Medusa

MEDUSA
The word ‘Medusa‛ means ‘sovereign female

wisdom‛. The most popular legend about
Medusa is that she was once a young and
beautiful woman, but that she was seduced by
the sea-god Poseidon in Athena‛s temple.
Athena was furious and turned her into a
monster with snakes for hair and the power to
turn everything she looked at to stone. The
Greek hero, Perseus, was given the task of
killing the Gorgon, Medusa and was helped by
Hermes, who gave him a pair of winged sandals,
and by Athena who guided him to the right
place and held up a polished shield so that he
could cut off Medusa‛s head without being
turned to stone by her gaze. On the way home
from his successful quest, he used the Gorgon‛s
head to rescue Andromache, a beautiful maiden,
from a sea monster.
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MEDUSA
A feminist reading of the mythology sees
this myth as symbolising the suppression
of the divine feminine by the rising
patriarchal society of Classical Greece.
Snakes have always played a dual role,
both as representatives of evil and of
healing. Freud saw the myth as
symbolising a fear of castration in the
male, where snakes have a phallic
image, and the innate fear of female
sexuality finds expression in Perseus’
slaying of Medusa.
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MEDUSA
Language patterns in the poem
• word choices
• rhymes
• repetition
These all contribute to meaning in the poem
Focus on the following:

• violent/destructive words
• words to do with looking
• words to do with stone
• the use of the words 'I' and 'me'.
Look for repetition of these words and the WAYS

they are used throughout the poem
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MEDUSA
METAPHORS
One of the ways Duffy uses the story of

Medusa is to transform the Greek myth into
metaphor, describing the way in which the
"snakes" of jealousy destroy the 20th Century
Medusa's relationship with her "perfect
man".
Look at the example demonstrating this

technique.
Now fill in the sheet showing how Myth is
transformed into metaphor.
Compare your findings with a partner. Can

you find any alternative interpretations?
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MEDUSA
Greek Myth Quotation 20th Century
Metaphor
The gods punished the A suspicion, a doubt, a In Duffy's poem, the
mythological Medusa for her jealousy grew in my snakes are the jealous
beauty/sexuality by turning mind,which turned the hairs thoughts poisoning the
her hair into snakes. on my head to filthy
woman's mind. Not only
snakes,as though my
thoughts hissed and spat on
do the snakes of jealousy
my scalp. transform the way the
woman sees the world,
they also transform her
relationship with the world
in much the same way that
the snakes change
Medusa from a beautiful
woman into one who is
dangerous. So powerful
are the suspicions that
Duffy's Medusa is also
changed physically.
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MEDUSA
INTERPRETING THE MYTH AND THE METAPHOR
Which of these interpretations do you agree with and

why? Find a quotation which supports your argument.
1. This is a poem about the destructive power of

jealousy.
2. This poem is about loss.
3. Through metaphor this poem explore the physical

effects of emotional distress.
4. This poem is about male and female attitudes

towards relationships.
5. This poem is about transformations.
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MEDUSA
The Medusa is another female figure whose power and tragedy are inextricably
bound together. In Duffy's account her petrifying visage emerges from within a
beautiful creature, a psychological distortion made manifest as a result of brooding
upon 'A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy', about masculine betrayal. Hence her
inventing herself into not only the antithesis of beauty but the power that can turn
everything she looks upon, even a buzzing bee, to stone. Characteristically, the
"perfect man" comes "with a shield for a heart/ and a sword for a tongue" but as she
draws him towards her there is an ironic ambiguity in her seduction: "Wasn't I
beautiful?/Wasn't I fragrant and young?/ Look at me now." Look at me now and
you too will be turned to stone, except that we readers know the end of the story
and the stratagem of the shield as a mirror which will enable Perseus to avert her
gaze and decapitate her. But "look at me now" is a sorrowing cliche of the once
beautiful wound.
Jeffrey Wainwright: "Female Metamorphosis" in Strong Words
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Medusa

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MEDUSA

The word ‘Medusa‛ means ‘sovereign female

These all contribute to meaning in the poem

Focus on the following:

Look for repetition of these words and the WAYS

One of the ways Duffy uses the story of

Look at the example demonstrating this

Compare your findings with a partner. Can

Which of these interpretations do you agree with and

1. This is a poem about the destructive power of

2. This poem is about loss.

3. Through metaphor this poem explore the physical

4. This poem is about male and female attitudes

5. This poem is about transformations.

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