Based on an ancient Greek myth, Carol Ann Duffy's "Demeter" illustrates the immense power of a mother's love. Demeter is the Greek goddess of agriculture and the harvest, whose beloved daughter, Persephone, gets kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld (and Demeter's brother!). Demeter's immense, icy grief casts the world into winter, as she refuses to let anything grow until her daughter comes back. Only when she finally sees Persephone walking towards her once again does spring return to the earth, the warm air and fresh blooms reflecting the return of joy to Demeter's heart. "Demeter" was first published in Duffy's 1999 collection, The World's Wife, which includes dramatic monologues told from the perspective of (often overlooked) female figures from history and myth.
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The Full Text of “Demeter”
The Full Text of “Demeter”
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“Demeter” Summary
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“Demeter” Themes
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The Power of Maternal Love
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-14
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Demeter”
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Line 1
Where I lived ... and hard earth.
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Lines 2-4
I sat in ...
... break the ice. -
Lines 4-6
My broken heart ...
... the frozen lake. -
Lines 7-9
She came from ...
... across the fields, -
Lines 10-12
in bare feet, ...
... as she moved, -
Lines 13-14
the blue sky ...
... a new moon.
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“Demeter” Symbols
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The New Moon
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 13-14: “the blue sky smiling, none too soon, / with the small shy mouth of a new moon.”
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“Demeter” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 4: “break,” “broken”
- Line 6: “flat,” “frozen”
- Line 7: “long, long”
- Line 8: “last”
- Line 10: “bare,” “bringing”
- Line 11: “swear”
- Line 12: “softened”
- Line 13: “sky smilin,” “soon”
- Line 14: “small,” “mouth,” “moon”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “cold stone”
- Lines 2-3: “room / choosing”
- Line 5: “I tried,” “it skimmed”
- Line 6: “over,” “frozen”
- Line 8: “saw,” “walking”
- Line 9: “daughter”
- Line 10: “bringing,” “spring’s”
- Line 11: “swear”
- Line 12: “air”
- Line 13: “sky smiling,” “too soon”
- Line 14: “new moon”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “lived – winter”
- Line 3: “tough words, granite, flint,”
- Line 4: “ice. My”
- Line 5: “that, but”
- Line 6: “flat, over”
- Line 7: “long, long”
- Line 8: “last, walking,”
- Line 9: “daughter, my girl, across”
- Line 10: “feet, bringing”
- Line 11: “house. I”
- Line 13: “smiling, none”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 3: “tough,” “granite, flint”
- Line 4: “break,” “broken”
- Line 5: “skimmed”
- Line 6: “flat,” “frozen,” “lake”
- Line 7: “long, long”
- Line 8: “last”
- Line 9: “fields”
- Line 10: “bare,” “feet,” “bringing,” “spring’s,” “flowers”
- Line 11: “mother’s,” “house,” “swear”
- Line 12: “air,” “softened”
- Line 13: “blue,” “sky smiling,” “none,” “soon”
- Line 14: “small,” “mouth,” “new moon”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4
- Lines 5-6
- Lines 9-11
- Lines 12-14
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Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Lines 1-14
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Parataxis
Where parataxis appears in the poem:- Lines 8-11: “I saw her at last, walking, / my daughter, my girl, across the fields, / in bare feet, bringing all spring’s flowers / to her mother’s house.”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 2-4: “I sat in my cold stone room / choosing tough words, granite, flint, / to break the ice.”
- Line 4: “My broken heart –”
- Lines 13-14: “the blue sky smiling, none too soon, / with the small shy mouth of a new moon.”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 4: “break,” “broken”
- Line 7: “long, long”
- Line 9: “my daughter, my girl,”
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“Demeter” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Granite
- Flint
- Skimmed
- New Moon
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(Location in poem: Line 3: “choosing tough words, granite, flint,”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Demeter”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Demeter” Speaker
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“Demeter” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Demeter”
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More “Demeter” Resources
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External Resources
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Biography of Carol Ann Duffy — Learn more about Duffy's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.
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Demeter's Mythology — An article tracing the different versions of the Demeter/Persephone myth.
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Duffy on the Power of Poetry — Read an article about Duffy's recent Pandemic Poetry project, in which she discusses how poetry can help people through troubling times.
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The Poem Out Loud — "Demeter" read by the poet herself.
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Persephone on Broadway — Persephone appears as a major character in the Tony-winning Broadway musical "Hadestown." Watch a rendition of her number "Our Lady of the Underground," a song showing a very different side of the goddess.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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