Foreign

Carol Ann Duffy

The poem titled ‘Foreign’ is written about a man who feels like a stranger and outkast in a city that is not of his home. The main idea of the poem is of a foreign man living in a city in which he feels completely lost because of the language and weird habits of the natives. As this poem is written by a women, it could also be interpreted as a poem about a women who feels like a stranger in a world surrounded by men.

To me the poem has a negative message in that the poet uses negative imagery and describes his surroundings in an unpleasant matter. I think that the intention of this poem is to make the reader aware of the disposition of being isolated and out-of-place.

Because the poem is written in second person, you as the reader are forced and drawn into the situation and specific viewpoint, this way we try to relate an try to put ourselves in the poets shoes and be able to sympathize with the poet, which then creates a feeling of loneliness, foreignness, discomfort etc.

The poem has a ‘negative’ plot, therefore gives off a depressed and almost dull and gloomy tone. The poet achieved their goal in that as the reader we are able to put ourselves in the situation, sympathize and relate with her.