Comparing The Golden Touch 'And Greek Myth Of King Midas'

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Retellings of ancient myths often have details that differ from the original, and each other. The Greek myth of King Midas follows a greedy king who wished that everything that he touched would be gold. There are various retellings, and they both involve different aspects of the original, and create their own elements. The Golden Touch by Nathaniel Hawthorne involves King Midas, a king who values gold greatly, but loves his daughter Marygold more than anything, including gold. He is given the golden touch, and ends up turning his daughter into gold. In the end, his gift is reversed by water from a nearby river. King Midas by Howard Moss is a series of poems entitled “The King’s Speech”, “The Princess’s Song”, and “The Queen’s Speech.” The king …show more content…

King Midas in both stories is similar because he regrets the choice of his wish, but he is different because in Hawthorne’s iteration, Midas’s gift is reversed, and there is resolution. Additionally, Marygold and the Princess are similar because they are against the golden touch, but they are of different age. To begin, the portrayal of King Midas in the stories is similar due to the fact that he regrets the wish that he made. For example, in The Golden Touch, “I would not have given that one small dimple in her chin for the power of changing this whole big earth into a solid lump of gold.”(Hawthorne 76) In addition, in King Midas, “Than be the reigning King of this dominion where gold makes poor the richness of decay. O Dionysus, change me back to clay.”(Moss 38) In The Golden Touch, Midas laments over his daughter turning into gold, and he is deeply distraught. Furthermore, in King Midas the king wishes to be turned back to clay than to continue to be the king of his new kingdom of gold. They both show regret over their actions, and they are both inflicted with negative emotions due to their poor choices. Though they are retellings of the same character, their stories have different

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