Mrs Midas (SQA National 5 English): Revision Note
Exam code: X824 75
Here is a guide to Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘Mrs Midas’ to help you prepare for your SQA National 5 English exam. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of Duffy’s techniques and methods
Understanding the poem: an exploration of the themes and ideas within Duffy’s poem
Linking the poems: an understanding of how ‘Mrs Midas’ connects to Duffy’s other prescribed poems for the Scottish text section
Overview
In order to answer questions on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
An overview of the poem
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Carol Ann Duffy’s intention and message
‘Mrs Midas’ overview
Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘Mrs Midas’ is a dramatic monologue. The narrator, Mrs Midas, tells the story of what happened when her husband’s wish for everything he touched to turn to gold was granted. Mrs Midas describes how her husband’s greed has affected both of them and what she has lost as a consequence.
‘Mrs Midas’ translation
Lines 1-6
“It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begun
to unwind, while the vegetables cooked. The kitchen
filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath
gently blanching the windows. So I opened one,
then with my fingers wiped the other’s glass like a brow.
He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.”
Translation
The poem begins with the narrator setting the scene for her story:
She portrays an ordinary domestic setting, where she is cooking dinner
She pours a glass of wine, wipes the steamy window and looks out to see her husband in the garden
Duffy’s intention
Duffy describes her narrator’s everyday actions to create a contrast with what happens next
The poet’s use of personification in the descriptions of the kitchen’s “steamy breath” and the window’s “brow” foreshadow the magical events to come
Lines 7-11
“Now the garden was long and the visibility poor, the way
the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sky,
but that twig in his hand was gold. And then he plucked
a pear from a branch. – we grew Fondante d’Automne –
and it sat in his palm, like a lightbulb. On.
I thought to myself, Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?”
Translation
The garden is long and it is getting dark, so Mrs Midas can’t see her husband clearly
She notices that the twig he is holding is gold and when he picks a pear from the tree, that is gold too
The golden pear glows like a lit bulb and Mrs Midas is confused. She wonders if her husband is putting fairy lights on the tree
Duffy’s intention
Duffy’s use of personification in her description of the fading light, as if the ground “seems to drink” it, increases the sense of strangeness by portraying this natural process in an unnatural way
Similarly, describing the pear as “a lightbulb” enhances the otherworldly effect of the glowing, golden pear:
The curt, one-word sentence “On.” conveys the narrator’s shocked confusion and adds comic effect to the description
Duffy shows her narrator trying to interpret what she is seeing in normal, practical terms, asking herself a rhetorical question: “Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?”
Lines 12-23
“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.
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.
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.
He asked where was the wine. I poured with a shaking hand,
a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy, then watched
as he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.”
Translation
When her husband comes into the house, he turns everything he touches to gold
It reminds Mrs Midas of her history lesson with Miss Macready about Field of the Cloth of Gold:
Mrs Midas’ husband sits in the chair, which has also turned gold, just like a king, and laughs when she asks him to explain
When he tries to eat, the sweetcorn turns to gold and he spits out the golden kernels
The cutlery and the wine glass turn to gold when he touches them
Duffy’s intention
Duffy foreshadows the negative consequences for her marriage by referring to the Field of the Cloth of Gold:
Everything appeared golden but it eventually failed to bring about the positive outcome the two kings hoped for
This effect is reinforced by the simile comparing Midas to “a king”
The poet uses the metaphor “the teeth of the rich” to describe the golden sweetcorn kernels:
Only rich people could afford gold teeth but the phrase also suggests excess and vulgarity
This negative allusion to wealth means Midas can no longer eat food
Mrs Midas’s “shaking hand” when she pours the wine conveys her fear:
Duffy comically subverts the sense of threat by her narrator’s gossipy description of the wine
The process of transformation is emphasised by Duffy’s use of alliteration in the description “glass, goblet, golden chalice”
The ‘l’ sounds link the words together, implying luxury, while the harsh ‘g’ sounds convey finality and Mrs Midas’ disgust
Lines 24-35
“It was then that I started to scream. He sank to his knees.
After we’d both calmed down, I finished the wine
on my own, hearing him out. 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:
how he’d had 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, untarnishable; slakes
no thirst. 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 give up smoking for good.”
