Demeter By Carol Ann Duffy

Demeter is the last poem from the collection It is the first poem where there are no men

presentThis poem portrays the relationship of

mothers and daughtersCarol Ann Duffy

MotherFeminist

Context

The Myth

Where I lived – winter and hard earth. 1

I sat in my cold stone room

Choosing tough words, granite, flint,

To break the ice. My broken heart –

I tried that, but it skimmed, 5

Flat, over the frozen lake.

She came from a long, long way,

But 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. I swear 10

The air softened and warmed as she moved,

The blue sky smiling, none too soon,

With the small shy mouth of a new moon. 14

Demeter

Markup

4 tercets and ends with a rhyming coupletIs not a traditional Sonnet because it’s

structure would be quartet Each line has from 5-7 syllables Internal rhyme with “bare, air, swear”

Form

Demeter addresses her daughter and herselfA Mother in grieving the loss of her daughter

and the setting is winter: cold, sorrowful, stiffShe misses her daughter and feels hopeless

without herSpring comes back as the daughter returns

while bringing all the flowers home, enlightening Demeter

Dramatic MonologueAllusion to mythology

Literal Meaning

Demeter is devastated by the loss of her daughter

Sorrow, grief and mourning She freezes from the inside out The love between mother and daughter

Figurative Meaning & Ideas

“…blue sky smiling…”

“…small shy mouth of a new moon…” “Choosing tough words, granite, flint, To break the ice”

“My broken heart”

“it skimmed flat, over the frozen lake”

“bringing all spring’s flowers”

Personification & Figurative Language

“I sat in my cold stone room choosing tough words, granite, flint, to break the

ice.”

“My broken-heart I tried that, but it skimmed, flat …”

“…in bare feet, bringing all spring’s flowers…”

“…the air softened and warmed as she moved…”

“…with the small shy mouth of a new moon…”

Imagery

Dramatic transitionAllusion to the myth Before the daughter arrives – Serious, sorrowful, and

gloomy tone “Winter and hard earth” “I sat in my cold stone room” “My broken heart…”

When the daughter walks home – Joyful, appreciative, proud, and excited tone “My daughter, my girl.” “…Bringing all spring’s flowers to her mother’s house.” “…blue sky smiling…” “…Shy mouth of a new moon.”

Juxtaposition

Carol Ann Duffy has been criticized for having a daughter with no fatherly figure; do you think this is a fair judgment? Do you think it is problematic for a child to be brought with a parent of one gender?

Think of the poem as a portrayal of a divorce

mother with a daughter that spends part time with her mother and part time with her father, do you think this poem effectively illustrates the feeling when she doesn’t get to see her daughter and the excitement when she does? How and why?

Discussion Questions

http://www.sheerpoetry.co.uk/advanced/carol-ann-duffy/demeter

http://tusitala.org.uk/essayLibrary/demeter.pdf

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/

Bibliography