Thetis Carol Ann Duffy`
Animal - Miike Snow
Thetis 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 raw, 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 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.
Form 8 stanzas 48 lines 6 lines in each stanza Rhyming (hand/man/sang/ fist/this/sky/why/my/by/eye etc.) Lines vary between 2 to 9 words. Syllable count are from 3 to 10 per line. In first person (informal)
Historical Archaic Greece (period before Athens and Sparta City-states). Sea nymph/ water goddess Initially courted by two gods (Zeus and Poseidon) Thrown aside for a prophecy stating that which ever child Thetis bore, would be stronger than its father. She married a mortal Peleus and gave birth to Achilles. She made him immortal by dipping him into the River Styx (some legends it’s fire instead) but held him by his ankle, making it his weak-spot.
Poem Literal: Thetis shape shifts throughout her life until the point of her child’s birth. Ideas Man vs. Nature Learning from one’s mistakes—adapting to one’s surroundings (“I changed, I learned”) Changing oneself for the likes of others (“I shopped for a suitable shape”) Empowerment of women—growing stronger (“I was roar, claw, 50lb paw”) and changing after heartbreaks (“I changed my tune”).
Sound Devices Alliteration “Sweet, sweet, was the small song” “So I shopped for a suitable shape./Size 8. Snake” “the guy in the grass with the gun.” “Ocean’s Opera singer” “I was wind, I was gas” Assonance “Hand/of a man…that I sang” “Squeezed his fist./Then I did this:” “Cross of an albatross” “Shape/Size 8./Snake/Big Mistake” “Grasp of his strangler’s clasp” “Zebra’s gore… Twelve-bore” “Bat, mink, rat” “Hot air, trailed/clouds for hair” “Name with a hurricane” “Plane/Then my tongue was flame”
Sound Devices (continuation) Consonance “Hill/follow” “Sky/why/my/by…eye” “Lap/grasp…clasp/nape” “was…claw…paw/raw/lower jaw/saw/with…twelve-bore” Anaphora “I was wind, I was gas,/I was all hot air” Enjambment Myself/to, hand/of, song/that, albatross/up, wings/clipped, clasp/at, earth/to, came/with, tune/to, trailed/clouds, blue/roared, flame/and, that’s/how. Onomatopoeia “Sweet, sweet, was the small song/that I sang,” Asyndeton (numeration) “Mermaid, me big fish, eel, dolphin,/whale” “To raccoon, skunk stoat,/to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, rat”
Figurative Language Hyperbole “I shrank myself/to the size of a bird” “My tongue was flame” Imagery “Squeeze of his fist” “Shouldered the cross” “Coiled in my charmer’s lap” “Gold eye saw” “Sank through the floor” “Sharpened his knives” “The stink of formaldehyde” “Scrawled my name with a hurricane” “The child burst out” Irony/Pun “Stuff it”
Figurative Language (continuation) Personification “Squint of a crossbow’s eye” “Ocean’s opera singer” “Roared a fighter plane” “My kissed burned” Metonymy “Roar, claw, 50lb paw/meateater, raw” “Gold eye saw” “Groom” Antithesis “I sank through the floor of the earth”
Discussion Questions: Question 1: How has the concept of survival of the fittest have an impact on human society, and has said impact been positive or negative? Question 2: The poem “Thetis” is written in the first person, thus giving the readers an idea of the female’s side of survival. How accurate is the idea of changing “shapes” in modern society?
Bibliography Pictures http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=animals#/d4r7hxh http://darkdex52.deviantart.com/art/Aluminium-Lizard-151319650?q=boost%3Apopular%20in%3Aphotography%2Fnature%2Freptiles&qo=21 http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/wild/?order=9&offset=24#/d2crmgt http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/wild/?order=9&offset=24#/d4gaa9p http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/underwater/#/d2e0sq6 http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/birds/?order=9&offset=48#/d4p6xht http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/birds/?order=9&offset=72#/d4qy3ez http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/reptiles/#/d4iq2qc http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/nature/underwater/?order=9&offset=24#/d2ckk4c http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=9&q=animal+textures&offset=24#/d16aiqv http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=9&q=animal+textures&offset=48#/d56m66g Information https://henriksenenglish.wikispaces.com/file/view/Thetis.pdf www.whscms.org.uk/getfile.php?src=239/Thetis.ppt http://bethanyasliterature.blogspot.com/2011/03/carol-ann-duffy-poem-order-themes.html