AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE
‘Medusa’ by Carol Ann Duffy
1
Learning objectives:
- AO1 : respond to texts critically and imaginatively, select and evaluate textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations.
- AO2 : explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings.
Pre-reading activity:
1. Who is Medusa?
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2. Look at the words below. Which words would you pick to describe
Medusa?
MEDUSA
LONELY jealous vulnerable man-hater sensitive
EVIL
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 2
3. How have you come to these conclusions about Medusa?
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What were Greek myths?
 Greek myths were adapted and changed according to the storyteller; it was very competitive, so the myths changed according to the listeners’ needs.
According to some, ‘mythological correctness’ is seen as being fraudulent; there is no right or wrong story. However, the most well known story of
Medusa can be seen in the short summary below.
Medusa was a very attractive mortal who was admired for her beauty and lovely locks. One day, Poseidon, the God of the Sea, seduced Medusa in Athena’s temple. Athena, the Goddess of war strategy and the protector of land, was very angry that Medusa disgraced her in her temple; therefore, she took
Medusa’s beauty away and turned her into an ugly
Gorgon with snakes on her head. From then on, any person that Medusa looked at would turn into stone. This obviously meant that she could never fall in love or have herself attached to someone again.
Perseus, a Greek hero, was able to cut off Medusa’s head by using a polished shield from Athena. He saw Medusa in the reflection of the shield (this allowed him not to turn to stone) and was able to use her head to combat many future battles.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 3
Diction a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a and and and and and are are as at at at at at at bad bags be beautiful bee betray better bird boulder bowl breath bride’s bullet but buzzing by cat come doubt down dragon dull dusty eyes fanged far fell filthy fire for for for foul foul fragrant from from ginger girls girls glanced glanced go God gone Gorgon gravel Greek grew grey grey ground hairs handful head heap heart here hissed home housebrick I I I I I I I I I I I’m if in in in in in it’s jealousy know look looked looked love love lungs man me me me me milk mind mirror mountain mouth mouthed my my my my my my my my now now of of of of of on on own pebble perfect pig rolled scalp shattered shield shit showed singing snakes snuffling so soured spat spattered spewed stank stared stared stone stray suspicion sword tears terrified terrified the the the the the there though thoughts to to tongue tongued turned wasn’t wasn’t were which with yellow you you you you you’ll young your your
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE
 Over the page is a copy of
‘Medusa’ by Carol Ann Duffy. It is arranged in alphabetical order. This is useful as it helps to:
 focus attention on individual words ;
 identify patterns and repetition.
4
First impressions
 Working on your own, read the list of words from the poem. What are your first impressions? Make a note of your ideas. 
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 What do you notice about the words.

Do any words grab your attention ?
 Are there more nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc? What is the effect of this?
 What do you notice about the tense of the verbs? What is the effect of this?
 Are there any repeated words that you think might be significant?
What is the effect of this?
 Are there any word sets that seem linked in some way? What is the effect of this?
 What’s the mood and atmosphere ? What creates this?
 Can you identify words that use the senses ? Which senses does the poet tend to focus on? What is the effect of this?
 What about the voice of the narrator of the poem?
 What do you think the poem is going to be about ?
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 5
TASK
 Cut up the words and use them to write your own version of the poem.
Write at least two stanzas and then prepare a reading of your poems.
 Read the original poem and compare it to the versions you wrote.
 Now that you have the original poem, and now that you can see how it is structured, review the list of discussion tasks from earlier and make a note of any significant differences.
First impressions
 On your own, read the poem again. What are your first impressions?
Make a note of your ideas. 
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What type of poem is this?

