Duffy’s imagery centers on colors and textures in this poem. What effect do these create?

Throughout the poem, Duffy draws parallels to the legend of King Midas through the use of monochromatic imagery of the color gold. For instance, in the second stanza, when Mr. Midas ‘plucked a pear from a branch’ it seemed ‘like a lightbulb’. Duffy describes the pear as a lightbulb to portray the pear turning gold by the touch of Mr. Midas in order to draw a parallel between King Midas and Mr. Midas, where their touch results in the object or thing turning into gold. It is quite noticeable that many insignificant objects such as ‘doorknobs’, ‘cloth’, and ‘corn’ are made significant through their monochromatic color of gold. Due to the fact that this dramatic monologue is from the perspective of Mrs. Midas, through the highlights of insignificant objects, Duffy criticizes that Mr. Midas gives importance to meaningless things such as money and wealth, therefore, presenting Mr. Midas’s actions as foolish, selfish and greedy.

The use of monochromatic imagery also displays the gender roles and power dynamics between men and women. Mr. Midas sits on a ‘chair like a king on a burnished throne’, Duffy specifically uses this simile to describe the shiny golden throne to demonstrate the power he has over Mrs. Midas where he is treated like royalty and makes the important financial decisions. Throughout the poem, Duffy highlights the power of Mr. Midas but also presents the foolish actions he takes, therefore, contradicting the stereotypical behavior of men when making financial decisions or any decisions on the behalf of their family.

In all of Duffy’s poems, she contradicts the stereotypical ideas of men and women through stories, legends, and fairy tales from the perspective of women since these stories are usually built from a man’s perspective.