How did he first appear to her as a woman? 61What gets me now is not the idiocy or greed, 62but lack of thought for me. There is no regular rhyme scheme. This poem is as much a critique of marriage as it is of capitalism and its fads. Back to the myth Remember the myth? the mirror may be a reference to the French psychoanalyst, Jaques Lacan and his theory of the mirror stage of development. The mention of painted nails and 32But who has wishes granted? What stereotypes are being played out here? It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. And later a letter to the powers-that-be demanding full-paid menstrual leave twelve weeks a year. Then he started his period. what follows shows how little Tiresias the man has truly changed beyond the physical transformation. He is best known for his investigations into. Remaining fixt on mine, till mine grew dark Id usually heard it days before him but I never let on. In Victor Hugos novel Quasimodo was found on the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral on that day, hence his name. 4. Listen. Shes not instead of just clothes like she does with her ex suggests greater intimacy and The first two stanzas present an image of innocence. The poem The Waste Land mourns the infertility of the modern world. 2. Helpful hints for the study of 'from Mrs Tiresias'. Mens hatred of women is based on stereotypes mother of the earth, slut of the universe so that their true identities are masked. Collectively, the poem is based on the theme of innocence vs experience. In her typical humorous style, Duffy shows Mrs. Midas as being sarcastically positive about his curse helping him to quit smoking: He tried to light a cigarette; I gazed, entranced. a sudden heat / at the back of my knees - enjambment. How might it get worse? It builds negative Monthly cycles and its How does the narrator convey that he is not a real woman but is role-playing? 52And then I came home, the woman who married the fool. but It uses a Greek myth to explore ideas about gender and sexual orientation. Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold (Stephen Frys Greek Myths), Sunday Post 21st February, 2021 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost | Brainfluff. How does the narrator convey that Tiresias might be jealous? And all her golden armour on the grass, Questions 1. and saw him picture her bite, her bite at the fruit of my lips, and hear my red wet cry in the night as she shook his hand saying How do you do; and I noticed then his hands, her hands, the clash of their sparkling rings and their painted nails. Have a specific question about this poem? The Original Myth of King Midas 15the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready. Tiresias figures in two of the greatest works of ancient Greek literature: Homers epic poem The Odyssey (which weve analysed here) and Sophocles tragedy, Oedipus Rex (analysed here). She imagines the thoughts of the wives of the men who are considered great for their work, be it in the field of science or literature. 36I said, youll be able to give up smoking for good. It hints at how it was the Little Red Cap herself who was taken in by the wolfs raw sexuality, only to eventually realise the damaging consequences of subjecting herself to a violent relationship. Mrs.Tiresias thinks her husband is ridiculously cowardly. I crawled in his wake, My stockings ripped to shreds, scraps of red from my blazer, Snagged on twig and branch, murder clues. The Greek myths are over two thousand years old and perhaps, in their earliest forms, much older and yet many stories from Greek mythology, and phrases derived from those stories, are part of our everyday speech. A cling peach slithering out from its tin. - Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Mrs . (Why are snakes always baddies in literature? ) Seven years later he encounters another pair of copulating snakes. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs I lost both shoes. > 9 ; 8 '` G bjbjLULU ; .? When he uttered my name in a womans voice I passed out. These the snake-hitting story and the Hera-Zeus disagreement are the two main stories involving Tiresias. the bible refers to the curse as the pain of childbirth, though it has subsequently been linked to the discomfort and pain of menstruation. there is also an assending structure in these lines- 1,2,34. despite their lack of physical strength, females have a much higher pain threshold. 