
were
able
to
pick
up
on
the
constant
references
to
death
such
as
shroud,
grave
and
sad
hearse
similarly,
Fitzgerald
uses
the
same
technique
of
repeBBon
of
negaBve
language.

12. AO2&3His
use
of
the
string
of
three
when
wriBng
no
longer
tangible,
struggling
unhappily,
undespairingly,
again
is
pin
poinBng
that
Gatsby’s
dream
is
nothing
but
a
dream.
As
Duffy
states
in
Cuba,
No
future
plans,
it
is
exactly
the
same
for
Gatsby.
Although
he
dreams
of
this
elaborate
future
with
Daisy,
it
will
never
transpire,
as
she
does
not
return
the
love
he
so
willingly
gives
her
as
highlighted
in
Chapter
7
when
Fitzgerald
writes
she
had
never,
all
along,
intended
doing
anything
at
all.
This
sentence
is
one
of
the
most
poignant
ones
in
all
of
the
Great
Gatsby
as
it
is
the
turning
point
for
both
the
reader
and
Daisy
as
Fitzgerald’s
use
of
the
adverb
never
paired
with
the
adjecBve
intended
highlight
that
Daisy
has
finally
realized
that
she
had
no
intenBons
of
future
plans
as
Duffy
writes,
at
all.

13. AO2&3This
may
be
linked
with
Duffy’s
poem
'Wintering'
as
in
stanza
2
Duffy
writes
The
stars
begin
their
lies,
nothing
to
lose.
Duffy
uses
the
binary
opposiBon
of
stars
in
'Wintering'
as
a
reference
to
the
narrator’s
lover
who
is
assumed
to
be
a
woman.
Women
were
believed
to
be
conducted
by
the
moon
and
stars
and
men
by
the
sun,
thus
the
reference
to
the
stars
paired
with
the
noun
lies
is
suggesBve
that
the
lover
has
lied
to
the
narrator
about
how
much
they
really
do
love
them.
This
can
be
linked
with
Daisy
in
Chapter
7,
as
when
Fitzgerald
writes,
she
said
with
visible
effort,
the
use
of
the
adjecBve
visible,
and
the
noun
effort,
suggest
that
Daisy
is
in
fact
lying
when
she
says
she
is
leaving
Tom,
as
both
lexis
suggest
that
if
Daisy
truly
reciprocated
Gatsby’s
love,
and
meant
what
she
was
saying,
she
would
not
have
to
make
visible
effort
at
all.

14. AO2&3
Moreover,
Duffy’s
use
of
the
noun
nothing,
and
verb
lose,
suggest
that
the
narrator
is
of
no
great
importance
to
the
lover,
as
nothing
suggests
that
they
are
not
significant,
and
when
paired
with
lose,
further
suggests
that
by
lying
to
the
narrator
it
does
not
affect
them
in
any
way.
This
idea
is
mirrored
in
terms
of
Fitzgerald’s
character
of
Daisy,
as
towards
the
end
of
Chapter
9,
when
Fitzgerald
writes
gone
away
early
that
a'ernoon,
and
taken
baggage
with
them.
Fitzgerald’s
use
of
the
adverb
early
suggests
that
due
to
Daisy’s
situaBon
in
life,
she
is
able
to
escape
the
mess
of
the
affair
with
no
hesitaBon,
as
early
hints
that
both
Tom
and
Daisy
are
able
to
just
move
across
the
country,
without
pausing,
as
they
have
done
before
in
response
to
Tom’s
affair
in
Chicago.
In
terms
of
Duffy’s
use
of
nothing
to
lose,
Daisy
truly
has
nothing
to
lose,
as
aLer
the
whole
affair
with
Gatsby,
she
is
able
to
keep
her
wealth,
husband
and
status
without
slight
damage
her
reputaBon,
therefore
she
able
to
pretend
to
love
Gatsby
but
in
reality
she
did
not
return
his
love.

