Yan Qing Mo Thetis – Carol Ann Duffy

Thetis_by_noir.jpg Hook

I shrank myself to the size of a bird in the hand of a man. Sweet, sweet, was the small song that I sang, till I felt the squeeze of his fist. Then I did this: shouldered the cross of an albatross up the hill of the sky. Why? To follow a ship. But I felt my wings clipped by the squint of a crossbow’s eye. So I shopped for a suitable shape. Size 8. Snake. Big Mistake. Coiled in my charmer’s lap, I felt the grasp of his strangler’s clasp at my nape. Next I was roar, claw, 50 lb paw, jungle-floored, meateater, raw, a zebra’s gore in my lower jaw. But my gold eye saw the guy in the grass with the gun. Twelve-bore. I sank through the floor of the earth to swim in the sea. Mermaid, me, big fish, eel, dolphin, whale, the ocean’s opera singer. Over the waves the fisherman came with his hook and his line and his sinker I changed my tune to raccoon, skunk, stoat, to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, rat. The taxidermist sharpened his knives. I smelled the stink of formaldehyde. Stuff that. I was wind, I was gas, I was all hot air, trailed clouds for hair. I scrawled my name with a hurricane, when out of the blue roared a fighter plane. Then my tongue was flame and my kisses burned, but the groom wore asbestos. So I changed, I learned, turned inside out - or that’s how it felt when the child burst out.. Mark up: Enjambment Imagery Enumeration Diction Irony Allusion Personification Metaphor Alliteration

I shrank myself to the size of a bird in the hand of a man. Sweet, sweet, was the small song that I sang, till I felt the squeeze of his fist. Then I did this: shouldered the cross of an albatross up the hill of the sky. Why? To follow a ship. But I felt my wings clipped by the squint of a crossbow’s eye. So I shopped for a suitable shape. Size 8. Snake. Big Mistake. Coiled in my charmer’s lap, I felt the grasp of his strangler’s clasp at my nape. Next I was roar, claw, 50 lb paw, jungle-floored, meateater, raw, a zebra’s gore in my lower jaw. But my gold eye saw the guy in the grass with the gun. Twelve-bore. I sank through the floor of the earth to swim in the sea. Mermaid, me, big fish, eel, dolphin, whale, the ocean’s opera singer. Over the waves the fisherman came with his hook and his line and his sinker I changed my tune to raccoon, skunk, stoat, to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, rat. The taxidermist sharpened his knives. I smelled the stink of formaldehyde. Stuff that. I was wind, I was gas, I was all hot air, trailed clouds for hair. I scrawled my name with a hurricane, when out of the blue roared a fighter plane. Then my tongue was flame and my kisses burned, but the groom wore asbestos. So I changed, I learned, turned inside out - or that’s how it felt when the child burst out..

Structure:  8 Stanzas  Each with 6 verses  Each stanza has a different contribution to the poem  Free Verse  Rhyme:  There’s end rhyme, but no unnoticeable patterns  Fewer internal rhymes than end rhymes  15 cases of Enjambment  Length of verses:  Short and long =941

Literal Meaning Thetis from Greek Mythology: Known as Goddess of water, or as a sea nymph Zeus prophesized that her son was going to be a man who will surpass his father. Zeus and Poseidon arranged a marriage for her and a mortal Thetis shape shifted, trying to prevent the arranged marriage However, Peleus always found a way to capture her. She ends up giving birth to Achilles Failure to escape from the grasp of an “arranged marriage” From a mortal Someone she doesn’t want to marry No matter how hard she tries to escape, the “groom” finds a way to prevent her escape /a/af/Detail_Pioneer_Group_Louvre_G65.jpg

Figurative Meaning Unable to escape from the grasp of men No matter what, the presence of man will always be present Man’s strength and power’s superior to female Heavily supported by literary devices Demonstrates how no one desires an arranged marriage but are obligated to Somehow relates to homosexuality /thumb/1/1c/Thetis_Peleus_Cdm_Paris_539.jpg/ 600px-Thetis_Peleus_Cdm_Paris_539.jpg