1It was late September. And this is my lover - noun 'lover. The poem is based on story of the bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, named Quasimodo. We describe a challenging undertaking as a Herculean task, and speak of somebody who enjoys great success as having the Midas touch. suspense, the long break afterwards adds to this. 14He drew the blinds. "Carol Ann Duffy: The World's Wife From Mrs Tiresias." The stanza opens with the picture of Mrs Tiresias engaging in her daily ablutions, ' brushing my hairrunning a bath'.The structure of the stanza focuses the reader onto the importance of what is about to be seen in the mirror: ' a face ' which ' swam into view '. Over the centuries, writers and especially poets have been repeatedly drawn to the figure of Tiresias. Write each of the following items, using capital letters where they are needed. She is also the first lesbian Poet Laureate. I said, youll be able to give up smoking for good. 58glistening next to the rivers path. Read more about the movement to rewrite and reimagine traditional myths, stories, and fairy tales from a feminist perspectivein this article from the World Heritage Encyclopedia. 4. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others. two doctors in. I made him sit. When he uttered my name in a womans voice I passed out. Structure Id loved them fervently since childhood. Tinned fruit instead of fresh could also be seen as beautiful. In Oedipus Rex, Tiresias is still alive, and it is Tiresias who reveals to Oedipus the truth about who he is, and that he has inadvertently fulfilled the prophecy which warned that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Was this alluded to before? So, the titular character in Mrs. In the poem, there are . the village runt, name-called, stunted, lame, hare-lipped: A recognition like a struck match in my head. I miss most. His flirts smile. "Mrs Midas" is a poem written by the contemporary Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy, the former Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. In another story, that of the Seven Against Thebes in which the two sons of Oedipus (who were also, of course, Oedipus brothers) fought each other over the ancient city of Thebes, Tiresias is said to have prophesied that Thebes would be spared if one of their number, Menoeceus, was sacrificed to Ares, the god of war. Our neighbours sullen gargoyles, fallen angels, cowled. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. Mrs Tiresias is In Mrs. She enjoys immersing herself in a book, exploring worlds through vicarious travel, being one with the character, discovering words and admiring a singular turn of a phrase while trying to commit it to memory. But in the shocking V of the shirt were breasts. The use of colour appeals to the sense of sight. Tiresias participated fully in seven generations in Thebes, beginning as advisor to Cadmus himself. Do you think the narrator believes there is a difference between being female and being a woman? I was brushing my hair in the mirror and running a bath when a face swam into view next to my own. euphemism for sexual activity. This poem is about what would of happened to the wife of Mr Tiresias when hes cursed with becoming a woman. The conditional conjunction 'if could convey Mrs Faust Lyrics First things first - I married Faust. If you have materials you wish to add to this site we welcome submissions - please click. But the Hera story is the more commonly told. I'm Hel, 25 yrs old, West Midlands of England. Whistling. it suggests that the reader has joined mrs Tiresias in the middle of a conversation, a technique known as in media res (This phrase is Latin for "in the middle of things." Hera, annoyed that shed lost her wager with her husband, struck Tiresias blind in her anger. In literature, it is used to describe stories that begin in the middle of the action as opposed to including a conventional exposition.) personification, metaphor. Copyright Sandbox Learning Limited. Out the back gate with his stick, the dog; wearing his garden kecks, an open-necked shirt, and a jacket in Harris tweed Id patched at the elbows myself. Please note use of materials posted on the website are for educational purposes only and any other use could result in an infringement of copyright. Pingback: Sunday Post 21st February, 2021 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost | Brainfluff. 60from the woods. I see him now, his selfish pale face peering at the moon through the bathroom window. Tiresias, she discusses the idea of gender fluidity through the myth of the blind Greek seer, Tiresias, who lived as both a man and a woman. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. 13He came into the house. Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. Why does the seventh man say he has attained "a kind of salvation"? A Close Commentary on Thetis By Carol Ann Duffy Thetis is a poem written by the British poet Carol Ann Duffy in her collection The World's Wife. The poems in the collection are witty, satirical, playful and. Can you think of 2 things Carol Duffy might be trying to tell Juno and Jupiter? and came home female. mrs Tiresias is jolted out of her familiar, conventional world. 