Carol Ann Duffy's "Originally" reflects on both the specific sadness of emigration and the universal sadness of growing up. In this poem, a small Scottish child, confused and frightened by her family's move to England, slowly loses her sense of cultural identity. Her journey from Scottishness to an undefined Britishness mirrors the broader human journey from the security of childhood to the self-conscious alienation of adulthood. Every adult, the poem suggests, is an exile from the "first space / and the right place" of their childhood self. "Originally" was first published in 1990 in Duffy's collection The Other Country.
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The Full Text of “Originally”
The Full Text of “Originally”
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“Originally” Summary
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“Originally” Themes
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The Pain of Growing Up
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Emigration and Identity
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Originally”
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Lines 1-3
We came from ...
... of the wheels. -
Lines 4-8
My brothers cried, ...
... holding its paw. -
Lines 9-11
All childhood is ...
... you know stays. -
Lines 11-14
Others are sudden. ...
... you don’t understand. -
Lines 15-16
My parents’ anxiety ...
... , I said. -
Lines 17-19
But then you ...
... skelf of shame. -
Lines 19-21
I remember my ...
... like the rest. -
Lines 21-24
Do I only ...
... And I hesitate.
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“Originally” Symbols
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Snakes
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 19-21: “I remember my tongue / shedding its skin like a snake, my voice / in the classroom sounding just like the rest.”
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Rivers
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 21-23: “Do I only think / I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space / and the right place?”
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The Blind Toy
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 7-8: “I stared / at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw.”
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“Originally” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “came,” “country,” “red room”
- Line 2: “fell,” “fields”
- Line 3: “father’s,” “to,” “turn”
- Line 4: “brothers,” “bawling”
- Line 5: “city”
- Line 6: “street”
- Line 9: “Some,” “slow”
- Line 13: “big,” “boys”
- Line 14: “worms,” “words”
- Line 18: “seeing,” “swallow,” “slug”
- Line 19: “skelf”
- Line 20: “skin,” “snake”
- Line 22: “speech,” “sense”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “fields”
- Line 3: “wheels”
- Line 8: “eyes,” “blind”
- Line 11: “no,” “know,” “Others,” “sudden”
- Line 14: “worms,” “words”
- Line 15: “loose,” “tooth”
- Line 16: “head,” “said”
- Line 17: “then,” “forget,” “change”
- Line 18: “brother,” “slug”
- Line 19: “shame”
- Line 20: “its,” “skin,” “snake”
- Line 22: “space”
- Line 23: “place”
- Line 24: “strangers,” “hesitate”
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Asyndeton
Where asyndeton appears in the poem:- Line 2: “which fell through the fields, our mother singing”
- Lines 5-7: “the city, / the street, the house, the vacant rooms / where we didn’t live any more.”
- Lines 13-14: “leading to unimagined pebble-dashed estates, big boys / eating worms”
- Lines 20-21: “shedding its skin like a snake, my voice / in the classroom”
- Lines 21-23: “Do I only think / I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space / and the right place? ”
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Colloquialism
Where colloquialism appears in the poem:- Lines 17-19: “But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change, / and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only / a skelf of shame.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “room / which”
- Lines 2-3: “singing / our”
- Lines 6-7: “rooms / where”
- Lines 7-8: “stared / at”
- Lines 10-11: “avenue / where”
- Lines 13-14: “boys / eating”
- Lines 15-16: “tooth / in”
- Lines 18-19: “only / a”
- Lines 19-20: “tongue / shedding”
- Lines 20-21: “voice / in”
- Lines 21-22: “think / I”
- Lines 22-23: “space / and”
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Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 9: “Some,” “slow”
- Line 10: “standing”
- Line 11: “stays”
- Line 18: “seeing,” “swallow,” “slug”
- Line 19: “skelf,” “shame”
- Line 20: “shedding its skin,” “snake,” “voice”
- Line 21: “classroom sounding just,” “rest”
- Line 22: “lost,” “speech,” “sense,” “first space”
- Line 23: “place”
- Line 24: “strangers ask”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 1-3: “a red room / which fell through the fields, our mother singing / our father’s name to the turn of the wheels.”
- Line 9: “All childhood is an emigration.”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “our own country”
- Lines 4-5: “Home / , / Home / ,”
- Line 16: “our own country”
- Line 17: “But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change,”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 15-16: “My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth / in my head.”
- Lines 19-21: “I remember my tongue / shedding its skin like a snake, my voice / in the classroom sounding just like the rest.”
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“Originally” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Bawling
- Vacant
- Emigration
- Resigned
- Estates
- Pebble-dashed
- Skelf
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(Location in poem: Lines 4-5: “My brothers cried, one of them / , / Home / , / Home / , ”; Line 4: “bawling”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Originally”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Originally” Speaker
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“Originally” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Originally”
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More “Originally” Resources
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External Resources
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A Short Biography — Read about Carol Ann Duffy's life and work, and find links to more of her poems.
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Duffy's Coronavirus Poetry Project — Learn about Duffy's initiative to collect poetry about the pandemic.
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A Reading of Another of Duffy's Poems — Read an analysis of another of Duffy's poems, "Vocation," which asks questions about autobiographical poetry—some of which might be relevant to "Originally," too!
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An Interview with Duffy — Listen to Duffy give an interview about her position as British Poet Laureate. She was the first (and so far, the only) woman elected to the role.
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In the Poet's Voice — Watch Duffy perform her own poetry.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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