Mrs. FaustBy: Carol Ann Duffy

Mrs. Faust First things first -I married Faust.We met as students,shacked up, split up,made up, hitched up,got a mortgage on a house,flourished academically,BA. MA. Ph.D. No kids.Two towelled bathrobes. Hers. His.

We worked. We saved.We moved again.Fast cars. A boat with sails.A second home in Wales.The latest toys – computers,mobile phones. Prospered.Moved again. Faust’s facewas clever, greedy, slightly mad.I was as bad.

Mrs. Faust I grew to love the lifestyle,not the life.He grew to love the kudos,not the wife.He went to whores.I felt, not jealousy,but the chronic irritation.I went to yoga, t’ai chi,Feng Shui, therapy, colonic irrigation.

And Faust would boastat dinner partiesof the costof doing deals out East.Then take his lustto Soho in cab,to say the least,to lay the ghost,get lost, meet panthers, feast.

Mrs. Faust He wanted more.I came home late one winter’s evening,hadn’t eaten.Faust was upstairs in his study,in a meeting.I smelled cigar smoke,hellish, oddly sexy, not allowed.I heard Faust and the other laugh aloud.

Next thing, the world,as Faust said,spread its legs.First politics -Safe seat. MP. Right Hon. KG.Than banks -offshore, abroad -and business -Vice-chairman. Chairman. Owner. Lord.

Mrs. Faust Enough? Encore!Faust was Cardinal, Pope,knew more than God;flew faster than the speed of soundaround the globe,lunched;walked on the moon,golfed, holed in one;lit a fat Havana on the Sun.

Then backed a hunch -invested in smart bombs,in harms,Faust dealt in arms.Faust got in deep, got out.Bought farms,cloned sheep.Faust surfed the internetfor like-minded Bo Peep.

Mrs. Faust Faust was in. A word, he said,I spent the night being pleasuredby a virtual Helen of Troy.Faced that launched a thousand ships.I kissed its lips.Thing is -I’ve made a pactwith Mephistopeheles,the Devil’s boy.

He’s on his wayto take awaywhat’s owed,reap what I sowed.For all these years ofgagging for it,going for it,rolling in it,I’ve sold my soul.

Mrs. Faust As for me,I went my own sweet way,saw Rome in a day,spun gold from hay,had a facelift,had my breasts enlarged,my buttocks tightened;went to China, Thailand, Africa,returned enlightened.

Turned 40, celibate,teetotal, vegan,Buddhist, 41.Went blonde,redhead, brunette,went native, ape,berserk, bananas;went on the run, alone;went home.

Mrs. Faust At this, I hearda serpent’s hisstasted evil, knew its smell,as scaly devil’s handspoked upright through the terracota Tuscan tilesat Faust’s bare feetand dragged him, oddly smirking, there and thenstraight down to Hell.

Oh, well.Faust’s willleft everything -the yacht,the several houses,the Lear jet, the helipad,the loot, et cet, et cet,the lot -to me.

Mrs. Faust C’est la vie.When I got illit hurt like hell.I bought a kidneywith my credit card,then I got well.I keep Faust’s secret still -the clever, cunning, callous bastarddidn’t have a soul to sell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfNQpnbwH14

Diamonds and Madoff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_N9vVlYr_Y

Mark Up

Mark Up

Mark Up

Faust the Legend

• German Legend• A scholar who sells his soul to

the devil in return for power and enlightenment

• Based on a non-fictional magician that habituated Northern Germany in the 15th century

• Legend is the inspiration for Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s Faust and Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.

Faust the Legend

• Plot: • Faust loses his faith • Becomes a black-magic sorcerer

and calls upon the Devil. • The demon Mephistopheles

enters • Mephistopheles becomes

Faust’s server for his soul.• Accomplishes nothing with his

new-found power. • In the legend he is condemned

but in the Goethe’s play he is forgiven and saved.

Form

• 9 lines• 15 stanzas• Length of Lines: 3 syllabus-12 syllabus • Free verse poem• Fast-moving rhythm• The use of the “s” sound (“students”,

“shacked”, “sails”, “least”, “lost”, “parties”, “deals”, “sexy”, etc.) • Velocity of life • Abundance of material goods • Ours vs. His/hers

Form

• Fast-moving rhythm• Slant Rhyme (abrupt and snappy like her

life) • “Then take his lust/ to Soho in cab,/ to

say the least,/ lay the ghost,” • End Rhyme and Full Rhyme

• “way”, “day”, “hay” • Internal Rhyme

• “returned enlightened” • Enjambment

• “And Faust would boast/ at dinner parties”

• “I heard Faust and the other/ laugh out loud”

Form

• Fast-moving rhythm• Abundant use of periods, dashes, and

enumeration. • “shacked up, spilt, up,/ made up, hitched

up,” • Anaphora: “We worked. We saved./ We

moved again.” • “First politics-/ Safe seat. MP. Right Hon. Kg./

Than banks-/ offshore, abroad-/and business-/ Vice-chairman. Chairman. Owner. Lord.”

Tone

• Mocking Tone• “had a facelift,/ had my breast

enlarged,/ my buttocks tightened;/ went to China, Thailand, Africa returned enlightened.”