41like presents, fast food. Hes carefree and Carol Ann Duffy comes from an Irish background and grew up in Glasgow. So I opened one. Interesting Literature is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.co.uk. His flirts smile. Take Little Red Cap, the opening poem of the collection, for example. I stitched him up, Out of the forest I come with my flowers, singing, all alone. Why do you think she still refers to her as he and him? 2. For example, in Mrs. Id heard one that morning while he was asleep; just as I heard at about 6pm, a faint sneer of thunder up in the woods and felt a sudden heat at the back of my knees. 43And who, when it comes to the crunch, can live, 44with a heart of gold? 29I locked the cat in the cellar. Please create an account or log in to view this lecture. How does she feel about her husband now? But it can be still be understood simply as making . Mrs Tiresias is a poem from The Worlds Wife selection written by Carol Ann Duffy and published in 1999. 28 Apr 2020, 57a beautiful lemon mistake. 2. "when a face swam into view next to my own.". this theory is drawn in turn from Freudian theory in which lacan In other words, he was a prophet. The myth celebrates Pygmalions creation of a flawless marble statue of a woman who he falls in love with and who the Goddess Athena brings to life. The poems in the collection are witty, satirical, playful and complex. He walks the dog in tweeds and she has a bath and brushes her hair. In Duffys version Mrs Quasimodo tells her story as the wife of the hunchback. Id heard one that morning while he was asleep; just as I heard at about 6 pm, a faint sneer of thunder up in the woods and felt a sudden heat at the back of my knees. In the poem, Galatea presents her dissent by exposing Pygmalions flaws and fragile ego. So we describe somebodys weakness as their Achilles heel, or we talk about the dangers of opening up Pandoras box. Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc. 9. What do you think of her response to the situation: Life has to go on? Why do you think the thunder sneered? Teachit is a registered trademark (no. There hasnt been any intimacy yet. And then he plucked, 10a pear from a branch. She made an effort but didnt succeed at being pleasant. More than this, it exposes the double standards of men. a feminine planet. Mrs Quasimodo is therfore rejected because she is Other. "Mrs Darwin" takes the form of an imagined diary entry by Emma Darwin, wife of the naturalist Charles Darwin, in which she recounts an 1852 trip to the zoo where she told her husband that he resembles a chimpanzee. Came from her golden hair, her golden helm __________________________________________________, William shakespeare poem for anne hathaway, In mrs tilscher's class analysis higher english, Mrs Tiresias by Carol Ann Duffy Tiresias according, CAROL ANN DUFFY STANdin CAROL ANN duffy Born, The Biographer Carol Ann Duffy Summary Duffy uses, Valentine Carol Ann Duffy Introduction In Valentine Duffy, Mrs Midas Carol Ann Duffy Mrs Midas Context, Mrs Midas Carol Ann Duffy Introduction Mrs Midas, Mrs Midas Carol Ann Duffy Context Classical Mythology, IN MRS TILSCHERS CLASS CAROL ANN DUFFY ANNOTATIONS, Mrs Lazarus Carol Ann Duffy Objectives To understand, In Mrs Tilschers Class By Carol Ann Duffy, IN MRS TILSCHERS CLASS Carol Ann Duffy Imagery, IN MRS TILSCHERS CLASS Carol Ann Duffy Structure, Carol Ann Duffy Mrs Midas Learning Intention I. mr Tiresias thinks the ultimate female power(creating life) is a pain and awful, highlighting men don't value female power within society. . Mrs Sisyphus. Mrs Midas was included in Duffys 1999 collection The Worlds Wife and reprinted in her New Selected Poems 1984-2004. J. The novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo was published in 1831, and has been the subject of several film and stage adaptations. Unlike most of the other poems in this collection, Duffy has not titled the poem as "Mrs." (such as Mrs Lazarus and Mrs Tiresias) but as just "Thetis". The best literary content delivered to your inbox, every Sunday. Captain Marvel, How Margaret Atwood Redefined Mythology Through Her, 12 Indian Authors Share Their Favourite Books Of 2019, male experiences, then, are the norm to define oneself as humans. He then became a soothsayer and told Oedipus that he'd killed his father and married his mother, but that's not important to the point; nor to this lesson. Duffy explores several themes. The curse, he said, the curse Dont kiss me in public, he snapped the next day, I dont want people getting the wrong idea It got worse. the face that 'swam' into view implies dizziness or shock. 