‘The World’s Wife’ is a collection of 30 dramatic monologues in which Carol Ann Duffy pursues one of her major concerns: to give voice to those in society who are not usually heard. Many of the wives portrayed may be long-suffering, but they are certainly not victims. They can be sardonic, angry, cruel or impatient – and occasionally joyful. We shall explore how the poet seeks to both debunk the male persona and to highlight the way in which women in general have been ignored, or even silenced, down the ages.