• Sarcastically and Ironic Tone• Verbal Irony: “Faust was

Cardinal, Pope,/knew more than God;”

• Situational Irony: “I bought a kidney/ with my credit card”

Diction

• Informal Speech• Direct, conversational, and matter-of-a-fact • Repetition: “First things first” • “Next thing”• “Oh well”

• Abundant Use of Personal Pronouns: • “I married Faust” (Stresses the unilateral

relationship between them) • “We worked.” and “We saved” (Together at

the first stanza) • “I grew to love”, “He went to whores”, “He

wanted more”, etc. (After the first stanza there is a clear division, Me vs. Him)

Literal Meaning

• Built on an allusion of the legend of Faust.

• Dramatic Monologue • Financial transaction vs.

romantic relationship• Directed to the superficial

upper-class house wives

Literal Meaning

• What happens? • Mrs. Faust marries

a very successful man who cares more about money, hobbies, and prostitutes than about her.

• Mr. Faust dies and she gets to keep everything.

Figurative Meaning: Main Ideas

• Two fictional characters• Represent the vanities and lifestyle of

the high-rollers. • Materialism (critical of our modern

society) • Shallow lifestyle• Accumulation of Money and Power• Individualism • Lack of real commitment with others• Abuse of power by men • Submissive Women (wife and

prostitutes)• Lack of care for everything but money,

power, and lust.

Literary Devices: Allusions• Allusion to Faust

• Mr. and Mrs. Faust are “intellectuals” • “BA. Ma. PHD.”

• Faust sells his soul to the Devil• ‘’I’ve made a pact with Mephistopheles, the

Devil’s boy.”• “For all these years of/ gagging for it,/ going

for it,/rolling in it,/ I’ve sold my soul.” • Too Materialistic (lost of soul)

• “I keep Faust’s secret still/the clever cunning, callous bastard/ didn’t have soul to sell.”

• Lack of passion or love or any human emotions• Prostitutes and internet porn

• I spend the night being pleasured by a virtual Helen of Troy.”

• “ Faust surfed the internet for like-minded Bo Peep.”

Literary Devices: Allusions

• Difference between Faust and Mrs. Faust • Faust in the legend is a tired intellectual

who wants fame, recognition, and notoriety.• Allusion to notoriety and lust

• “Then take his lust/ to Soho in cab,/ to say the least,/ to lay the ghost,/ get lost, meet panthers, feast.”

• “I smelled cigar smoke,/ hellish, oddly sexy, not allowed./ I heard Faust and the other laugh aloud.”

• Allusion to power and recognition• “Safe seat. MP. Right Hon. KG.” • “Vice-chairman. Chairman.

Owner. Lord.”

Literary Devices: Irony & Enumerations

• Difference between Faust and Mrs. Faust • Mrs. Faust is just as guilty• She is shallow and materialistic→ alone →

soulless• “had a facelift,/ had my breasts enlarged,/

my buttocks tightened;/ went to China, Thailand, Africa,/ returned enlightened.”

• “Turned 40, celibate,/ teetotal, vegan,/ Buddhist, 41.Went blonde,/ redhead, brunette,/ went native, ape,/ berserk,/ bananas;/ went on the run, alone;/ went home.”

• “BA. MA. Ph.D. No kids.” • However, these materials goods do not

satisfy her. • “I went to yoga, t’ai chi./ Feng Shui,

therapy, colonic irrigation.”

Literary Devices: Irony & Enumerations

• Difference between Faust and Mrs. Faust • Situational Irony:

• “I bought a kidney/ with my credit card.”

• “Oh well. / Faust’s will (…) the lot- to me.”

• “C’est la vie.”• Lack of love

• “I grew to love the lifestyle,/ not the life./ He grew to love the kudos,/ not the wife.”

• Although he is the one punished they are equally as guilty; both greedy but for different things.

Literary Devices: Hyperbole

• Exaggerates positive and negative aspects of the lives of her husband and herself. • Her vanity

• “Saw Rome in a day,/ spun gold from hay,”

• His knowledge and power: • “Faust was Cardinal, Pope,/ knew

more than God;/ flew faster than the speed of sound/ around the globe,/ lunched;/ walked on the moon,/ golfed, holed in one;/ lit a fat Havana on the Sun.”

• “cloned sheep”• Both sell their souls

• Materialistic vs. Egotistical

Discussion Questions

1) To what extend is money needed to achieve happiness? Are money and power goals by themselves or instruments to achieve superior objectives?

2) To what extend are Mr. and Mrs. Faust Machiavellian? Do their goals justify their means? • Meaning, what are the ethical limits to

our means.

Sourceshttp://www.faust.com/• Pictures: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Da1_vI5bPQ/TrmW-SkPF3I/AAAAAAAABDA/TTgHZ20km2o/s1600/060724_Faust_VL.widec.jpghttp://www.carolaludolff.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/paris-hilton-shopping-sydney-michelle-jpg1.jpeghttp://www.arch.columbia.edu/files/gsapp/imceshared/atm2126/20090302_dancing_0041.JPGhttp://images.askmen.com/galleries/singer/dolly-parton/pictures/dolly-parton-picture-3.jpghttp://remote.lohudblogs.com/files/2009/01/53460.jpghttp://delhi4cats.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/perspectives.jpg