Leaving Prince Charming Behind

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Leaving Prince Charming Behind

• Karlo Mila

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Do now

1. Write down all the fairy tales you know that
   feature love stories
2. What stereotypes about men, women and love do
   these stories present?

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Fairy Tale allusions in the poem

• living the fairy tale
• the myth
• happily ever after
• princess
• Rapunzel
• the tower
• cursing your name
• poison apple
• mirrors on the wall
• glass slipper
• red blood
• white cloth
• mirrors on the wall
• prince on your gallant white horse
• shoe
• kiss
• dragon you felt honour bound to slay

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4. Stereotypes

• The stereotypical fairy tale princess is pretty,
  submissive, obedient, weak and passive. She is
  often imprisoned and helpless, waiting for the
  prince to rescue her. She is dependent on males.
• Mila shows she wishes to challenge these
  stereotypes. She describes herself as not
  believing in glass slipper redemption that is,
  not believing that she needs to wait for a man
  like Prince Charming to rescue / marry her.

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Reversal of stereotypes in the poem

• She also says I transformed myself into a
  beautiful dragon a creature that is not weak
  or soft, but fierce, fiery and powerful. This
  shows she refuses to play the passive female.
• By describing herself as Rapunzel with her
  dreadlocks shorn she presents herself as a very
  different sort of heroine. By having dreadlocks
  she rejects the long blonde hair typical of
  princesses, and opts for a look associated with
  women with a strong identity. The fact that they
  are shorn shows she isnt waiting for a man to
  rescue her.

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Connotations

• 5. I believed you the architect of my
  isolation the connotations of this phrase
  are.
• 6. glass slipper redemption allusion /
  metaphor

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Imagery

• I worked my own midnight magic for all it was
  worth / red blood , white cloth, mirrors on the
  wall
• By using active verbs (I worked..) she
  emphasises that she tried hard to make the
  relationship work but to no avail.
• The image of the mirror suggests she had to find
  her own self worth.
• The imagery of Red blood, white cloth suggests
  violence / death (her pain? Sacrifice?) such as
  in stories like Snow White where the evil queen
  tries to kill Snow White.
• Midnight magic refers to Cinderella where the
  magic transformation ends at midnight.
• This imagery is also linked to the line the
  poison apple was lodged firmly in my throat-
  which shows she was metaphorically choking in
  the relationship.

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The author Karlo Mila

• Karlo Mila is of Tongan / Samoan / Palagi descent
• What does Leaving Prince Charming tell us about
  her attitudes?
• http//www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/pasifika/mila3.asp

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Comparison between Karlo Milas poems

• LEAVING PRINCE CHARMING BEHIND

• THIS IS LOVE