Mrs Midas Quizzes

Mrs Midas Quiz

1 Where is the speaker in the first stanza?
The garden

The kitchen

The bedroom

The caravan
2 What bothers Mrs Midas the most about her husband's wish?
His idiocy

His selfishness

His lack of forethought

His greed
3 Which foods are referenced in the poem?
Hamburgers, french fries, apples, and salmon.

Apples, trout, bread, hamburgers, and chocolate.

Pears, corn, fast food, trout, and apples.

Pears, corn, cod, steak, and buttermilk.
4 Which of the following is an example of personification in the poem?
Within seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich. (Line 20)

I gazed, entranced, / as the blue flame played on its luteous stem. (Lines 34-35)

we grew Fondante d’Automne – / and it sat in his palm, like a lightbulb. (Lines 10-11)

The kitchen filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath / gently blanching the windows (Lines 2 - 3)
5 "Mrs Midas" appears in which of Carol Ann Duffy's collections?
Selling Manhattan (1987)

Standing Female Nude (1985)

The World's Wife (1999)

Rapture (2003)
6 What does Mrs Midas dream about the night after her husband's wish comes true?
The music of Pan

A bowl of apples

Her husband's embrace

Giving birth to a golden child
7 Which best describes Mrs Midas's attitude toward her husband?
Exasperated but accepting

Cold and uncaring

Loving and supportive

Angry and mournful
8 What does "halcyon" mean in Line 41?
A type of gold

A past time that was idyllic and peaceful

Chaotically passionate

A golden, glowing light
9 How many lines does each stanza have?
7

6

5

4
10 Which is an example of simile in the poem?
The kitchen filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath / gently blanching the windows (Lines 2 - 3)

We’d a caravan in the wilds, in a glade of its own (Lines 49-50)

its little tongue / like a precious latch (Lines 45-46)

But now I feared his honeyed embrace, / the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art. (Lines 41-42)
11 Which perspective is the poem told from?
Omniscient third-person

Limited third-person

First person

Second person
12 What does the word "luteous" mean in Line 35?
A faint glow

Solid gold

A flower stem

Yellow tinged with green or brown
13 What does "a beautiful lemon mistake" (Line 57) refer to in the poem?
The hare that Midas attempted to touch

The golden trout in the river

Midas's footprints

The golden table after Midas touched it
14 In which month is the poem set?
September

October

June

August
15 What does Midas do after making his wish?
Laugh

Enter the house

Ask for wine

All of the above
16 Which is an example of alliteration used in the poem?
a hare hung from a larch (Line 58)

under the cover of dark (Line 53)

then with my fingers wiped the other’s glass like a brow (Line 5)

its perfect ore limbs, its little tongue (Line 50)
17 Which Greek god is EXPLICITLY referenced in the poem?
Dionysus

Pan

Demeter

Zeus
18 What is an allegory?
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

A traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
19 What does the word "caravan" mean in Line 49?
A group of people, especially traders or pilgrims, traveling together across a desert in Asia or North Africa.

Any large group of people, typically with vehicles or animals, traveling together in single file.

A covered horse-drawn wagon.

A vehicle equipped for living in, typically a trailer towed by a car and used when traveling for recreation.
20 Which of the following describes the relationship between the myth of Midas and the poem "Mrs Midas?"
Mrs Midas alludes to the myth, but is actually about the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

Mrs Midas is a translation of the myth.

Mrs Midas is a creative retelling of the myth through a feminist lens.

Mrs Midas is an ironic commentary on the myth.
21 What does Mrs Midas NOT do in response to Midas's ability to turn everything he touches into gold?
Put a chair in front of her bedroom door.

Demand that he move out.

Lock the cat in the cellar.

Wear protective gloves before touching him.
22 Which of the following animals is NOT referenced in the poem?
Deer

Hare

Trout

Flies
23 Which of the following is NOT alluded to in the poem?
the Greek god Pan

the Bible

the Field of the Cloth of Gold

Miss Macready
24 What "stopped" Mrs Midas "dead" due to memories of her husband (Line 65)?
Golden trout

Hearing the music of Pan

A bowl of apples

A dream about their baby
25 Which of the following is NOT a theme in the poem?
greed and masculinity

mortality

marriage and relationships

the trauma of war

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