Mrs Midas Flashcards
his honeyed embrace
metaphor - to have his arms around her before she would be sweet and tender but now it would be deadly because she would become the colour of honey/turning to gold.
turn my lips to a work of art
her concern is always for herself, not him
I miss most, even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.
Ironic ending to the poem - missed that demonstration of love; that one aspect of him that would actually kill her.
I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon.
typical time for when golden light is in the sky.
halcyon days
a joy filled time. they were in love and because of his actions they can never return to that time.
unwrapping each other, rapidly, like presents, fast food.
simile. shallow comparison. compared to things/moments that don’t last. suggest their love isn’t long lasting, only passion. fast food - a humorous contrast with the classical reference to halcyon days.
My dream milk burned in my breasts.
alliteration emphasises a yearning for what she now cannot have. she has been deprived of this opportunity to have a baby with her husband. “burned” demonstrates the emotional pain of this.
lack of thought for me
she hasn’t actually seemed to demonstrate any thought for him.
Pure selfishness
what about her subsequent actions?
heart of gold?
usually this expression is positive and associated with kindness but the metaphor has been ironically inverted to be literal. it would be impossible to live with such a heart/live a full life.
I poured the wine with a shaking hand.
her anxiety/fear is revealed
separate beds
this statement suggests the beginning of the end of their relationship
I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone.
she protects the things she values. she merely lists her actions - the lack of consideration for her husband is evident.
I started to scream
the focus is on herself and not the fact that her husband is choking. only her reaction which shows she’s placing more importance on herself. telling the story in this way implies the lack of caring feeling she has for him anymore.
we were passionate then
has connotations of being loving, caring and intense. addresses to the reader that they had been intimate.