15. AO2&3Furthermore,
In
'Cuba'
Duffy
employs
the
line
franFc
bubbles
swimming
for
light.
This
line
is
perfect
to
draw
parallel
with
Gatsby’s
obsession
with
the
green
light.
Fitzgerald
uses
the
green
light
at
the
end
of
Daisy’s
dock
as
symbol
of
everything
Gatsby
dreams
of.
It
is
symbolizes
Daisy
in
that
it
not
only
highlights
where
she
is,
but
also
that
Gatsby
will
never
be
able
to
reach
her
as
in
Chapter
1
when
Fitzgerald
writes
he
stretched
out
his
arms
[…]
I
could
have
sworn
he
was
trembling.
The
use
of
the
verb
stretched,
combined
with
the
use
of
the
verb
trembling,
propose
that
the
green
light
isn’t
quite
possible
to
reach,
no
maRer
how
hard
he
tries
as
stretched.
This
suggests
that
Gatsby
has
to
really
try
to
reach
the
unreachable,
which
is
then
confirmed
in
Chapter
7
with
Fitzgerald’s
use
of
the
alliteraBon
of
dead
dream,
and
trying
to
touch.
Both
these
suggests
that
Gatsby
will
never
achieve
his
goal
of
being
with
Daisy,
as
she
does
not
return
his
love,
therefore
she
is
untangible
just
as
Fitzgerald
suggests.
This
same
noBon
can
be
applied
to
Duffy’s
use
of
franFc
bubbles
swimming
for
light.
As
both
the
verb
trembling,
and
the
adjecBve
franFc,
suggest
agitaBon
and
desperaBon
to
reach
something
that
they
never
will
aRain.
Furthermore,
the
reference
to
light
in
Duffy’s
'Cuba'
is
poignant,
in
that
it
symbolizes
an
unreachable
goal,
that
being
the
relaBonship
for
both
Gatsby
and
Duffy’s
narrator.
However,
the
only
difference
is
that
the
light
for
Duffy’s
narrator
is
metaphorical
and
suggesBve
of
unrequited
love
within
the
relaBonship,
and
for
Fitzgerald
it
is
instead
physical,
in
terms
of
its
representaBon
of
Gatsby’s
dream
for
Daisy.

16. AO4It
is
oLen
thought
that
Fitzgerald
puts
elements
of
his
own
life
into
his
work
and
'The
Great
Gatsby'
is
no
excepBon.
Fitzgerald’s
reference
to
the
Plaza
is
a
significant
one
in
Gatsby
as
it
is
the
place
in
which
everything
is
revealed
in
terms
of
Gatsby
and
Daisy’s
affair
and
the
secret
to
Gatsby’s
wealth.
However,
it
is
the
reference
to
the
Plaza
alone
that
becomes
symbolic
in
its
own
right.
Founded
in
1907,
The
Plaza
became
a
spot
for
the
elite
in
the
early
1920’s
so
much
so
that
when
Fitzgerald
and
his
wife
Zelda
rented
an
apartment
on
59th
street
in
New
York,
they
became
regular
customers
at
the
Plaza
grill
mixing
with
the
uber
rich
and
upper
class
of
society.
In
fact,
it
is
believed
that
Ernest
Hemingway
once
joked
to
Fitzgerald
that
when
he
dies
he
is
to
give
his
liver
to
Princeton
and
his
heart
to
the
Plaza.
This
suggests
that
Fitzgerald
was
very
familiar
with
the
social
spot
in
New
York,
thus
making
it
a
key
locaBon
for
The
Great
Gatsby,
as
it
would
be
one
that
readers
of
the
Bme
would
recognize
instantaneously,
gives
it
a
far
greater
impact.

