Mrs Midas

Question 1

Commonality - Change

Answer 1

change in relationship from intimacy to fear.

change/shift in power roles from husband to wife.

objects turned to gold

Question 2

Commonality - Love

Answer 2

love is complicated.

Mrs Midas continues to love him (a bit) even after he mistreated her (selfishness)

Question 3

Commonality - Relationships

Answer 3

relationship between Mr and Mrs Midas is breaking down due to selfishness and greed.

close physical relationship to abandonment.

Question 4

Commonality - Conflict (inner and external)

Answer 4

external - husband and wife disagree and seperate from each other.

inner - Mrs Midas’ love for her husband in spite of what he did.

Question 5

It was late SEPTEMBER. I’d just poured a GLASS OF WINE, begun to UNWIND, while the vegetables cooked.

Answer 5

w/c - september - a time we would associate with the golden colour of autumn. But also, things coming to an end.

w/c - glass of wine/unwind - creates a calm, laid-back atmosphere

Question 6

The kitchen filled with the smell of itself, RELAXED, ITS STEAMY BREATH gently blanching the windows.

Answer 6

w/c - relaxed - creates a calm, laid-back atmosphere

personification - its steamy breath - used to describe the kitchen creating a warm, appealing atmosphere.

Question 7

So I opened one, then with my fingers wiped the other’s glass LIKE A BROW.

Answer 7

N.V - I - suggests the poem is told in 1st person from the POV of Mrs Mdas.

simile - just as someone might wipe sweat from their brow so too does Mrs Midas wipe the condensation from the window. Sensory imagery used throughout the poem.

Question 8

HE was standing under the pear tree SNAPPING a twig.

Answer 8

N.V - He - introduces her husband, King Midas, to the poem.

w/c - snapping - connotates something violent. Atmosphere changes from relaxed and peaceful to chaotic and tense.

contrast - created between the laid back atmosphere of the opening lines, which describe Mrs Midas and the final line which introduces her husband. Created through the w/c of ‘relaxed’ and ‘snapping’.

Question 9

Now the GARDEN was long and the VISIBILTY POOR, the way the dark OF THE GROUND seems to drink the light of the sky, but that twig in his hand was GOLD.

Answer 9

contrast - garden - of inside (Mrs Midas) and outside (Mr Midas) suggest physical and emotional distance between the couple.

w/c - visibilty poor - connotates being unable to see clearly suggest Mrs Midas is struggling to comprehend what she is witnessing.

personification - of the ground. This sounds ominous and reflects the idea of life being drainedfrom something.

w/c - gold - first mention of the word took for references to the colour throughout the poem.

Question 10

And then he plucked a pear from a branch - we grew FONDANTE D’AUTOMNE - at it sat in his palm LIKE A LIGHTBULB.

Answer 10

Fondante d’Automne - a type of pear - suggest she is materialistic/ cares about people’s opinions.

w/c - lightbub - a ‘lightbulb’ moment is a moment of discovery. Midas is discovering his new power.

simile - just as a lightbulb is round and bright so too is the pear illuminated from being turned to gold.

Question 11

ON. I thought to myself, IS HE PUTTING FAIRY LIGHTS IN THE TREE?

Answer 11

rhetorical question - emphasises the confusion and disbelief felt by Mrs Midas upon witnessing her husband’s power.

adds to the simile by comparing the pear to a lightbulb that is switched on, emphasising the bright colour of the gold object.

Question 12

HE came into the house. The doorknobs gleamed. He DREW THE BLINDS. You know the mind ; I thought of THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD and of MISS MACREADY.

Answer 12

N.V - He - third person pronoun is used rather than his name, reflecting the blame placed on Mr Midas by his wife. This suggests a lack of intimacy.

w/c - drew the blinds - secrecy/he is hiding from the public.

Context - the site of a meeting between King Henry VIII and King Francis I - during this meeting each tried to oushine the other with their display of wealth.

Context - we assume Miss Macready was the teacher who taught Mrs Midas this information.

Question 13

He sat in that chair LIKE A KING ON A BURNISHED THRONE. The look on his face was STRANGE, WILD, VAIN. I said, WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD IS GOING ON? HE STARTED TO LAUGH.

