Mrs.

Midas: An In Depth Analysis

Stanza 1
It was late September.
o The poem begins in 'late September' a time during the transition of summer to fall. The setting of an
autumn landscape brings to mind the colours yellow and orange, foreshadowing Mr. Midass ability to turn
everything he touches into gold.
o It is also illustrates a period in which something comes to an end. In the Midas household this period
gestures towards the end of their relationship but there is a contrast between the natural processes of
autumn and the unnatural events surrounding Midas.
I'd just poured a glass of wine, begun [/] to unwind, while the vegetables cooked.
o The description of Mrs Midas at home is replete with mundane domestic imagery. Duffy creates a degree
of comfort and satisfaction in these lines from the use of enjambment and half rhymes such as wine and
unwind. The former is utilised in a manner as to convey the idea that there exists a continuum in the
speakers life as the lack of a pause at the end of the line ensures the readers continuous reading, whilst
the latter suggests that there exists a whimsical fortitude in such humble mannerisms as the rhyming of
the words wine and unwind suggests that the speaker is at ease with her surroundings.
So I opened one [window],
o Before this line, Duffy incorporated enjambment to indicate a degree of continuum and thus the use of
caesura indicates that something is amiss as the pause forces the reader to acknowledge the situation at
hand.
He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.
o The action of snapping a twig holds connotations of violence and foreshadows the troubles the Midases
will face.
Stanza 2
And then he plucked [/] a pear from a branch - we grew Fondante d'Automne [/] and it sat in his palm like a light
bulb. On.
o The Midases grow a particular variety of pear, the 'Fondante d'Automne', French for 'melting autumn'. Duffy
deliberately delays the moment of realisation for Mrs Midas for both comic effect, as when the pear sits in
Mr. Midas' palm 'like a light bulb', but also to evoke pathos for her as when she asks herself 'Is he putting
fairy lights in the tree?'
I thought to myself, Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?
o (see above)
Stanza 3
You know the mind; I thought of [/] the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready.
o Midas' return to the house is depicted in a string of short, simple sentences. The use of direct address is
conversational; this form of colloquialism suggests that the speaker already bears an extent of
exasperation towards her husband.
o This also suggests that her husband has indulged in such acts before, creating a darkly comic relief,
thereby indicating the selfishness and the Kafkaesque nature that some men encompass.
He sat in that chair like a king on a burnished throne. [/] The look on his face was strange, wild, vain.
o The adjective Burnished, meaning glossy, is a polysyllabic word and thus juxtaposes the other words
within the sentence. This dissimilarity suggests how the speaker views her husbands powers as out of
place within the household.
Stanza 4
I served up the meal. For starters, corn on the cob. [/] Within seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich.
o The choice of corn on the cob is anachronistic but visually fitting, as its natural golden hue becomes the
gold 'teeth of the rich' which Midas must spit out. The act of spitting out gold possibly suggests that the
man already regrets his gift.
He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks.
o Rather than eating, Midas toys with the cutlery, introducing an important theme in this poem, the gap
between ambition and need; Midas desires riches but needs to eat, his ambition will cause him to starve.
He asked where was the wine. I poured with shaking hand,
o Midas' question where was the wine reveals his expectations of the meal and of his wife. Mrs Midas
pours the wine with a shaking hand reflecting her mounting fear. The use of assonance in the words:
where, was and wine creates an internal rhyming within the line, suggesting a degree of excitement as
the alliteration of vowel sounding words increases the speed at which one reads the text, thereby reflecting
the enthusiasm the husband feels towards his power.
as he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.
o The moment of realisation is captured in the transformation of the 'glass' to 'goblet' to 'golden chalice' and
the harsh consonance of the 'g' sound, reflects the impact of the transformation as dictation of each word is
different from the next. The term 'chalice' has religious connotations due to its use in the Last Supper;
furthermore the word chalice may be a reference to the expression 'a poisoned chalice' from Shakespears
Macbeth, the quotation is a representation of an opportunity which seems promising but is found to be
have hidden disadvantages. Both interpretations are relevant as the Midases are eating their last meal
together and Midas will soon realise that his miraculous gift will carry a hidden price.
