mrs midas

• • “its steamy breath gently blanching the windows”

  Duffy uses personification here. Just as when a person relaxes, they would exhale, so too the kitchen seems to be breathing on to the window. This is effective as it helps create the relaxed atmosphere in stanza one.
• • “wiped the other’s glass like a brow”

  Duffy uses a simile here. Just as a mother might lovingly stroke her child’s forehead, so too Mrs Midas is wiping the steam from the window. This is effective as the gentle action helps create a relaxed and very domestic mood.
• • “the way the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sky

  Duffy uses personification here. Just as a person might drain liquid from a glass, so too the ground seems to be swallowing all the light. This is effective as it changes the mood from relaxed to sinister and omnious, as if something bad is about to happen.
• • “like a lightbulb. On.”

  Duffy uses a simile here to compare the pear to a

  lightbulb. Just as a lightbulb shines when switched on, so too the pear is glowing in the dark. This is effective as it emphasises that strange things are happening. The minor sentence adds to the impact because it creates a dramatic pause to emphasise the shock of realising that the pear is glowing.
• • “The look on his face was strange, wild, vain”

  Duffy uses a list of three adjectives to emphasise the number of ways his expression is altered and how changed he is. This is effective as it suggests that the wish is changing him for the worst and how Mrs Midas may be frightened of him.
• • “glass, goblet, golden chalice”

  Duffy uses a list here to show the gradual transformation of the glass as he touches it; it becomes increasingly elaborate as it turns to gold. This is effective as it shows the frightening power he now has.
• • “unwrapping each other, rapidly, like presents”

  Duffy uses a simile here. Just as people are excited to unwrap presents and see what is inside, so too, Mrs Midas and her husband were desperate to undress and be intimate with each other. This is effective as it shows that they had a very physical relationship and this emphasises how much she misses his touch.
• • “And who ... can live/with a heart of gold?”

  Duffy uses an ironic question here. The metaphor “heart of gold” is commonly used to describe someone who is kind and caring. However, Duffy inverts this familiar expression to show that it is impossible to literally live with a heart of gold. A heart of gold cannot sustain life and so is useless. Midas was not caring when he made his wish; he was selfish.
• • “Its little tongue like a precious latch”

  Here Duffy uses a simile to compare the baby’s tongue to a latch on a gate. Just as a latch keeps a gate locked, so too the baby’s metallic tongue prevents any sound being released as the baby is lifeless – cold and metallic like the latch. The baby is an object, not a human being, and this is a disturbing image.
• • “its amber eyes/holding their pupils like flies”

  Here Duffy uses a simile, comparing the baby’s pupils to flies. Just as flies are associated with death and disease, so too the baby is lifeless.
• • “My dream milk/burned in my breasts.”

  Duffy uses alliteration of harsh “b” sound to emphasise the pain she feels at not being able to have a child; her milk will never feed a child as he has taken this opportunity away from her through his selfish wish. 
• • “I woke to the streaming sun”

  The word “sun” has connotations of bright, yellow, shining. This adds to the idea that there is no escaping the selfish wish her husband made - every day is dominated by gold.
• • “So he had to move out”

  The short sentence here creates a matter of fact tone. This is effective as it emphasises the loss of feelings Mrs Midas has towards her husband.
• • “Wilds ...glade of its own”

  Duffy’s word choice here has connotations of isolation

  and segregation from society. This is what Midas’ wish has led to - he has ended up completely alone, highlighting the consequence of his wish. He has lost the woman he claimed to love.
• • “I drove him up under the cover of dark”

  Duffy uses a short sentence here to emphasise the ultimate consequence of his wish – their separation.  This highlights the consequence of a selfish action in a relationship. She is so embarrassed by his behaviour that she has to hide him from view.
• • “the woman who married the fool”

  Duffy’s word choice here suggests Mrs Midas thinks her husband is an idiot for what he has done. But she also feels embarrassed as she was his wife and so it feels like a reflection on her.
• • “At first ...odd times …"

  Duffy’s word choice here suggests how Mrs Midas’ behaviour changed as time went on. She began to detach herself from him, emotionally and physically, as she visited him less.
• • “golden trout on the grass ...hare hung from a larch/a beautiful lemon mistake”

  Duffy describes the golden objects which show Midas’ failed attempts to feed himself; everything he touches turns to gold and so is inedible. These things might look beautiful but are useless. This is his legacy – what he has left behind – and it is worthless.
• • “That was the last straw”

  Duffy uses a short sentence here to emphasise how abruptly she made her decision to cut him from her life. She has had enough of his selfish behaviour and severs all ties with him.
• • “Pure selfishness”

  Duffy uses a minor sentence here. This is effective as it emphasises her feelings of anger and bitterness at his betrayal. She is angry that he only thought of himself and deprived her of a physical relationship with him, but also the opportunity to have a baby.
• • “once a bowl of apples stopped me dead”

  Just as apples are bright and usually golden in colour so too is the metal gold. This adds to the idea that the golden yellow colour of the apples reminded her of him. Duffy makes it clear that, despite her anger towards her husband, she is still reminded of him and continues to miss him. Duffy shows us that it is hard to turn our feelings off when we have loved someone.
• • “I miss most, even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch

  The repetition of “hands” is effective as it emphasises that the thing she misses most is physical touch. The parenthesis of “even now” emphasises that, despite her anger, and how much time has passed, this is still the thing she wishes she had. It is much more precious than gold. The word “touch” suggests intimacy and physical connection: this is the last word in the poem and the most significant. She remembers their once physical relationship and mourns the loss of it.