Translation
When the narrator realises what is going on, she screams and her husband collapses
She finishes the wine while he explains what has happened
To protect herself, she keeps her distance from him and puts the cat and the phone where he can’t touch them, although she doesn’t mind having a gold toilet
She finds his explanation about having his wish granted hard to believe
Mrs Midas reflects that gold is no good to eat or drink
Her husband’s golden cigarette means he can’t smoke any longer
Duffy’s intention
Duffy reflects her narrator’s anger and shock with a series of caesurae:
These pauses appear in the middle of lines to show the impact each realisation has on the narrator
The poet illustrates the uselessness of gold and, therefore, her husband’s wish
Duffy sustains the humorous strand of Mrs Midas’s account with the observation that Midas can now “give up smoking for good”:
The contrast between humour and horror amplifies both aspects of her account
Lines 36-47
“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. You see, we were passionate then,
in those halcyon 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.
And who, when it comes to the crunch, 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. My dream milk
burned in my breasts. I woke to the streaming sun.”
Translation
Mrs Midas will no longer sleep in the same bed, or even the same room as her husband
He is banished to the spare room, where he turns everything gold, making it look like Tutankhamun’s tomb
Their passionate physical relationship ends because Mrs Midas is afraid he will turn her into gold if he touches her
She dreams she has his baby, which is made entirely of gold, so cannot be alive
Her desire to have a child is so great that she wakes up feeling as if her breasts are painfully full of milk
Duffy’s intention
The poet uses the short, direct statement “Separate beds.” to express the abrupt end of her narrator’s physical relationship with her husband:
The double meaning of “near petrified” conveys the narrator’s fear, but also what she is afraid of — being turned into an inanimate object
Duffy’s reference to Tutankhamun’s tomb emphasises the pointlessness of the gold, because the occupant of the tomb is dead:
This also signals the death of the relationship
The description of their previous passion is used by Duffy to emphasise the contrast between then and now
Duffy uses irony to express the narrator’s grief:
A “heart of gold” is usually a positive thing
Here, it is presented as deathly, as nobody can survive with a golden heart
The golden child dreamt of by the narrator is presented as beautiful, but Duffy ensures it is also an image of horror:
Its “pupils” are “like flies”, implying that it is dead
The imagery of the “streaming sun” suggests liquid gold, but also the fact that gold is something Mrs Midas will have to face every day from now on
Lines 48-65
“So he had to move out. We’d a caravan
in the wilds, in a glade of its own. I drove him up
under the cover of dark. He sat in the back.
And then I came home, the woman who married the fool
who wished for gold. At first, I visited, odd times,
parking the car a good way off, then walking.
You knew you were getting close. Golden trout
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. He was thin,
delirious; hearing, he said, the music of Pan
from the woods. Listen. That was the last straw.
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.
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.”
Translation
Midas has to move out of the home he shared with the narrator:
He goes to live in a caravan in the middle of nowhere
Mrs Midas drives him there and returns, reflecting on what a fool she married
When she visits him, she parks far away, still afraid of his power
She finds objects turned to gold as she gets nearer, including his golden footprints
Midas hears the “music of Pan”
Mrs Midas gives up hope and stops visiting her husband
His selfishness hurts her more than his foolishness or his greed
She still thinks about him when something reminds her of his presence:
Such as when the light is golden at dawn or late afternoon, or a bowl of apples brings back the memory of him turning fruit to gold
She still misses the warm, loving relationship they had before his wish was granted
Duffy’s intention
Duffy shows how Mrs Midas’ self-image has been affected by her husband’s actions:
The phrase “the woman who married the fool / Who wished for gold” evokes a gossipy tone, as if people would say that about her
The fact she drove him to the caravan “under the cover of dark” reinforces the idea that she feels she has something shameful to hide
The poet uses a second-person address to sustain a conversational tone in the comment “You knew you were getting close”:
This is reinforced by the single word sentence “Listen”, which could be her narrator repeating her husband’s instruction, or a conversational remark
The reference to Pan can be read as an indication of madness or isolation, but also as a reference to sexuality:
