Mrs Midas Flashcards
“late September”
- Word choice, creates a relaxed atmosphere.
- This is a time we can associate with the golden colours of autumn. This also symbolises things coming to an end (their relationship)
“a glass of wine.. while the vegetables cooked”
This creates a scene of quiet domesticity, very much an ordinary day.
“filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, it’s steamy breath gently blanching the windows.”
Word choice - ‘filled with the smell of itself and ‘relaxed’ - suggest tranquillity and gratification.
The personification and enjambement - ‘steamy breath / gently blanching the windows’ form a contrast with her husband’s activities in the next verse.
“like a brow”
- Simile and Personification again. Almost like a caress. Introduces the importance of the sense of touch for Mrs Midas.
“snapping a twig”
- In the word choice of ‘snapping a twig’ the onomatopoeic ‘snapping’ creates a discordant tone.
- It also has connotations of violence, which shatters the previous relaxed atmosphere.
- This foreshadows the troubles they face.
“Now.. visibility poor… the dark of the ground… drink the light of the sky… twig in his hand was gold.”
- The first word “Now introduces the narrative.
- The word choice of visibility poor, ‘dark of the ground’, drink the light of the sky’ all suggest foreboding.
- The word dark suggests sinister or ominous, though the twig in his hand was gold’ is a reference to the Midas touch.
“we grew Fondante d’Automne and it sat in his palm like a lightbulb.”
- The parenthetical of we grew ‘Fondante d’Automne’ reveals her pretentiousness in naming an old variety of French pear. The pear is golden.
- The expression ‘sat in the palm of his hand like a light bulb’ adds humour, reinforced by the minor one-word sentence ‘On.’
- The simile like a light bulb’ compares the pear to a light bulb in gold colour and shape.
“Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?”
- Humour - the reference to fairy lights: she doesn’t know what is happening she is oblivious to the seriousness of what her husband is doing.
“He came into the house. The doorknobs gleamed. He drew the blinds.”
- Three short sentences create the impression of Mrs Midas talking to the reader.
- ‘He drew the blinds’ suggests he wants privacy.
“You”
- The chatty tone continues as this quote addresses the reader
“the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready”
- Gold is a symbol, ‘the field of the Cloth of Gold’. This reference to a meeting between Henry VIll and Francis I of France near Calais where everything was gold.
- ‘Miss Macready’ (who claimed to be Mrs Midas’ history teacher, teaching about the historic meeting); the now-golden blinds.
“like a king on a burnished throne”
- The simile of this quote is from Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra.
- Although these references give authenticity to the poem, they also seem slightly mischievous.
“strange, wild, vain.”
- The pile-up of adjectives - ‘strange, wild, vain’ - describes his sudden realisation of his unprecedented power and wealth. - However, ‘vain’ also reveals her criticism of her husband.
“What in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh.”
In line 18, the question expresses her puzzlement, but he only laughs - revealing their contrasting reactions.
“I served up the meal. For starters.”
- The everyday tone of ‘I served up the meal’ is an apparent attempt by Mrs Midas at normality.
- ‘For starters’ is chatty, but it is also humorous and paronomastic, playing on the colloquial phrase ‘for starters’ and the menu reference ‘for the starter’.
“spitting out the teeth of the rich”
- The humorous metaphor - ‘spitting out the teeth of the rich’ - suggests that the corn has turned to gold, has become inedible or that his teeth have splintered on the corn.
- This revealing the beginning of the problems brought by his gift’; ‘of the rich’ is used ironically.
“toyed”
- ‘toyed’ suggests playfulness on Midas’ part, that he has fun in turning everything he touches into gold.
“I poured with a shaking hand, a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy
- ‘I poured with shaking hand’ suggests that her anxiety is increasing.
- ‘a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy’, and the adjectives ‘fragrant’ and ‘bone-dry’ (‘bone’ with its underlying suggestion of death), suggest her pretentiousness.
- Despite being nervous, she cannot resist trying to impress.
“glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.”
- By contrast, the seriousness of the transformation of a simple glass into a golden chalice is highlighted by the alliteration of the guttural ‘g’ sound, softened slightly by the alliteration of the rich, liquid ‘I sound.
- This suggests dangerous luxury; ‘golden chalice’ references Macbeth’s poisoned chalice, suggesting that the chalice out of which Midas is about to drink could kill him.
- By placing the word ‘drank’ at the end of the sentence, the line and the verse, Midas’ fate is highlighted.
