ipl-logo

Theme Of Jealousy In The Poem Medusa

852 Words4 Pages

Name:Roshan Mistry Miss Reid
Date: 30/05/2016

Question : How does Carol Anne Duffy use imagery to convey jealousy in the poem Medusa?

In Medusa, Carol ann Duffy presents the character as a very jealous and vengeful woman. She wants revenge. The narrator has a hesitation that her lover is being unfaithful and rude which has she has been cursed and has also made her into a harsh and angry Gorgon. In “Medusa,” the mythical protagonist is seen as being consumed by jealousy toward her old lover. In the end, they are killed by the Greek God Perseus, who uses their reflection in his shield …show more content…

Duffy uses a triplet to represent her thoughts running through her head. What started off as a suspicion grew into a doubt and expanded into a jealousy. Jealousy is like poison and is seen in the poem. The poison infiltrates the snakes which “ grew in mind” and is physically spat out.This shows the characters intensity of feelings. In the first line it shows that Medusa lacks in confidence and insecure. She feels this way because she does not know what’s gonna happen next, if her lover betrays her and runs away. Medusa uses Onomatopoeia to indicate the thoughts going through Medusa 's mind.Shortly after the triplet it is said that the snakes on Medusa’s head“Hissed and spat on my scalp”. The word hissed is used to see the ugly side of Medusa. Her thoughts cannot be silenced. This shows that Medusa is constantly thinking about her lover and what he might do. Medusa doesn’t feel secure. The onomatopoeic sound is from the snake. Some snakes are known to be human killers, the conviction that Medusa is evil …show more content…

Medusa says “It’s you I love,perfect man, Greek God, my own;but I know you’ll go, betray me, stray from home.” Duffy has put “you” before “I”. This shows the power of love.She only can think of him now. The protagonist makes the reader feel guilty and starts to emphasize with Medusa. Duffy shows the reader the other side of the monster. Medusa play’s with our minds whether or not to think if she is terrible. The change in tone shows us the true dangers of jealousy. At the beginning of the poem It starts with a triplet and it shows Medusa’s goal to turn him into stone. This type of imagery is shown in different stanzas to show

Show More
Related

  • Literary Analysis Of Louise Erdrich's 'Captivity'

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    The melancholic tone leads to sympathy as we can see the narrator having feelings towards her captors and the sadness of the situation and her sympathy is shown through the tone in this

    Read More

  • Summary Of Jesmyn Ward's Salvage The Bones

    1782 Words  | 8 Pages

    Thus Ward is able to address the double edge sword that presents females in stories as “weak” or built upon the “wrath of a woman.” The inclusion of the universality that is associated with Greek mythology allows Ward to shed off the label of blackness from her work. With China, Esch and Katrina all carrying some traits of Medea, it allows the reader to see all aspects of being female from being vulnerable, brave, nurturing and protective. Moreover, Ward insinuates that women should be presented as empowering to one another and through Medea paralleling story Ward articulates her

    Read More

  • Sacrifice In Bruce Dawe's 'Drifters'

    1833 Words  | 8 Pages

    The conflicting interests of the mother and the father result in a situation where one must make a sacrifice in order to preserve the connection in the family. The flat depressed tone of the poem reflects the mother’s unhappiness and frustration about having to constantly

    Read More

  • Medea Rhetorical Analysis

    559 Words  | 3 Pages

    I want Medea to be justified in her actions, but I want this to be something that could happen to anyone. I don’t want her actions to be considered ‘what women do.’ There is also this theme of feminism and standing up for women in general. She criticizes men while using her wit to maneuver the situation properly. Medea is a cunning woman confined to this world dominated by men.

    Read More

  • Edith Hamilton Jealousy Quotes

    510 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jealousy, a simple and common emotion, has the power to create havoc. This has been demonstrated in stories throughout the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Often, the stories do not have a happy ending, since the jealous person ruins whoever they consider competition. This was shown with our goddesses Hera and Aphrodite. Both women punished the one that their lover loved or has something they wanted.

    Read More

  • Love In Jesmyn Ward's Salvage The Bones

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is Medea wielding the knife. This is Medea cutting” (Ward 203-204). Furious and depressed, like her Greek idol, Esch’s heartbreak culminates in bloodshed. She is able to understand and relate to Medea’s often overshadowed tenderness in the wake of despair, betrayal, and

    Read More

  • Die Nachtigall Poem Analysis

    822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theodor Storm (1817-1888) was a German lawyer and writer who is perhaps best known for his novellas, most notably his last completed work “Der Schimmelreiter”. His writing developed from the lyrical depiction of love and nature, via artful fairy tales inspired by E.T.A Hoffmann and Hans Christian Andersen to realist prose. “Die Nachtigall” appears in the fairy tale Hinzelmeier, but this context is immaterial to the poem’s interpretation. It elaborates on a young girl’s transition to adulthood from the point of view of an outside observer and captivates the reader with its melodiousness and simplicity. It consists of two stanzas of five verses each.