25It was then that I started to scream. I woke to the streaming sun. For reasons perhaps known only to himself, Tiresias took exception to this act of herpetic copulation, and hit the snakes with his staff. himself. The poem is divided into three sections, the first focusing on hardness and cold, with notably harsh, percussive consonants in the words "cold", "stone", "granite", "flint", with plosive "t"s and. In the interview, Duffy discusses what it means to be the first woman and first openly LGBTQ writer to be Poet Laureate, and why she considers poetry to be the music of humanity.. I couldnt believe my ears: 31how hed had a wish. Tiresias but 'curse is now sometimes modern slang for periods. In Greek mythology Tiresias is a blind prophet, a priest of Zeus, king of the gods, who undergoes a sex-change. Refine any search. (Hera believed that men enjoyed sex more than women, and Zeus thought women enjoyed sex more.) 3. That means that she is the official poet for the nation. But to compensate for it, Zeus gave Tiresias the gift of foresight, so Tiresias became a seer, who could see the future. 63the contents of the house and came down here. 2. * Life has to go on. Life has to go on. - simple & direct 64I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon. Mrs Tiresias, by Carol Ann Duffy Tiresias, according to one legend, hit two copulating snakes with a stick and was turned into a woman by Hera. __________________________________________________ 2. But then, a few years later, when he came upon two other snakes doing the same as before, and on the same spot, he hit them, he was turned back into a man. These poems were intended by Carol Ann Duffy to rectify that, to highlight the fact that women have long been ignored or silenced. nothing of that / going on / if he had his way - They want to know whether a man or a woman receives the most pleasure from sex. This is executed by connecting the past, the mythic and the folkloric with contemporary problems. I poured with a shaking hand, 23a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy, then watched. happy. All rights reserved. the first cuckoo of Spring. LitCharts Teacher Editions. in fact, I put a chair against my door, 38near petrified. The poem is as grim as the original tale, but for a different reason. ~ Feminists might like this poem because it stresses the difficult life women have e.g. She faints when he speaks. What kind of picture do we get of this man? 65and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead. anticipation. Feminist Revisionist Mythology now. 2023 The Classroom. In Greek mythology, Tiresias (/ t a r i s i s /; Ancient Greek: , romanized: Teiresas) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. My dream milk. So-called analysis of 'from Mrs Tiresias' by Carol Ann Duffy for WJEC English Literature AS-level poetry exam: Summary: Duffy wrote a series of poems from the perspectives of the women that are in the background of famous men. All Rights Reserved. clash of their sparkling rings - noun. The one thing he never got right Was the voice. In Greek mythology and literature, Tiresias was a seer or soothsayer. sexual powers to manipulate people. mood. 126.13 KB Download 35.5 KB Another concept is the idea of the Other, propounded by Simone de Beauvoir, where women are seen as set apart from men and their natures are misunderstood and stereotyped. And in his 1922 poem The Waste Land, T. S. Eliot has Tiresias speak to us, in the third section of the poem, 'The Fire Sermon' (which we analyse here ). Carol Ann Duffy: The World's Wife - From Mrs Tiresias [Video]. You see, we were passionate then. three painkillers four times a day. EXAMPLE: horseshoe mountain moon - noun and symbol. Carol Ann Duffy comes from an Irish background and grew up in Glasgow. In return she receives a crate of sherry every year. 'slithering is associated with snakes which relates to the story of They seem to overdo the womanly act or trying to act like the stereotypical Showing the masculinity of the man in the first few stanzas. Interested in Sociology, Psychology & History, amongst other things. The poem, however, tells this well-known story from the perspective of Midass wife, using humor and wit to explore the foolish nature of greed, the historical erasure of womens experiences, and the consequences of selfishness within a relationship. Idea of intensity and Casual and easy going. I put it about that he was a twin and this was his sister came down to live while he himself was working abroad. 4gently blanching the windows. Oedipus asked Tiresias who had killed Laius, the former King of Thebes, but Tiresias reluctant to tell the truth to his king, since that would involve calling Oedipus a murderer equivocated, but this led Oedipus to suspect that Tiresias had plotted to murder Laius. Why does she describe her lips as fruit? Instant PDF downloads. The poems in the collection are witty, satirical, playful and complex. Carol Ann Duffys poems in her work, The Worlds Wife, belong to this category. then write to the Times. Pallas Athene climbing from the bath I moved the phone. 