mrs midas carol ann duffy
TRANSCRIPT
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Mrs Midas
Carol Ann Duffy
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Mrs. Midas - Context
Who was King Midas?
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King Midas
In Greek mythology King Midas was granted a
wish !y the god Dionysus. Midas "hose to ha#e
the a!ility of ha#ing anything he tou"h turn to
gold. $owe#er Midas tou"hed his daughter and she
!e"ame a gold statue. $e also "ouldn%t eat
anything !e"ause his food turned to gold.
$e e#entually !egged for his &owers to !e
re#ersed.
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Mrs Midas
'his is a dramatic monologue told from
the &oint of Midas% wife.
It ex&lores how she feels a!out thesituation with her hus!and and her
&ers&e"ti#e on his wish ( of all the things
he "ould ha#e wished for he wished for
this. What does this say a!out what kindof &erson he is?
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)tuff that will !e useful to know
*lan"hing ( method of "ooking ( !oil somethingfor a short &eriod of time and then su!merge it in"old water to halt the "ooking &ro"ess.
+ondante d%Automne ( a deli"ious ty&e of &earwith sweet flesh.
+ield of the Cloth of Gold ( A &la"e of meeting!etween King $enry ,III and King +ran"is .
Miss Ma"ready ( Mrs. M%s history tea"her.
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)tuff that will !e useful to know
*urnished ( olished metal
Aurum ( /atin word for gold
/uteous ( a moderate greenish yellow
'utankhamun ( An 0gy&tian &haraoh.
$al"yon ( "alm &ea"eful days
1re ( ty&e of ro"k that "ontains im&ortant metal
elements
an ( Greek God nature.
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Form and structure
Modern resetting of a familiar legend
Dramati" monologue
'he &oem 2 stan3as 4verses5 long6
0a"h stan3a 7 lines long6 regular length
unrhymed
A&&rox. 8 ( 9 sylla!les 2 relaxed narrati#e
effe"t.
:n&redi"ta!le length of lines refle"ts how
un&redi"ta!le life !e"omes for Mr and Mrs
Midas.
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Internal rhyme (rhyme within the lines) used as well
as personification and frequent enjambment to
convey the speaker’s train of thought.
ives the narrative a feeling of prose.
;hythm in the ideas too as "on"e&ts !uild on one
another and !e"ome "lear to the reader.
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!one and style
" conversational feel "reated with asides andinter<e"tions 4interru&tions5 of added or =ualifying
information. 0ffe"t 2 intima"y !etween the s&eaker
and listener.
Con#ersational tone ( sin"e we noti"e the story wealmost forget how horrifi" and weird the e#ents are.
#eferences to touch are su!tle at the start !ut in
the se"ond half of the &oem the notes oftenderness are more e#ident.
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"llusion
In one piece of literature$ there is a reference to
another piece of literature$ literary idea or well%
known reference.
>o s&e"ifi" ex&lanation is re=uired in the text and the
referen"e is therefore loaded with "onnotations and
ideas.
'here are allusions in Mrs Midas
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@+ield of the Cloth of Gold%'he site of a meeting that took &la"e in
+ran"e from Bune to 8 Bune 98
!etween King $enry ,III and King
+ran"is I of +ran"e. 'he glamour and
extra#agan"e of the meeting showedtwo &rin"es out-doing ea"h other with
their show of ri"hes.
;ele#an"e to Mrs Midas?
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'utankhamun !utankhamun was an 0gy&tian &haraoh
4"a. EE8 *C ( E8E *C5.
'he F88 dis"o#ery !y $oward Carter andGeorge $er!ert of 'utankhamuns tom!
re"ei#ed worldwide &ress "o#erage.
'he tom! was largely inta"t so the
ar"haeologists were a!le to understand the
manner of the !urial and all the ri"hes of theKing were sealed in the tom! whi"h was a
tremendous find.
It s&arked a renewed &u!li" interest in
an"ient 0gy&t.
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Initial reading activities…
. What is your fa#ourite des"ri&tion and why?
8. What ideas and "onnotations are suggested !y the setting 4timeand &la"e5 of the &oem?
E. What des"ri&tions or words are unfamiliar ( how might their"ontext hel& you work out their meaning?
. Mrs Midas adds in &ie"es of extra information as asides to hel&her narrati#e along. Identify a "ou&le of these and suggest why
she does this.
9. Identify exam&les or e#iden"e of humour and word &lay ( whatdoes it add to the &oem and your #iew of the s&eaker?
7. 'here are a num!er of idioms and well-known &hrases whi"hare referen"ed in the &oem ( find two and "omment on the
effe"ti#eness of their in"lusion.. What themes might !e &resent in the &oem?
H. What is your o#er-riding feeling a!out what kind of &erson MrsMidas is?
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"nalysis
We%ll analyse the first stan3a together using a few
=uestions as the !asis for dis"ussion then you will work
in grou&s to analyse the rest of the &oem.
- *riefly note down what is ha&&ening in ea"h stan3a.
- What te"hni=ues ha#e !een used?
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It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begun
to unwind, while the vegetables cooked. The kitchen
filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steam breath
gentl blanching the windows. So I opened one,
then with m fingers wiped the other’s glass like a brow.