17. AO3‘Love
is
an
extremity,
rivaled
only
by
death.
It
is
more
o'en
‘glamorous
hell’
than
heaven.
And
desire
is
almost
a
death
wish.’
–
Kate
Kellaway
The
Observer,
9th
October
2005
Kellaway’s
point
is
ulBmately
a
very
universal
one,
as
it
not
only
fits
Rapture
but
almost
all
relaBonships,
and
it
is
in
this
universal
comment
that
Kellaway
describes
Duffy’s
work
perfectly,
as
it
is
Duffy’s
ability
to
make
her
poetry
universal
that
enBces
readers.
In
conjuncBon
with
this,
Kellaway’s
point
that
desire
is
almost
a
death
wish
is
significant,
as
it
is
Duffy’s
narrator’s
desire
for
their
lover
that
causes
the
death
of
the
relaBonship.
Duffy’s
narrator
is
so
in
love
with
their
lover
that
they
are
willing
to
fulfill
all
their
wishes,
as
evident
in
Duffy’s
poem
'Give'
when
she
writes
you
listened,
at
dawn,
to
the
gliMering
story
I
told.
However,
it
is
in
stanza
5
that
we
see
the
mood
shiL
when
Duffy
then
writes,
I
saw
you
were
deaf
to
the
blustering
story
I
told.
The
contrast
of
the
verb
listened
and
adjecBve
deaf
hint
to
the
gradual
death
of
the
relaBonship
and
that
the
narrator's
desire
and
willingness
for
their
lover
has
caused
this
subsequent
death.
Just
like
in
Duffy’s
Cuba,
the
cancelled
holiday
becomes
symbolic
of
the
subsequent
death
of
the
resulBng
relaBonship.
As
again,
the
reference
to
the
lip
of
a
grave
foreshadows
that
the
unreturned
love,
or
desire
for
the
narrator
allows
it
to
die.

18. AO3Fitzgerald’s
use
of
Gatsby’s
murder
is
largely
symbolic
of
his
desire
for
Daisy.
As
it
becomes
the
cause
of
his
death,
thus
aptly
linking
with
Kellaway’s
point.
This
is
parBcularly
poignant
in
Chapter
8,
when
Fitzgerald
writes
the
holocaust
was
complete
Gatsby
essenBally
sacrifice’s
himself
in
order
for
Daisy’s
survival,
but
it
is
due
to
his
desire
for
Daisy
that
this
holocaust
is
able
to
happen.
He
ulBmately
takes
the
blame
for
Myrtle’s
death
in
Chapter
7
when
Fitzgerald
writes
I’ll
say
I
was.
Gatsby
is
so
deeply
in
love
with
Daisy
that
his
desire
takes
hold
of
him
allowing
himself
to
sacrifice
himself
for
someone
who
does
not
return
the
love.

19. AO3Likewise,
this
idea
of
unrequited
love
or
desire
being
the
cause
of
death
exhibited
in
both
Rapture
and
Gatsby
whether
it
be
metaphorical,
or
physical
can
be
further
linked
with
Gilbert
Seldes
point,
where
he
states
‘He
(Gatsby)
had
dedicated
himself
to
the
accomplishment
of
a
supreme
object;
to
restore
himself
an
illusion
he
had
lost
[…]’
Seldes
reference
to
Fitzgerald’s
creaBon
of
an
illusion
he
(Gatsby)
had
lost
highlights
Gatsby’s
whole
dream.
He
lost
Daisy
five
years
ago,
and
in
response
has
spent
his
life
unBl
his
death
creaBng
a
façade,
to
make
the
cloak
he
wore
to
get
Daisy
to
love
him
a
reality.
The
only
difference
here
being
that
Daisy
is
no
longer
in
love,
and
she
has
become
nothing
more
than
illusion.
She
has
become
Gatsby’s
dead
dream
as
stated
in
Chapter
7
and
in
return
he
must
like
his
dream,
die
as
a
consequence
for
his
desire
made
forbidden
by
his
true
wealth
and
status
and
not
the
factual
imitaFon
he
had
created.
Finally,
this
may
again
be
linked
with
Duffy,
as
just
like
Fitzgerald’s
use
of
fighBng
for
a
love,
which
is
not
returned.
Duffy
uses
the
same
theme
in
Cuba,
Duffy’s
use
of
No
geTng
away
from
this.
The
last
line
of
Cuba
is
suggesBve
of
the
idea
that
the
narrator
is
unable
to
escape
this
situaBon,
whether
it
be
escape
from
their
desire
for
the
lover,
or
escape
from
the
pain
it
will
cause
the
relaBonship.
Either,
way
Duffy’s
narrator’s
illusion
is
their
lover
and
by
the
holiday
being
cancelled
they
have
lost
this
illusion,
thus
making
it
difficult
for
Duffy’s
narrator
to
restore
the
now
damaged
relaBonship.

20. Beatrice
Yates
THANK YOU