Imagery “I Shrank myself to the size of a bird in the hand of a man. Sweet, sweet, was the small song that I sang,” (1 – 5) “Shouldered the cross of an albatross up the hill of the sky. Why? To follow a ship” (8 – 10) “Size 8. Snake.” (14) “Next I was roar, … in my lower jaw” (19 – 22) “Mermaid, … whale, the ocean’s opera singer.” (27 – 28) “Raccoon, … rat.” (32 – 33) “I was wind, I was gas, I was all hot air, trailed clouds for hair.” (37 – 39) “My tongue was flame and my kisses burned,” (43 -44)

Imagery (Cont.) “till I felt the squeeze of his fist.” (6) “But I felt my wings clipped by the squint of a crossbow’s eye.” (11 – 12) “Coiled in my charmer’s lap, I felt the grasp of his strangler’s clasp at my nape.” (16 – 18) “the guy in the grass with the gun. Twelve-bore.” (24) “Over the waves the fisherman came with his hook and his line and his sinker.” (29 – 30) “The taxidermist sharpened his knives. I smelled the stink of formaldehyde. Stuff that.” (34 – 36) “I scrawled my name with a hurricane, when out of the blue roared a fighter plane.” (40 – 42) “but the groom wore asbestos.” (45) “So I changed, I learned, Turned inside out – or that’s How it felt when the child burst out.” (46 – 48)

Diction “shouldered” (8) “shopped” (13) “roar” (19) “sank” (25) “tune” (31) “scrawled” (40) “burst” (48)

Enumeration “Next I was roar, claw, 50 lb paw, jungle-floored, meateater, raw, a zebra’s gore in my lower jaw.” (19 – 22) “Mermaid, me, big fish, eel, dolphin, whale, the ocean’s opera singer.”(27 – 28) “to raccoon, skunk, stoat, to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, rat.” (32 – 33) “I was wind, I was gas, I was all hot air,” (37 – 38) content/uploads/g-thetis.jpg

I shrank myself to the size of a bird in the hand of a man. Sweet, sweet, was the small song that I sang, till I felt the squeeze of his fist. Then I did this: shouldered the cross of an albatross up the hill of the sky. Why? To follow a ship. But I felt my wings clipped by the squint of a crossbow’s eye. So I shopped for a suitable shape. Size 8. Snake. Big Mistake. Coiled in my charmer’s lap, I felt the grasp of his strangler’s clasp at my nape. Next I was roar, claw, 50 lb paw, jungle-floored, meateater, raw, a zebra’s gore in my lower jaw. But my gold eye saw the guy in the grass with the gun. Twelve-bore. I sank through the floor of the earth to swim in the sea. Mermaid, me, big fish, eel, dolphin, whale, the ocean’s opera singer. Over the waves the fisherman came with his hook and his line and his sinker I changed my tune to raccoon, skunk, stoat, to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, rat. The taxidermist sharpened his knives. I smelled the stink of formaldehyde. Stuff that. I was wind, I was gas, I was all hot air, trailed clouds for hair. I scrawled my name with a hurricane, when out of the blue roared a fighter plane. Then my tongue was flame and my kisses burned, but the groom wore asbestos. So I changed, I learned, turned inside out - or that’s how it felt when the child burst out.. Mark up: Enjambment Imagery Enumeration Diction Irony Allusion Personification Metaphor Alliteration

Discussion Questions What connections, if any, does Thetis have with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestDoes this poem have anything to do with Carol Ann Duffy’s autobiography? By the tone in which the poem is written, can we distinguish Carol Ann Duffy’s view towards feminism and masculinity? How is it expressed differently from other poems? Although Carol Ann Duffy is feminist, why did she write this poem which doesn’t support feminism?