Stanza 5
I made him sit [/] on the other side of the room and keep his hands to himself.
o The abundance of monosyllabic words in the line increase the speed at which the reader reads, suggesting
how blunt the woman is towards her husband.
The toilet I didn't mind.
o The random placement of a toilet in the prose may suggest that the wife does see some quality in certain
aspects of his powers.
Stanza 6
Look, we all have wishes; granted. [/] But who has wishes granted? Him.
o The use of word play in the lines 'we all have wishes; granted. But who has wishes granted?' and a
monosyllabic minor sentence which answers her rhetorical question 'Him' conveys her disgust with her
husband; his wife acknowledges that everyone has the right to have wishes, granted but to have wishes
granted seems to offend her.
o However, it is Midas' wish for gold that is outrageous; she asks another rhetorical question and answers 'it
feeds no one and slakes no thirst.' The imagery here is juxtaposed with that in the description of their love
life in the following stanza, thus highlighting what they have lost.
Do you know about gold? [/] It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnishable; slakes [/] no thirst.
o (see above)
Stanza 7
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.
o Firstly, the couple must sleep in 'separate beds', and then it transpires, on separate floors, 'he was below',
indicating the widening gulf between them. Although there is still humour in the use of the internal rhyme:
turning the spare room into the tomb of Tutankhamun, the imagery now carries connotations of death.
o Also the use of assonance in the alliteration of the too sound in the words: into, tomb and
Tutankhamun may be an allegory towards the distaste and monotony in which the speaker feels has
been brought upon by her husband. Also, it may suggest the excessiveness of her husbands power as the
too sound may be a reference to the term too much.
But now I feared his honeyed embrace, [/] the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art.
o Though Mrs. Midas understands the value of gold, she also understands the fact that any form of intimate
contact with her husband would result in her downfall.
Stanza 8
And who, when it comes to the crunch, can live [/] with a heart of gold?
o The 'heart of gold', though used as a proverbial expression to denote virtue and charity, cannot actually
sustain life.
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. My dream-milk [/] burned in my breasts.
o Perhaps the most poignant image in this poem is that of the dream child, which, with its 'perfect ore limbs'
is a representation of physical beauty, 'precious' to its mother but its 'amber eyes holding their pupils like
flies' are a symbol of lifelessness.
o The speaker's longing for a child is encapsulated in the line: 'my dream-milk burned in my breasts', and it is
perhaps this image of thwarted maternal love that reveals the true cost of Midas' greed.
Stanza 9
I drove him up [/] under cover of dark. He sat in the back. [/] And then I came home, the women who married the
fool [/] who wished for gold.
o Mrs Midas' embarrassment at her husband's behaviour is shown by the fact that she drives him away
'under cover of dark' and parks the car 'a good way off'. She also describes herself using the third person
as 'the woman who married the fool who wished for gold', reflecting the derision and mockery of gossip
mongers.
Stanza 10
You knew you were getting close. Golden trout [/] on the grass. One day, a hare hung from a larch, [/] a beautiful
lemon mistake.
o The use of catachresis lemon mistake, possibly a phrase derived from the cockney slang lemon tart
(meaning smart) suggests creating a degree of sarcasm as the use of the word lemon, as opposed to
any synonym for smart. This (the lemon) both references the hue of gold and also suggests how asinine
the situation has been for both characters.
He was thin, [/] delirious; hearing, he said, the music of Pan [/] from the woods. Listen. That was the last straw.
o Despite the separation, she visits her husband, tracing his presence in the woods through 'golden trout'
and 'a beautiful lemon mistake; these images are the legacy he leaves behind him rather than the perfect
child she longed for. Unable to abandon his appetite or his thirst, Midas is driven 'delirious' and hears the
'music of Pan'; the fact that Pan is brought into the context of the poem, implies that the man has finally
seen the errors of his ways. However, as Mrs. Midas claims that That was the last straw suggests that the
speaker no longer cares for her husband as he abandons his addiction for another.
Stanza 11
I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon, [/] and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead. I miss most,
[/] even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.
o The lexical field of this line is related to the mans body parts, the use of such words denotes the loss of
sexual activity in her life.
o The use of caesura within the line decreases the pace at which the reader reads, alluding to the womans
contemplation of throwing out her husband.