    Read More

  • Sympathy In Euripides's The Medea

    1118 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Euripides’ text The Medea, Medea can easily be painted as the villian. She is a woman who killed her own children in an attempt to spite her husband. But, by examining the text, we can see that she deserves some sympathy. She has little to no control over her own life and has to rely on the will of men. And as a foreigner in Corinth abandoned by her husband, she faces even more challenges than the native women of Corinth did.

    Read More

  • Medea Quote Analysis

    1434 Words  | 6 Pages

    “Surely, of all creatures that have life and will, we women/ Are the most wretched” (Euripides 229-230). This first quote is spoken by Medea after she escapes her maudlin feelings and assesses her feelings on her situation with her husband. Before now, she showed no sign of overcoming her agonized spirit. She lay in her bed sobbing, and only spoke to declare her wish for immediate death. When she decides to make a statement, she addresses all women of Corinth.

    Read More

  • Macbeth And Medea Analysis

    1655 Words  | 7 Pages

    This demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s devotion to Macbeth because she is willing to do anything in order to help Macbeth become king. The devotion of both Lady Macbeth to Macbeth and Medea to Jason allows readers to identify with them. However, it is the betrayal of Medea, and Lady Macbeth’s quest for her husband’s kingship that causes both characters to transition into their ruthless nature. Femininity is an important theme because Lady Macbeth and Medea initially exuded love and selflessness before adopting a more masculine role.

    Read More

  • Symbols In Medusa's Hair

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the Medusa’s Hair Obeyesekere notes the importance of a gradual incorporation of symbolism into the behaviors of female ascetics, which result in resolving their overbearing experiences and putting pressure on the religious involvement instead. Thus, his interpretation of this fusion consists of three analogous elements, the existence of correlation between symptom and an emotional context, the usage of symbol as a unique solution for an individual’s crisis and, ultimately, applying a religious form to the concluding role transformation. Symptom and its personal background First, the deep motivation hidden behind the painful experiences of an individual leads to the establishment of the behaviors and aberrations which are further resurfaced in a form of a symptom.

    Read More

  • Euripides's Role Of Women In Medea

    1010 Words  | 5 Pages

    Euripides created a modern day woman who seeks justice and revenge with her cleverness and power. Medea acted as a feminine heroine who established that women can also be as strong as men. The feeling of being left by someone you love is truly painful hence, Medea expressed her emotions as much as she can and mourned for her lost. It is true that women can be sensitive and emotional so there was Medea portraying a usual woman in an unusual manner.

    Read More

  • Emily Dickinson's I Felt A Funeral In My Brain

    867 Words  | 4 Pages

    In my opinion, this poem talks about the enlighten road that humans would feel when they explore a new idea of living, it’s not necessary to be about the other life after death. It depends about how people see their lives. In this essay, I will explain the imageries that this poem states and what are the hidden messages that the writer is trying to make the reader feel and explore. This spiritual poem is a metaphor of the events in the funeral that shows another face of death which it is another image of transformation, that led to positive

    Read More

  • Theme Of Revenge In Medea

    1135 Words  | 5 Pages

    Medea, the protagonist, is a woman driven by extreme emotions and extreme behaviors. Because of the passionate love she had for Jason, she sacrificed everything .. However, now his betrayal of her transformed the beautiful loving passion to uncontrollable anger, hatred and a desperate desire for revenge. Her violent and temperamental heart, previously devoted to Jason, now moving towards its doom.

    Read More

  • Standing Female Nude Analysis

    904 Words  | 4 Pages

    Standing Female Nude, written by Carol Ann Duffy, is a poem which describes the condition of a prostitute who is struggling to make a living. Duffy, as with a majority of her other works, attempts to give a voice to voiceless women in the middle and lower economic classes in an effort to promote her feminist agenda. This poem is in fact very layered and explores multiple aspects which may not be spotted on a superficial level, and enables her to transmit her ideas to the readers. Duffy puts across her main ideas of society’s treatment of the prostitute versus the treatment of males, and the prostitutes introspective views. Duffy creates a society, not too distorted from our own in fact, which objectifies the woman and values her purely for her physical assets.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Jealousy In The Poem Medusa

Open Document