Answer 13

Simile - just as a king sits on a golden throne so too does Midas sits on his armchair which has now turned to gold. Image suggest wealth and status.

w/c - strange, wild, vain - connotations of being out-of-control, selfish and greedy
rule of 3 - description of Midas is reinforced and emphasised through the use of sentence structure.

Question - reaffrims Mrs Midas’ disbelief

contrast - he started to laugh - contrast created through word choice of ‘laugh’ - Mrs Midas is dumbfounded whereas King Midas finds the situation amusing.

Question 14

I SERVED UP THE MEAL. For starters, corn on the cob. Within seconds, HE WAS SPITTING OUT THE TEETH OF THE RICH. He toyed with HIS SPOON, THEN MINE, THEN WITH THE KNIVES, THE FORKS.

Answer 14

w/c - i served up the meal - (comic effect) Mrs Midas continues to go about her domestic chores despite the absurd situation. Matter of fact tone established.

metaphor - he was spitting out the teeth of the rich - the corn on the cob has turned to gold and how it resembles little gold teeth/creates a comical yet ominious effect.

list - emphasises the amount and variety of household objects that Midas has turned to gold. This emphasises Mrs Midas’ growing realisaton that something is wrong.

Question 15

He asked where was the wine. I poured with SHAKING hand, a fragrent, BONE-DRY WHITE from Italy, then watched as he picked up the Glass, Goblet, Golden chalice, drank.

Answer 15

w/c - shaking - connotates fear and anxiety. She is becoming wary of her husband’s newfound ability.

contrast - bone-dry white - materialistic contrast between dry white and the gold colour.

allieration of harsh consonant ‘g’ represents her disdain for her husband’s actions

climatic list emphasises the quick effect of his power which is further emphasised by the rule of three.

Question 16

It was then that I STARTED TO SCREAM. He sank to his knees. After we had both calmed down, I finished the wine on my own, hearing him out.

Answer 16

w/c - i started to scream - connotates fear and despair, a dramatic opening to the stanza as both realisation of the seriousness of the situation/comedic effect as it was so fast/emphasises her shock.

Question 17

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 my ears.

Answer 17

w/c - keep his hands to himself - connotates a lack of physical intimacy between the couple. The fact that he is made to sit to the other side of the room represents the distance in their relationship brought on by circumstances.

Series of short sentences - emphasises the various ways that his power will impose on their lives.

Question 18

how he’d has a wish. Look, we all have wishes; GRANTED. But who has wishes granted? HIM. DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GOLD? It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnshable; slakes no thirst.

Answer 18

w/c - granted - meaning both the assumption that something is true and to have a wish granted.

one word sentence - emphasises her disgust. By not referring to him by name, she suggests she is distancing herself from him.

rhetorical question - which she goes on to answer herself emphasises that she thinks his wish was outrageous. List highlights the negative attributes of gold revealing the lack of true value that gold has.

S.S - enjambment - highlights Mrs MIdas’ disbelief when she hears her husband’s confession.

Question 19

He tried to light a cigarette; I gazed, entranced, as the blue flame played on its luteous stem. AT LEAST, I SAID, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO GVE UP SMOKING FOR GOOD.

Answer 19

creates a humerous tone, she is injecting light heartness into the situation.

Question 20

SEPARATE BEDS. In fact, I put a chair against my door, near PETRIFIED. He was below, turning the spare room into THE TOMB OF TUTANKHAMUN.

Answer 20

w/c - separate beds - connotates a lack of intimacy between the two suggesting the strain on their relationship.
S.S - highlights the negative impact that his wish has had in their marriage.

w/c - petrified - connotates terror and fear suggests that Mrs Midas is afraid of her husband.

metaphor - the tomb of Tutankhamun - compares Midas to egyptian pharaoh suggesting wealth and status.

Question 21

YOU see, WE were PASSIONATE then, in those HALYCON days; unwrapping each other, rapidly, LIKE PRESENTS, FAST FOOD. But now I feared his HONEYED embrace, the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art.

Answer 21

N.V - you - establishes a conversational tone by directly addressing the reader.
- we - introduces a sense of wistful nostalgia as she is remembering a time when we were truly a couple, truly happy.

w/c - passionate - has connotations of desire, suggests that the physical aspects of love was important/key in their relationship.

w/c - halcyon - has connotations of calmness and peacefulness.

simile - compares their intimacy to a gift, something they longed for

metaphor - suggests indulgence and addiction

w/c - honeyed - relates to the colour gold, fears she won’t be able to be free of him.

contrast - the separateness of the couple is highlighted in this stanza by contrasting it with fulfilling and passionate relationship they once enjoyed.