!e was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.
A ty&i"al domesti" s"ene is
&resented in the first stan3a.
'he language used to des"ri!e
the s"ene refle"ts the mood of
Mrs Midas as she @unwinds%
@September % ( a time we
would associate with the
golden "olours of autumn. *ut
also things "oming to an end.
"ersonification of
kit"hen "reates a
warm a&&ealing
atmos&here.
#tmosphere is shattered !y the final line
‘snapping a twig.% ( connotes something
#iolent. !arsh consonant sounds in final &hrase
"ontrast with softer "onsonant and #owel sounds
earlier in the stan3a.
Simile introdu"es im&ortan"e
of sense of tou"h to Mrs M (
she is later no longer a!le to
tou"h Midas.
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$ow the garden was long and the visibilit poor, the wa
the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sk,
but that twig in his hand was gold. #nd then he plucked a pear from a branch % we grew &ondante d'#utomne %
and it sat in his palm like a light bulb. (n.
I thought to mself, Is he putting fair lights in the tree)
Mr M%s dis!elief o#er what is ha&&ening
is emphasised !y the length of time she
takes to "om&rehend what she is
seeing @fingers wiped % the window in
stan3a . >ow the @visibility poor %.
"ersonification @dark of the ground
seems to drink the light of the sky % (
sounds ominous. *eflects the idea of
life !eing drained from something.
+ontrast !etween la"k of light in first
two lines and !rightness of @gold % twig
and &ear @like a lightbulb.% 'his simile
seems unnatural ( and &erha&s
sym!olises Midas realising
Structure 4@On.%5 adds dramati" effe"t.
Juestion in last line again highlights
Mrs M%s dis!elief.
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$e "ame into the house. 'he doorkno!s gleamed.
$e drew the !linds. ou know the mind6 I thought of
the +ield of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Ma"ready.
$e sat in that "hair like a king on a !urnished throne.
'he look on his fa"e was strange wild #ain. I said
What in the name of God is going on? $e started to laugh.
'he name @Midas% is not mentioned (
&erha&s reflecting the !lame Mrs
Midas &uts on her hus!and for what
he does.
Mrs M is reminded of a history lesson
( +ields of the Cloth where Kings of
0ngland and +ran"e met to show off
their great wealth.
Midas is described as king like. $is
look @strange, wild, vain% refle"ts
his greed and selfishness as well as
him "ontem&lating what has
ha&&ened. Simile and @burnished %refle"t grandeurL wealth.
uestion again reflects Mrs% M%s
dis!elief. Contrasted with @laugh% (
Why? $e sees what his selfishness
has !rought him? Is it his "ruelty?
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I served up the meal. &or starters, corn on the cob.
-ithin seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich.
!e toed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks.
!e asked where was the wine. I poured with shaking hand,
a fragrant, bone%dr white from Ital, then watched
as he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.
+omic effect ( Mrs M
"ontinues to go a!out her
domesti" "hores des&ite
a!surd situation
A&&ro&riate "hoi"e of food ( visuall fitting . $orror of
what is ha&&ening !e"omes a&&arent ( Midas "an%t
e#en eat. *epresents the fa"t that his greed and
desire for wealth has !rought him to this.
:se of a list one
thing after another
refle"ts growing
realisation of Mrs M.
@shaking % further
emphasises Mrs
M%s worry o#er what
is ha&&ening.
#lliterationL !arsh consonant
sounds add to the dramaL
seriousness of the situation.
@chalice% often associated with
the last su&&er.
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It was then that I started to scream. !e sank to his knees.
#fter we had both calmed down, I finished the wine
on m own, hearing him out. I made him sit
on the other side of the room and keep his hands to himself.I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone.
The toilet I didn't mind. I couldn't believe m ears
/ramatic opening to stan3a as !oth
a""e&t full reality of what has ha&&ened.
@Scream% demonstrates Mr%s M%s horror
while Midas @sinks to his knees% in
des&air.
$orrorL )ho"k is "om!ined with
"omedy ( it seems a!surd that !oth
would !e @calmed % so =ui"kly and that
Mrs M would "ontinue with her drink.
)uggestion that Midas still seeks
a &hysi"al relationshi& with Mrs
M. 'he fa"t that he is made to sit
on the other side of the room
represents the distan"e in their
relationshi& !rought on !y"ir"umstan"es.
+urther comed "om!ined
with Mrs% M%s dis!eliefL
sho"k.
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how hed had a wish. /ook we all ha#e wishes6 granted.
*ut who has wishes granted? $im. Do you know a!out gold?
It feeds no one6 aurum soft untarnisha!le6 slakes
no thirst. $e tried to light a "igarette6 I ga3ed entran"edas the !lue flame &layed on its luteous stem. At least
I said youll !e a!le to gi#e u& smoking for good.
0njambment refle"ts
Mrs M%s dis!elief as she
hears the "onfession
from Midas.
'he &un on @granted % the rhetorical
1uestion and the short one word
sentence all "on#ey a sense of
disgust from Mrs M.
+urther rhetori"al =uestion
em&hasises that Mrs M
thinks wish was outrageous.Mrs M answers her own
rhetori"al =uestion ex&li"itly
stating the foolishness of her
hus!and%s wish