poems Mrs Midas Flashcards

0
Q

“to unwind”

A

Sets a casual, relaxed opening tone. Shows she is happy at the moment.

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1
Q

“It was late September”

A

It is autumn, when things start to turn gold.

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2
Q

“the vegetables cooked”

A

As if the vegetables are cooking themselves, makes her life seem easy

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3
Q

“The kitchen filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath”

A

Kitchen is personified as if it is doing all of the work for her

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4
Q

“fingers wiped”

A

She clears the window to see her husband so her and her husband are connected through touching

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5
Q

“He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.”

A

In contrast to the positive setting of the

kitchen he is destroying life

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6
Q

“Now the garden was long and the visibility poor, the way the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sky”

A

Her trying to justify what she can see, she doesn’t believe it has turned gold.

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7
Q

“We grew Fondante d’Automne”

A

Suggest she is still quite relaxed at this point and that her and her husband may actually be quite wealthy

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8
Q

“and it sat in his palm like a light bulb.”

A

Compares the shape of a pear to the shape of a light bulb and suggests the pear is bright. ‘light bulb’ suggests he has just had a bright idea.

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9
Q

“Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?”

A

She is still trying to rationalise what she is seeing

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10
Q

“the field of cloth of gold”

A

Reference to Henry VIII and Francis I of France. They constantly tried to out do each other by being more luxurious

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11
Q

“Miss Macready”

A

Reference to Narnia, Mrs Macready was more interested in her property than people

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12
Q

“like a king on a burnished throne.”

A

Reference to Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra

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13
Q

“strange, wild, vain.”

A

Suggests he has suddenly realised the power he has

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14
Q

“What in the name of God is going on?”

A

Normal domestic phrase as if she is still trying to figure out what is going on.

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15
Q

“He started to laugh.”

A

Inappropriate, blunt reaction

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16
Q

“I served up the meal.”

A

She is still trying to keep things normal

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17
Q

“spitting out the teeth of the rich”

A

Comparing corn of the cob to teeth, showing that they have turned to gold

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18
Q

“He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks.”

A

This list shows that he is still quite playful with his power

19
Q

“He asked where was the wine”

A

Not a question so he expects her to bring him wine. He is very selfish.

20
Q

“shaking hand”

A

Her fear of him is starting to show

21
Q

“bone-dry”

A

Suggests a lack of life

22
Q

“glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.”

A

Alliteration is used to show that we are watching the transformation.
At this point her attempts to keep normality end as what he drinks turns to gold, turning point

23
Q

“I started to scream”

A

Emphasises the horror of the situation

24
Q

“He sank to his knees.”

A

Sinks to knees because he is choking but this also shows he finally realised what he has done.

25
Q

“I finished the wine on my own”

A

Emphasises that he cannot drink anymore

26
Q

“the other side of the room”

A

First sense of distance between them

27
Q

“keep his hands to himself.”

A

They cannot have a physical relationship anymore

28
Q

“I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone.”

A

She is starting to take precautions

29
Q

“The toilet I didn’t mind.”

A

Plays on the idea of the toilet being a throne, humour

30
Q

“my ears:

how he’d had a wish.”

A

Separation is starting to form, shown by the line break

31
Q

“Him.”

A

Blunt, she is embarrassed by him

32
Q

“It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnishable; slakes no thirst.”

A

Gold has no real value to her

33
Q

“I gazed, entranced”

A

She is still amazed by it

34
Q

“I said, you’ll be able to give up smoking for good”

A

She is still trying to make humour

35
Q

“Separate beds.”

A

Single blunt statement, highlights the damage that has been done to their relationship

36
Q

“near petrified”

A

She is scared because she was nearly hardened by him like petrified wood

37
Q

“the tomb of Tutankhamen”

A

The room is becoming extravagant but is also a tomb, connotations of death

38
Q

“halcyon days”

A

Winter days, happy nostalgic days

39
Q

“like presents, fast food.”

A

She saw value in her husband before this

They could consume each other, sexual connotations

40
Q

“turn my lips to a work of art”

A

Suggests he still loves her but would be a threat to her

41
Q

“a heart of gold”

A

She has flipped it to the literal meaning, showing that you cannot live with a literal heart of gold

42
Q

“His child”

A

Emphasising that he’s had the effect on the relationship

43
Q

“Its perfect ore limbs”

A

A child made out of gold, beautiful but terrifying

44
Q

“its amber eyes”

A

Suggests it’s not human

45
Q

“Holding their pupils like flies”

A

When something is fossilised in Amber it can no longer move, stuck between life and death

46
Q

“I woke to the streaming sun”

A

Alliteration draws attention to this statement

Everyday she will wake up to gold