Question 22

And who, when it comes to the church, can live with A HEART OF GOLD? That night, I DREAMT I bore his child, its PERFECT ore limbs, its LITTLE tongue like a precious latch, its amber eyes holding their PUPILS LIKE FLIES.

Answer 22

metaphor - a heart of gold? - usually a positive expression but this time it has negative connotations.

Questioning the reader. She is trying to justify her thoughts.

w/c - i dreamt - will forever be a dream because of his wish

w/c - perfect/little - positive word choice to describe a child shows her longing to have a child.

simile - pupils like flies - creates a horrific image of a dead baby with flies surrounding it.

Question 23

My dream-milk BURNED in my Breasts. I woke to the streaming sun.

Answer 23

contrasting word choice and imagery. Her dream of having a baby becomes a nightmare. She realises they will never concieve a child together.

w/c - burned - suggest physical pain and anger towards her husband.

alliteration - harsh B emphasises her rage.

alliteration - reminds us that her world is always bright because of the gift of gold.

theme of identity - Mrs Midas has lost part of her female idnetity as she knows she cannot become a mother or bear a child if she remains with her husband.

Question 24

So HE had to move out. We’d a caravan in the WILDS, in A GLADE OF ITS OWN, I drove him up under COVER OF DARK. HE SAT IN THE BACK.

Answer 24

N.V - she seems resigned, defeated.
S.S - highlights the matter-of-fact nature of the decision.

w/c - wilds - he is becoming wild.

w/c - a glade of its own -emphasises their seperation. Shows she is ashamed of him, Mrs Midas has become isolated.

contrast - cover of dark - with the brightness of the gold that is their curse.

w/c - he sat in the back - emphasises her distrust.

Question 25

AND THEN I CAME HOME, THE WOMEN who married the fool who wished for gold. At first I visited, odd times parking the car a good way off, then walking.

Answer 25

w/c - and then i came home - quite blunt/dismissive

N.V - she has a negative view of her husband and, by extension, herself.

Question 26

You know you were getting close. GOLDEN troat on the grass. One day, a Hare Hung from a LARCH, a beautiful LEMON mistake. And then his footprints, GLISTENING next to the river’s path.

Answer 26

w/c - golden/lemon/glistening - has connotations of gold, suggesting how debilitating his gift has become. Everything is affected by it.

alliteration - h - a sense of realisation.

context - larch - a type of tree.

Question 27

He was thin, DELIRIOUS; hearing, he said, the music of PAN from the woods. LISTEN. That was the last straw.

Answer 27

w/c - delirious - connotations of imagining things suggests that his gift is driving him mad.

context - Pan - referring to the Greek God Pan, of sheep and flock, showing he was just as isolated as Pan was.

short sentence - listen - this is the last straw of their relationship, Mrs Midas is done.

Question 28

What gets me now is not the idiocy or greed but LACK OF THOUGHT FOR ME. PURE SELFISHNESS. I SOLD THE CONTENTS OF THE HOUSE and came down here.

Answer 28

NV - lack of thought for me - the speaker feels hurt and betrayed by her husband’s thoughts.

w/c - pure selfishness - connotations of thoughtlessness suggests she still feels betrayed.

S.S - highlights her feelings, a bitter tone is established.

contrast - i sold the contents of the house - she is the only one benefiting from his death.

Question 29

I think of him in certain LIGHTS, DAWN, LATE AFTERNOON, and once a BOWL OF APPLES stopped me dead.

Answer 29

she remebers him at the time of day when the sky is yellow and orange.

she regrets ending their relationship.

w/c - a bowl of apples - inescapable, everything is reminding her of her relationship.

Question 30

I MISS most, even now, his HANDS, his warm HANDS on my skin, HIS TOUCH.

Answer 30

w/c - miss - connotations of longing, suggests she regrets how things turned out.

repetition - hands - emphasises the importance of his touch throughout the poem.

irony - his touch - symbolism of the hands/sensory imagery. The thing that she misses the most is ironcally the thing that ended her marriage.