37Separate beds. Theres a twist in the tale And this is my lover, I said, the one time we met, at a glittering ball, under the lights, among tinkling glass, and watched the way he stared at her violet eyes at the blaze of her skin, at the slow caress of her hand on the back of my neck; Its all rather clever So Mrs Tiresias, whose husband is now female and has left her, now has a woman as a lover. He was below, turning the spare room. At least. I'd usually heard . fundamentally, Tiresias is still a man inside his women's body. Watch an interview Carol Ann Duffy fromthe day she became Poet Laureate of the UK. Against the margin flowers; a dreadful light 33It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnishable; slakes. What indications do we have that something magical has taken place? this is typical of a dramatic monologue. Theyre still acting dominant even though theyre not male anymore. In The Worlds Wife, Duffy subverts the predominant notion of men and their thoughts as being superior and more valuable. That means that she is the official poet for the nation. I see him now, his selfish pale face peering at the moon through the bathroom window. Part of Sandbox Learning Limited. 42the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art. He professes his love to her, whispers blunt endearments and brings her pearls and necklaces and rings. The doorknobs gleamed. .? Gender, transformation/change, relationships, love, inequality/equality, portrayal of women. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. McRae, John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. Consequently, an idea has formed over the centuries that male experiences, then, are the norm to define oneself as humans. Read more about the movement to rewrite and reimagine traditional myths, stories, and fairy tales from a feminist perspectivein this article from the World Heritage Encyclopedia. Of the several versions of the tale Carol Ann Duffy tells the one of Tiresias. this is a clever way of suggesting that Tiresias could only manage a cloying, affected way of speaking, the word slithering is appropriate almost repulsive, and onomatopoeic. perhaps the dramatic climax of the poem, it is the line that introduces the humour within the poem. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. Using free verse signifies the fluidity of gender. There is an ominous note, though, when his brutal love-making is described. Appeals to similarity between them. In this module, we think about the fifth poem in the collection, 'From Mrs Tiresias', focusing in particular on: (i) the figure of Tiresias and the story (from Ovid's Metamorphoses) of how he was transformed from a man into a woman and back again; (ii) the humour of the poem; (iii) the literary and cultural history of menstruation; (iv) the Here, Duffy takes a dig at mansplaining when the female Tiresias makes unrealistic claims of understanding female feelings on TV: The poem also comments on how the world would immediately take notice if men experienced female troubles since their discomfort would be taken more seriously due to their gender: demanding full-paid menstrual leave twelve weeks per year. Questions 1. something. 56on the grass. The Waste Land Literary Analysis. In the Odyssey, Odysseus travels down to the Underworld to seek Tiresias, so that the seer can tell our plucky hero how he will fare on his voyage home. The part of the poem in which Tiresias appears features a typist and an estate agent's clerk engaging in joyless sex, presumably a nod to the Hera-Zeus wager referenced above. By cheekily implying that Emma may have given Charles the idea that humans evolved from apes, the poem . Mrs Tiresias, by Carol Ann Duffy Tiresias, according to one legend, hit two copulating snakes with a stick and was turned into a woman by Hera. He started to laugh. This poem is about what would of happened to the wife of Mr Tiresias when he's cursed with becoming a woman. 2. A study guide and analysis of the poem 'From Mrs Tiresias' from Carol Ann Duffy's collection, Teachit English termly planner Spring term 2023, Sporting success: speaking and listening activities, Remembering Queen Elizabeth II: tribute activities, Royal bylaws: speaking and listening task, Three royal speeches: Comprehension, comparison and analysis, Sandbox Learning Limiteds privacy notice. She uses lists for humour and emphasis, as in line four of stanza one runt stunted, lame, hare-lipped. She makes reference to Victor Hugos novels by borrowing famous lines. ambiguous. Any other use is strictly forbidden. Do you know about gold? Pilate's Wife. This poem is not just the repetition of the childhood folktale of caution taught to girls. So-called analysis of from Mrs Tiresias by Carol Ann Duffy for WJEC English Literature