“Medusa” by Carol Ann Duffy Essay Example

does not cry. It is a paradoxical phrase as bullets are dangerous and violent objects when tears are weak and soft. It is also ironic as her tears fall from her eyes, which turn men into stone in mythology.

Duffy metaphorically expresses that Medusa’s tears are as harmful as bullets, especially to herself; they make her mad. If sadness reduces, anger increases. In the second stanza, we are given a rhetorical question: “Are you terrified? ” (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 11), it is her first menace to the “Greek god”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 14). However, it is used as a cliche here, for the “perfect man”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 14).

Medusa stays vulnerable even when showing hints of violence: “I know you’ll go, betray me … so better by for me if you were stone”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 15-17), it sounds like he did not mistreat her yet, like she became paranoid because of past betrayals. The word “Stone”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 17), recalls the myth but is only a metaphor here: stone cannot break a heart; it can be controlled and owned forever. Instead of becoming a monster in the eyes of others, she becomes one in her own. She puts the curse on herself and is the only one with the power to stop it, and live in society again. The poem on itself is a metaphor, one for aging: the sudden loneliness, and vanishing youth and beauty.

It is structured in seven stanzas of six lines plus a concluding and solo phrase: “Look at me now”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1), symbolising

her solitude; she is as separate from population as this sentence is from the other stanzas. A violent atmosphere and depressive mood inhabit this chaotic journey, which results in an ordering tone and passive voice, emphasising Medusa’s newborn power. This phrase is written in the present tense, making it straightforward, which creates anxiety in the reader. Firstly it could be interpreted that she has defeated her fears and is ready to provoke men and face them, showing feminism.

Secondly that she now accepts to be seen or at last, that she declares her ability to paralyse men. Metaphors are crucial as they grow along but symbolism also holds a leading role. Snakes’ symbolisms are numerous, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1), Freud argues that snakes symbolise men’s penis. When Medusa pronounces: “filthy snakes”, it sounds like sexual relationships disgust her. However, snakes also represent sensuality, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1) as Medusa used to. Snakes provoke fear, as they are dangerous, poisonous, like Medusa, especially to herself in the poem.

In theory, they personify immortality, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1). Whereas Medusa is mortal, her misfortune is eternal. Both snakes and Medusa need to be dominant. They symbolize the bridge, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1). Medusa crosses one from weakness to force. It is said that multiple snakes symbolise duality, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1): Medusa too, between desires and needs, for instance. Medusa searches balance, another symbol of snakes’, as is intuition, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1), which she follows excessively.

Is she really dreadful or just feeling so? Snakes symbolize protection, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1): them withdrawing from her head could

be an appeal for help. We discover a transformation in Medusa, a change of skin. Lastly, if snakes symbolise healing, they also symbolise men with their assertive power, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1). Medusa is reaching for man’s place. Snakes crossing symbolise uniting again what was once destroyed, (Emerson, n. d, p. 1): the link between her body and soul for example. There is an alliteration insisting on the letter “s”, which is the sound snakes make: “suspicion”, “snakes”, “thoughts”, “hissed”, “spat” and “scalp”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1), intensifying the snake symbolism in a more oral and vocal way.

We encounter a symbolic progression in the word pattern of sight: “glanced at a buzzing bee” (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 10-18), which is written in past tense, she stays distanced and safe. Medusa then “glanced at a singing bird”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 21), still looking fast and insecurely. In the upcoming stanza we distinguish an improvement: she “looked at a ginger cat”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 24) implying that she takes a challenging decision consciously as she uses the verb “look”, which is an independent and controlled action.

She then affirms: “I looked at a snuffling pig … in a heap of shit”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 27/29), using a more vulgar and familiar vocabulary, which shows courage. Animals have increased in size. Pigs symbolise virility, strength, fertility, ignorance, laziness and dirtiness, (Avenefica, 2007, p. 1). Womanizers are often linked to pigs. Medusa succeeds in affronting the pig and therefore men. Greeks would sacrifice pigs to deities and Medusa sacrifices men for her divine self. We witness that she ends

up doing even more than looking: she “stared in the mirror”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 30), emphasising women’s empowerment and determination.

She is ready to accept herself. Duffy writes: “showed me a Gorgon”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 33), relating to the myth again. This is how she claims to look like, yet it is only her opinion, expressed in a first-person narrative. The word Gorgon symbolises her skin breaking down, as it gets older and impenetrable. She assumes: “I stared at a dragon”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 34). Like dragons, Medusa has intense powers. By the end it is obvious that she has gained authority upon herself and therefore others.

Dragons do everything on a grand scale; likewise, Medusa seems to exaggerate, (she has extreme expectations of life). Dragons are confident, tenacious, fearless and successful; Medusa wants to become like that. Like dragons, Medusa symbolises growth, existence, sin and force, fighting against men and symbolising women’s path from submission to leadership. Both of them inner the four elements, (Livingartsoriginals. com, n. d, p. 1) starting with air: “breath”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 6), she seeks for freedom, then water: “tears”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 10) proving her sensibility.

This is followed by earth: “ground”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 20) she is trying to get centred and energised. Then finally: “fire”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 34) symbolising her extreme revenge appetite. Although symbolism is everywhere, allegories are dominant in this text as well. Medusa uses allegorical language to express abstract sensations like love, using body parts, often personifying nature: “hairs”, “head”, “scalp”, “My bride’s breath soured, stank”

(Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 3-6), displaying her old age and indirectly underlining her life was a waste because of some love promises that were not kept.

Afterwards comes the “grey bags of my lungs”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 6-7), indicating that she might be a smoker or that life’s air ruined her from inside. Medusa suggests: “I’m foul mouthed now, foul tongued”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1), accentuating that her mouth and tongue have been betrayed too many times and are now unclean, leading to her becoming “yellow fanged”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 9), which releases an animal, vampire-like and monstrous tone.

Does it mean that she did not brush her teeth anymore since she had no one to do it for or is it the result of aging? Nevertheless, we arrive at “eyes”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 10), the portal to her soul and fatal weapon she uses both in the myth and poem. There is a repetition of mouth: “Fire spewed from the mouth of a mountain” (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 35), she has acquired a dominant breathing and consequently, a stronger voice. Later she states: “here you come / with a shield for a heart”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1, l. 36-37), to assert allegorically that his heart was locked, protecting itself from love. In line thirty-eight Medusa articulates: “a sword for a tongue”, (Duffy, 2008, p. 1), meaning that men’s kisses, have scarred her.

His tongue is described as a weapon, which is an antithesis since swords are harmful and tongues are soft. It could also refer to the expression: “sharp tongued”, which is used for someone

with an abrupt and direct language, and no consideration for people’s feelings. However, if Perseus’ sword decapitates Medusa in the myth, it only scars her heart in the poem.

To conclude, without its metaphorical tone, “Medusa” would be poor in meanings, as it would have less plausible interpretations. Without symbolism, the poem would go from a cultural and profound text to a superficial one. Allegories help the reader to understand Medusa by highlighting feminist angles. Metaphor, symbolism and allegory facilitate the understanding of abstract and complex ideas like the ones of possessiveness, melancholy, madness, isolation and love. They mean to represent and illustrate women’s misfortune through symbolic figures, in order to convey meanings others than the written words.