This poem is a dramatic monologue . A dramatic monologue is a piece of verse that gives the speaker a voice to express his / her feelings. In the case of ‘Medusa’, Carol Ann Duffy is giving a voice to Medusa.
In this poem, Medusa expresses her bitter feelings about becoming old and, in a sense, unwanted. She is directing the poem to her husband, her Greek
God.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 6
Poetry detectives
 Make a note of examples (quotations) from the poem in the table below.
Poetic techniques and devices
Examples alliteration assonance metaphor verbs repetition questions imperative sentences pleasant images ugly images one line stanza narrative voice
L et’s take a closer look
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 7
Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis .
Stanza 1
1. What can we infer about the speaker?
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Stanza 2
1. What does ‘my bride’s breath soured’ imply?
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2. Why should Medusa’s husband be terrified?
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Stanza 3
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 8
1. Why is it terrifying that Medusa loves him? What are the consequences?
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2. What is the effect of the internal rhyme in ‘you’ll go, betray me, stray from home’?
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3. Why is it better if he is stone? What does that allow Medusa to do?
Hint: Think about how she is feeling.
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Stanzas 4-5
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 9
1. Why is it s ignificant that she ‘glances’?
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2. What do the images of the bee, singing bird, ginger cat and snuffling pig convey? What is Medusa not able to allow herself to do?
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3.
Why is the phrase, ‘a heap of shit’ so powerful?
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Stanza 6
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 10
1. Why is it significant that she ‘stares’?
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2. What does Medusa see in the mirror?
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Stanza 7 and last line
1.
What is the significance of ‘And here you come’? What is the tone?
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2. What emotions are displayed in this stanza and how are they displayed?
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3. Why is the last line poignant? What is she tempting him to do?
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Chatterbox
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 11
 T H I N K
 What is your overall impression of the poem?
 Do you feel sympathy for Medusa? Why or why not?
 What words from the box would you now use to describe Medusa?
Have your thoughts changed from your original perspective or could you add any more words?

Do you think men go through the same feelings of rejection when they grow older? Why or why not? What d o you think Duffy’s overall message is?
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Theme tree
Draw a theme tree to capture all your ideas.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 12
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 13
M y I tchy T oes S mell L oads
 Complete the table below with what you consider to be the most important quotes and poetic devices within each category
. m eaning i magery t one
S tructure and Form l anguage
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 14
Comparing poems
- AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects
 Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two poems.
‘Medusa’ ‘my last duchess’
Sample exam question
 Compare the central characters in ‘Medusa’ and ‘My Last Duchess’.
 Compare the ways that jealousy is explored in ‘Medusa’ and ‘My Last
Duchess’.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 15
Comparing poems
- AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects
 Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two poems.
‘Medusa’ ‘Les grand seigneurs’
Sample exam question
 Compare the central characters in ‘Medusa’ and ‘Les Grand
Seigneurs ’.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 16
Planning an essay
 Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your essay question. You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison. Number each point in the order you would write about them in your exam. When you write your essay, remember to analyse structural and poetic devices for their effect and meaning . Don’t just list .
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 17
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5
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Medusa
A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy grew in my mind, which turned the hairs on my head to filthy snakes, as though my thoughts hissed and spat on my scalp.
My bride’s breath soured, stank in the grey bags of my lungs.
I’m foul mouthed now, foul tongued, yellow fanged.
There are bullet tears in my eyes.
Are you terrified?
Be terrified.
It’s you I love, perfect man, Greek God, my own; but I know you’ll go, betray me, stray from home.
So better by far for me if you were stone.
I glanced at a buzzing bee, a dull grey pebble fell to the ground.
I glanced at a singing bird, a handful of dusty gravel spattered down.
I looked at a ginger cat, a housebrick shattered a bowl of milk.
I looked at a snuffling pig, a boulder rolled in a heap of shit.
35
40
30 I stared in the mirror.
Love gone bad showed me a Gorgon.
I stared at a dragon.
Fire spewed from the mouth of a mountain.
And here you come with a shield for a heart and a sword for a tongue and your girls, your girls.
Wasn’t I beautiful?
Wasn’t I fragrant and young?
Look at me now.
Carol Ann Duffy
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE 18
Acknowledgments and thanks
Written by Chantel Mathias and Amanda Fiegel
Introduction and copy by Karen Bishop
Audio file scripts and recordings by Barrie McDermid - www.podcastrevision.co.uk
Interactive resources and design by David Riley - www.triptico.co.uk
Duffy, Carol Ann
‘Medusa’ by Carol Ann Duffy from The World’s Wife (Picador, 2000), copyright
©
Carol Ann Duffy
2000
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this collection. If notified, we will be pleased to rectify any errors / omissions.
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