AS-level poetry exam: Duffy wrote a series of poems from the perspectives of the women that are in the background of famous men. However, there in some versions, it was the goddess Athena, rather than Hera, who blinded Tiresias, because he had glimpsed her naked a similar story, as Stephen Fry notes in his engaging book about Greek myths, Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold (Stephen Frys Greek Myths), to the myth of Diana and Actaeon. However, the change comes when Quasimodo develops an infatuation with Esmeralda, the beautiful gypsy girl of Victor Hugos novel. KS4 English 'Mrs Tiresias' homework worksheet, KS4 English Shakespeare, Sonnets and Sexuality, NO OUTSIDERS IN OUR SCHOOLS Teaching the Equality Act in Primary Schools & RECLAIMING RADICAL IDEAS IN SCHOOLS Preparing Young Children for Life in Modern Britain By Andrew Moffat, KS4 PSHE Omar: Young, Gifted and Gay 2 Part 1. But most importantly, the poem challenges societys attitudes to physical deformity and its judgement about what is and isnt beautiful. life and shes resigned to her new situation. The word ;whistling being in a stanza by itself shows that its I said. 50in the wilds, in a glade of its own. Important is the idea of the male gaze, a concept discussed by the novelist, critic and painter, John Berger who posits that men look at women on the assumption that the male gender has power and control. he clearly has some attraction for celebrities, but we can speculate that this is for the novelty of his situation. (Or, as the Bible bluntly puts it, the love of money is the root of all evil.). He was thin, 59delirious; hearing, he said, the music of Pan. this theory is drawn in turn from Freudian theory in which lacan suggests that an infant develops an early mental image of self , derived from his or her caregiver and then strives to achieve that image throughout life. A male-dominated society puts the right to tell stories into the hands of men thereby appropriating womens realities and downplaying them. probably because, ya know, hes the God of Thunder and all that. They had a bedroom problem They were a straight heterosexual couple Tiresias was their Agony Aunt When Juno didnt get the answer she wanted from Tiresias, she blinded him in revenge. one week in bed. afraid of her sexuality or being with someone new, the noun suggests intimacy. 40in those halcyon days; unwrapping each other, rapidly. actualising, Carol, Celibacy, Duffy, GCSE, Mythology, orientation, Poetry, sexual, Tiresias 12+ Lessons on Homophobia/Gender Stereotypes It is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood where the protagonist is portrayed as a naive 16-year-old who is taken in by the wolfs charms, one of them being his relish for poetry and books. Why do you think that might be? And in his 1922 poem The Waste Land, T. S. Eliot has Tiresias speak to us, in the third section of the poem, The Fire Sermon (which we analyse here). Women, however, view themselves as being looked at and internalise their own image. 18What in the name of God is going on? From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. By using characters from well-known folklore and mythology, Duffy makes a clear comment on the shackling of women since time immemorial. others are not. She uses anachronisms for example, Esmeralda earns money by being photographed with tourists. He liked to hear the first cuckoo of Spring then write to the Times. Why, do you think, he is selfish? Read more about Carol Ann Duffys life and work at the Poetry Foundation website. 'In Mrs Tilscher's Class' by Carol Ann Duffy presents two important themes. sensuality. Similarly, Narcissus, in another famous Greek myth, actually shunned other people before he fell in love with his own reflection, and yet we still talk of someone who is obsessed with their own importance and appearance as being narcissistic. The girl encounters her first sexual experience with the wolf which is violently depicted in the poem: The wolf, I knew, would lead me deep into the woods, Away from home, to a dark tangled thorny place, Lit by the eyes of owls. . https://massolit.io/courses/carol-ann-duffy-the-world-s-wife/from-mrs-tiresias, McRae, Why might she grit her teeth? can set your teeth on edge. Ph.D. No kids.. That was the last straw. ~ Mosaic said that Duffys poetrydeconstructs traditional beliefs which is present in this poem due to the fluidity of gender and the portrayal of life as a man vs as a woman. The poem alludes to the Greek myth of King Midas, who was granted a wish to have everything he touched turn to gold. Out the back gate with his stick, the dog; wearing his garden kecks, an open-necked shirt, and a jacket in Harris tweed Id patched at the elbows myself. carol ann duffy is implying that Tiresias is still an infant trying to grasp the nature or the person he or she is.