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Transcript

The World's Wife

What was the overall tone of Duffy's book?

  • Why did she write a book of poems from such a radical point of view? What was she trying to expose?

"Demeter" by Carol Ann Duffy

Story of Demeter and Persephone

Demeter was one of Zeus’ three sisters and was the the goddess of the harvest. Hades fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her, taking her into the Underworld. After Persephone was taken away, Demeter was miserable and the world was plunged into an unending winter. Zeus sent Hermes to make a deal with Hades concerning Persephone, so that Demeter would be happy again and able to care for the crops. Finally, a deal was struck that Persephone would marry Hade and become Queen of the Underworld and return to live on earth for half the year.

Imagery Associated With Demeter

"Demeter"

Everything surrounding Demeter is desolate and dark

  • "hard earth"
  • "cold stone room"
  • "granite, flint"
  • "frozen lake"

Imagery adds to reader's impression of Demeter's unending, unabated depression

Where I lived – winter and hard earth.

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, 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

the air softened and warmed as she moved,

the blue sky smiling, none too soon

with the small shy mouth of a new moon

Works Cited

Donn, Lin. "Persephone & Demeter (myth)." Ancient Greek Roman Gods for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Lewinson, Janet. "Demeter." Sheer Poetry. Sheer Poetry, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Demeter

Love

Which type of relationship is the purest and most unadulterated by conflict, hatred, and anger?

Where I lived - winter and hard earth.

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, 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

the air softened and warmed as she moved,

the blue sky smiling, none too soon,

with the small shy mouth of a new moon.'

Key Lines

"...to break the ice. My broken heart-

I tried that, but it skimmed,

flat, over the frozen lake."

  • Lines are inverted in comparison to how their meaning actually comes across.
  • How does this aid Duffy's characterization of Demeter through imagery?

Syntax in Third Stanza

Imagery Associated with Persephone

"She came from a long, long way,

but I saw her at last, walking,

my daughter, my girl, across the fields..."

What effect do the commas add, both visually and contextually?

The setting of the poem, which is seen from Demeter's perspective, undergoes a rapid change in between the second and third stanzas

  • The frozen lake has become "fields"
  • Connotations of "bare feet"
  • "... bringing all spring's flowers"
  • Even the air and sky welcome Persephone home

What is the message of "Demeter?"

Duffy uses imagery and syntax in her poem "Demeter" to expose her opinion that the love between a parent and a child can never be destroyed, and therefore is an untouchable pure relationship.

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