In 1966 Ian Brady, here representing evil and ‘The Devil’, and his accomplice, Myra Hindley, abducted and murdered five children. They were called the ‘Moors Murderers’ because the children’s bodies were found on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester.
Both were convicted, Brady sentenced to life in Ashworth high security prison for the criminally insane, and Hindley also sentenced to life in prison.
Myra Hindley’s infamous image has penetrated the nation’s consciousness; the photograph of her with bleached blond hair and dark red lipstick seeming to signify hard-bitten, unnatural evil, particularly disturbing in a woman, normally associated with protective love.
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In 1997 Hindley’s photograph was reworked as a painting by Marcus Harvey, exhibited at Royal Academy in London, and made up of children’s handprints. It caused considerable controversy.
Myra Hindley both died in prison. In the past both had supporters campaigning for their release.
Structure, Language and Imagery This poem is unusual, the only one in the collection to be formed of five parts, each exploring Duffy’s interpretation of different stages of Hindley’s life and different states of mind. Note that this is a work of Duffy’s imagination and not based on factual evidence.
The first two parts are free verse, concise and pithy and colloquial, as we have come to expect of Duffy. There is no regular rhyme scheme, though occasional rhyme gives cohesion and emphasis, as in ‘cell’ and ‘hell’ in the final couplet of part two.
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Part three is a stream of consciousness, deliberately incorrectly punctuated and misspelt, inarticulate, as if Hindley were thinking out loud. This enables the reader to ‘penetrate’ her state of mind. Yet, ironically it is structured like a sonnet, though the absolute opposite of a formal, elegant poem.
The fourth part is in the form of a brief prayer, edging towards lyrical, representing the religious conversion Hindley underwent during her time in prison. The final ‘amen’ is incongruous and ironic, given the nature of the subject.
The fifth part reads like an incantation, with the repetition of the word ‘If’ at the beginning of each line, a technique known as anaphora. The last four lines are rhymed, with the final consonantly rhyming couplet, ‘myself’ and ‘wife’, providing a conclusion, though not a resolution. The word ‘But’ at the beginning of the penultimate line signals a change, where Hindley asks the ultimate questions about the effect of the murders on the nation and on herself.
The result is disturbing and powerful, leaving the reader to question whether Hindley truly regretted what she had done; whether she was truly remorseful, or the ‘Devil’s Wife’ forever.
NB: Ian Brady has now died.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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