"Standing Female Nude" is the title poem of Carol Ann Duffy's first collection, published in 1985. A monologue told from the perspective of a sex worker modeling for a celebrated male painter, the poem explores women's objectification, gendered double standards, class, and art. The speaker, who earns very little for her time, snarkily imagines the painting being ogled by "the bourgeoisie" in museums as evidence of the artist's so-called genius. In this way, the poem illustrates how men's and women's work is often unequally valued and received, and how the male gaze can obscure women's humanity. "Standing Female Nude" was inspired by a real painting: "Le Grand Nu," or "Large Nude," by French Cubist artist Georges Braque.

• Read the full text of “Standing Female Nude”

• “Standing Female Nude” Summary

• “Standing Female Nude” Themes

  • 

    Gender, Work, and Double Standards

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-28
  • 

    Objectification and the Male Gaze

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-14
    • Lines 16-19
    • Lines 24-28
  • 

    Class, Hypocrisy, and Artistic Snobbery

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-9
    • Lines 11-15
    • Lines 24-25

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Standing Female Nude”

  • Lines 1-4

    Six hours like ...
    ... to be still.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-7

    I shall be ...
    ... call it Art.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 8-11

    Maybe. He is ...
    ... the studio is cold.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-15

    In the tealeaves ...
    ... he's a genius.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-21

    There are times ...
    ... how we can.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 22-26

    I ask him ...
    ... around the bars.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 26-28

    When it's finished ...
    ... look like me.

    

    

    

    

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• “Standing Female Nude” Symbols

  • 

    The Nude Model

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-3: “Six hours like this for a few francs. / Belly nipple arse in the window light, / he drains the colour from me.”
    • Lines 5-6: “I shall be represented analytically and hung / in great museums.”
    • Lines 10-13: “My breasts hang / slightly low, the studio is cold. In the tealeaves / I can see the Queen of England gazing / on my shape.”
    • Lines 18-21: “He possesses me on canvas as he dips the brush / repeatedly into the paint. Little man, / you've not the money for the arts I sell. / Both poor, we make our living how we can.”
    • Lines 25-26: “At night I fill myself / with wine and dance around the bars.”
    • Lines 27-28: “I say / Twelve francs and get my shawl. It does not look like me.”
  • 

    The Paintbrush

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 18-19: “He possesses me on canvas as he dips the brush / repeatedly into the paint.”

• “Standing Female Nude” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Juxtaposition

    

    

    

    

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    Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 6-7: “The bourgeoisie will coo / at such an image of a river-whore. They call it Art.”
    • Lines 8-9: “He is concerned with volume, space. / I with the next meal.”
    • Lines 12-14: “I can see the Queen of England gazing / on my shape. Magnificent, she murmurs, / moving on. It makes me laugh.”
    • Lines 15-17: “He tells me he's a genius. / There are times he does not concentrate / and stiffens for my warmth.”
    • Lines 24-28: “My smile confuses him. These artists / take themselves too seriously. At night I fill myself / with wine and dance around the bars. When it's finished / he shows me proudly, lights a cigarette. I say / Twelve francs and get my shawl. It does not look like me.”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-6: “hung / in”
    • Lines 6-7: “coo / at”
    • Lines 10-11: “hang / slightly”
    • Lines 11-12: “tealeaves / I”
    • Lines 12-13: “gazing / on”
    • Lines 14-15: “name / is”
    • Lines 16-17: “concentrate / and”
    • Lines 18-19: “brush / repeatedly”
    • Lines 22-23: “Because / I”
    • Lines 24-25: “artists / take”
    • Lines 25-26: “myself / with”
    • Lines 26-27: “finished / he”
    • Lines 27-28: “say / Twelve”

  • Parataxis

    

    

    

    

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    Where parataxis appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-11: “My breasts hang / slightly low, the studio is cold.”
    • Lines 14-15: “It makes me laugh. His name / is Georges. He tells me he's a genius.”
    • Lines 23-25: “There's no choice. Don't talk. / My smile confuses him. These artists / take themselves too seriously.”
    • Lines 27-28: “I say / Twelve francs and get my shawl. It does not look like me.”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “Belly nipple arse”
    • Line 8: “He is concerned with volume, space”
    • Lines 10-11: “My breasts hang / slightly low, the studio is cold”
    • Line 27: “he shows me proudly, lights a cigarette”

  • Irony

    

    

    

    

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    Where irony appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-7
    • Lines 11-14
    • Lines 15-21
    • Lines 26-28

• “Standing Female Nude” 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.

  • Francs
  • Arse
  • Madam
  • Analytically
  • Bourgeoisie
  • Coo
  • Tealeaves
  • Georges
  • Stiffens
  • Possesses
  • Shawl
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “Six hours like this for a few francs”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Standing Female Nude”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Standing Female Nude” Speaker

• “Standing Female Nude” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Standing Female Nude”

• More “Standing Female Nude” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Duffy's Illustrious Career — A Poetry Foundation biography of the UK's first woman and LGBTQ poet laureate.  

    • "Le Grand Nu" — View the Cubist painting that inspired Duffy's poem.  

    • Georges Braque — Read about the French Cubist painter on whom this poem's "George" is loosely based.

    • A Night with Figure Drawing Models — Watch this video in which figure drawing models and students discuss their experiences of creating art together.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy

    • A Child's Sleep

    • Anne Hathaway

    • Before You Were Mine

    • Circe

    • Death of a Teacher

    • Demeter

    • Education For Leisure

    • Elvis's Twin Sister

    • Eurydice

    • Foreign

    • Havisham

    • Head of English

    • In Mrs Tilscher’s Class

    • In Your Mind

    • Little Red Cap

    • Mean Time

    • Medusa

    • Mrs Aesop

    • Mrs Darwin

    • Mrs Faust

    • Mrs Icarus

    • Mrs Lazarus

    • Mrs Midas

    • Mrs Sisyphus

    • Originally

    • Penelope

    • Pilate's Wife

    • Pope Joan

    • Prayer

    • Pygmalion's Bride

    • Queen Herod

    • Quickdraw

    • Recognition

    • Salome

    • Stealing

    • The Darling Letters

    • The Dolphins

    • The Good Teachers

    • Thetis

    • Valentine

    • Warming Her Pearls

    • War Photographer

    • We Remember Your Childhood Well

    • Work

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