Mrs Darwin

Story:
Charles Darwin wrote the Theory of Evolution, and stated that man had evolved from apes. This was controversial at the time due to the highly religious views on the creation of the world.

Structure:
The poem starts with a date, there proceeded on to three lines with an ABA rhyme scheme. Line Four of the poem is significantly longer than the rest.

Closer Reading:
- "Went to the Zoo." With the date at the top of the poem (7 April 1852) the style is reminiscent of a diary entry. As the poem is so short, but effective at getting the message across, each sentence must be poignant. The effect of a short sentence, without a pronoun at the beginning, suggests a lack of care - a sense of boredom. Zoos are were animals are kept, and Darwin was studying animals for his theory.
 - "I said to Him-" the word 'him' starts with a capital letter. This could be to show that Charles Darwin is more powerful than she is, or a reference to God, as when refering to God, him always begins with a capital 'H'. This ties in with the religious conflict between Darwin and his wife, as well as the people of the time.
- "Something about the Chimpanzee over there reminds me/ of you." This last line suggests that it was Mrs Darwin that sparked the idea of evolution - that animals could resemble humans and visa versa. However, she is mocking her husband for looking similar to a monkey - this is obviously critical and rude, but adds humour and irony.
"of you" is idented on a separate line as a definitive ending.

Themes:
Mrs Darwin is very much playing to the idea that behind every great man, there's an ever greater wife, with the idea that it was Mrs Darwin that eluded to the theory of evolution. She undermines her husband, trying to show a more powerful and educated woman. I think that Carol Ann Duffy is trying to show that women are just as capable of achieving great things as man.