This reminder of what she has lost may be why it is “the last straw” for Duffy’s narrator
Duffy’s reference to the “bowl of apples” invokes the original myth of King Midas, who turned an apple to gold:
She is reminding readers that the myth, which focused on Midas, also affected everyone around him, including his wife
Duffy repeats the word “hands” in the final sentence to emphasise the warm physical intimacy her narrator once shared with her husband is now lost forever
Writer’s methods
This section is divided into three parts: form, structure and language. When you write about a poem, aim to expand your interpretation of what the poet is writing about by exploring how they present their ideas and why they have made the technical choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s ideas and how they express them will gain you far more marks than examining individual poetic techniques. Look at the analysis in the sections below, which is organised by the main themes of ‘Mrs Midas’ and demonstrates the methods and reasons for Carol Ann Duffy’s choices of:
Form
Structure
Language
Form
‘Mrs Midas’ is a dramatic monologue retelling the myth of King Midas from his wife’s point of view to foreground the negative effects it has on her life and happiness.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Loss | The dramatic monologue makes the narrator’s voice and perspective central, which gives Mrs Midas authorship of the story of what she has lost because of Midas’ wish. | Duffy gives Mrs Midas control of the story, placing her account in the foreground to revise the original myth, which focuses on King Midas |
Structure
The structure of Duffy’s poem emphasises the complexity of her narrator’s voice. It conveys her lack of power, illustrates her sense of loss and prioritises her identity, all at the same time.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Power | Although the length of stanzas is regular, the line lengths are uneven, conveying the chaotic situation caused by Midas’ new power | Duffy conveys how disempowered Mrs Midas feels in her situation, where nothing is as she expected it to be |
Identity | However, the uneven line lengths also sustain the poem’s conversational tone and ensure that Mrs Midas’ voice is the main focus | Duffy wants to prioritise Mrs Midas’ voice and experience over Midas’ actions, giving this fictional character back her identity |
Loss | The use of enjambment and caesurae throughout the poem conveys Mrs Midas’ loss of control:
| The poet shows how the actions of a greedy, selfish man can result in catastrophic loss for those around him |
Language
Carol Ann Duffy uses vivid imagery, personification, repetition and metaphor to convey her narrator’s feelings about her husband’s changed identity, his greed and her own sense of loss. The poet uses language to promote a direct, conversational tone throughout the poem.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Identity and change | From the start of the poem, the use of personification creates a foreshadowing effect that indicates how everyday objects suddenly appear strange:
| Duffy uses the strategy of defamiliarisation to emphasise and foreshadow how dramatically Midas’ wish will change his identity and every aspect of the narrator’s life |
The narrator’s use of a direct, conversational tone gives her account authority:
| Duffy uses the directness of her narrator’s voice to foreground her version of events and promote her perception of the changes she experiences | |
Greed | Midas’ greed is conveyed by a number of metaphors that indicate wealth and luxury:
| Duffy demonstrates the pointlessness of Midas’ newly-acquired wealth by aligning it with the deadly consequences of his greed, which also signals the death of his marriage |
Loss | The narrator’s loss is illustrated by metaphors and repetition:
| Duffy shows how Midas’ greed and selfishness has led to the loss of their relationship, as he can no longer touch his wife |
The narrator dreams she has a gold baby with “perfect ore limbs”:
| The heartbreaking image of a dead golden baby conveys another thing Duffy’s narrator has lost as a consequence of Midas’ actions | |
The repetition of “hands” at the end of the poem, when the narrator misses her husband’s “hands, his warm hands” on her skin, indicates a final loss:
| The repeated references to Midas’ hands allude to the famous “Midas touch”, but Duffy ensures that this is presented as a negative thing, as his hands - his touch - can only cause loss and death |
Understanding the poem
Getting good marks in your SQA National 5 exam relies on you showing a clear understanding of the poem’s main ideas and themes. That means you should demonstrate your thoughtful engagement with the way Duffy uses techniques to get her meaning across. The following main themes of ‘Mrs Midas’ are explored below:
Identity
Greed
Loss
Identity
In ‘Mrs Midas’, Duffy illustrates how one person’s selfish decision can alter their own and other peoples’ identities negatively
All the identities in the poem shift in relation to Midas’ granted wish:
The identities of everyday objects become strange and unfamiliar when Midas touches them
Mrs Midas loses her identity as a wife as a consequence of her husband’s actions
Midas’ identity changes too, as he becomes first an agent of destruction and death, and finally a wild man, living in the woods, starving and mad
By making Mrs Midas her narrator, Duffy ensures that her identity and version of events are central to the story:
She becomes the central character in the story of her own identity, rather than secondary to her husband, as in the Greek myth
Greed
Greed is only referred to directly once in the poem, but Duffy demonstrates the consequences of Midas’ greed by showing its negative effects on his wife:
By making Mrs Midas her narrator, Duffy promotes her account of her husband’s actions and reverses the focus of the original story
By referring constantly to gold and wealth, Duffy ensures that the greed motivating Midas’ wish is central to the poem:
Although wealth is usually seen as desirable, Duffy shows how it can also be destructive, even deathly
Loss
Duffy explores the different losses experienced by Mrs Midas
Mrs Midas loses her marriage, her home and the possibility of having a baby with her husband
The different dimensions of Mrs Midas’ loss are also detailed in the poem:
The loss of stability when everything changes suddenly
The loss of intimacy when Midas can no longer touch her and has to leave their shared home
Duffy shows how Mrs Midas also loses her identity as an individual:
Instead, she becomes known, or gossiped about, as simply “the woman who married the fool / who wished for gold”
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In the Critical Reading exam, you must write about two different genres. If you choose a Carol Ann Duffy poem for the Scottish text question (Section A), you cannot write about Duffy or any other poem in the critical essay question (Section B). Your Section B answer must be on a different genre.
Linking the poems
Students often use Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry to answer the Scottish texts section of the SQA National 5 Critical Reading exam. If you choose, though, you can write your critical essay question on Duffy’s poetry instead.
If you decide to write about Duffy for the Scottish text section, the final question asks you to demonstrate a wider understanding of her poetry. That means linking more than one poem together by focusing on her ideas and how she communicates them (her techniques).
The six poems Carol Ann Duffy poems on the SQA syllabus are:
‘Before You Were Mine’
‘Originally’
‘Mrs Midas’
‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’
‘Medusa’
‘Havisham’
Here are some parallels between the six poems, organised by shared themes:
Theme: Identity and change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
‘Before You Were Mine’ | ‘Originally’ | ‘Mrs Midas’ | ‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ | ‘Medusa’ | ‘Havisham’ |
Identity shaped by motherhood, as a once carefree woman’s sense of self is transformed by responsibility | Identity altered by childhood displacement, as migration and language loss reshape the speaker’s sense of belonging | Identity as a wife is lost and reshaped when her husband’s greed destroys their marriage | Identity develops through coming of age, as childhood innocence gives way to growing awareness | Identity becomes distorted and destructive as jealousy and self-loathing consume the speaker | Identity is consumed by betrayal, leaving the speaker trapped in bitterness and revenge |
Theme: Loss | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
‘Before You Were Mine’ | ‘Originally’ | ‘Mrs Midas’ | ‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ | ‘Medusa’ | ‘Havisham’ |
Loss of youth, freedom and time; a daughter mourns the mother’s lost self | Loss of homeland, language, and sense of identity | Loss of love, intimacy, and trust through greed and regret | Loss of innocence as the child transitions to adulthood | Loss of love and humanity as jealousy consumes the speaker | Loss of love and sanity following rejection and isolation |
Theme: Relationships | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
‘Before You Were Mine’ | ‘Originally’ | ‘Mrs Midas’ | ‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ | ‘Medusa’ | ‘Havisham’ |
Mother–daughter relationship shaped by love and sacrifice, as the daughter reflects on her mother’s lost independence | Family relationships are challenged by migration, cultural change and emotional distance | A marital relationship is destroyed as greed leads to emotional separation and regret | A supportive teacher–pupil relationship provides care and guidance during childhood | A romantic relationship is corrupted by jealousy, suspicion and obsession | A relationship defined by betrayal leaves the speaker trapped in bitterness and emotional fixation |
Sources:
‘Mrs Midas’ by Carol Ann Duffy (opens in a new tab)
Unlock more, it's free!
Did this page help you?
