Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dora Greenwell’s "Demeter and Cora" is a profound exploration of the mythological bond between Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and her daughter Persephone (Cora), who is also known as the queen of the underworld. This poem is a dialogue between the mother and daughter, touching on themes of separation, love, longing, and fate. Through the mythological framework, Greenwell delves into the emotional and psychological complexities of both characters, focusing on their deep connection and the tension between Persephone’s life in the underworld and her desire for the life she once had with her mother.

The poem opens with Demeter, the grieving mother, seeking her daughter: "Speak, daughter, speak; art speaking now? / Seek, mother, seek; art seeking thou." These lines immediately establish the reciprocal nature of their bond—Demeter is actively seeking her daughter, while Persephone, deep in the underworld, reaches out to her mother as well. The repetition of the verbs "speak" and "seek" suggests an unbroken, albeit distant, connection between the two, emphasizing that, despite the physical separation, their emotional bond remains intact.

Demeter bends "unto the earth" to listen for the sound of Persephone’s return, but instead, she hears "only the deep, dark waters running clear." This imagery of the "deep, dark waters" evokes the underworld and underscores the vast divide between the living world and the realm of the dead. It also hints at the inevitability of Persephone’s situation—her fate is sealed, and she is far from the world of light and life where her mother resides.

Persephone, now queen of the underworld, responds to her mother’s question about her well-being: "Is’t well with thee, my daughter?" Persephone’s answer reflects her ambivalence: "Well or ill I know not." As queen of "a wide unmeasured tomb," she is both powerful and trapped, unable to distinguish whether her existence is one of love or hate. Persephone expresses the inescapable nature of her role in the underworld: "What if I am found / Of thee, my mother, still the bars / Are round me, and the girdling night / Hath passed within my soul!" Here, the "bars" represent not just her physical confinement but also the emotional and spiritual weight of her entrapment. Although she may speak with her mother, the light and joy of her former life have left her, replaced by the perpetual darkness of the underworld.

Demeter presses on, asking, "Doth thy dark lord, the King of Hell, / Still love thee?" Persephone’s answer is telling: "Oh, too well, too well / He loves!" This love is possessive, binding Persephone in an "unwrought chain" that holds her fast in the underworld. Persephone laments that she was "not born to be thy mate, / Aides! nor the Queen of pain," reaffirming her disconnection from the role of underworld queen, a position thrust upon her rather than chosen. Her heart belongs to the world above, where she "loved the daffodil" and "all lovely, free, and gentle things."

Despite her resistance to her fate, Persephone acknowledges the complexity of her relationship with Hades, the "King of wealth and rest, / As well as king of death and pain." This dual nature of Hades reflects the nuanced reality of Persephone’s existence. She is folded into a "kingly breast" and rules a "rich domain," yet she is also bound by the grief and sorrow of her separation from the world of light. Her acceptance of Hades—"I leave him not for aught above"—shows that while her love for him may not be passionate, it is a necessary and inescapable part of her identity now. Persephone’s words imply that she has come to terms with her situation, accepting both the light and darkness of her existence.

Demeter, in turn, shares her own complex relationship with the world. She, too, has made sacrifices, leaving the "sunny heights" of heaven for the sake of her daughter. Demeter acknowledges that mortals love her as the giver of "corn and wine," but she hints that her descent to earth is driven not by love for them, but by her unrelenting search for Persephone. This adds a layer of sadness to her role as the great mother goddess—while she provides sustenance for humanity, her true purpose and longing are focused solely on her lost daughter.

In the latter part of the poem, Demeter asks Persephone to tell her about the "garden rare" and the "flowers, dark, fiery, sweet" that grow in the underworld. Persephone describes these flowers as "fed with fire," burning with "torch-light flame," but also carrying a "tender shame" of their brief, fleeting bloom. This description of the underworld’s flowers, beautiful but ephemeral, mirrors Persephone’s own existence: she reigns in a realm of transient beauty, where nothing lasts and everything is tinged with the sorrow of inevitable decay.

The poem concludes with a reversal, as Persephone asks Demeter to tell her about the "wet, / Cool primrose" and the "lilac-bough," yearning for the simple, enduring beauty of the upper world. Persephone’s longing for the natural world, for the "rapture" of summer days, reflects her deep-rooted connection to her life with Demeter, even as she rules in the underworld. The final lines, "Art listening yet? / Art near me, O my Cora, now?" show Demeter’s continued yearning for her daughter, as she waits for Persephone to return to her once more, even if only for a brief time.

"Demeter and Cora" masterfully captures the emotional complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, exploring themes of love, loss, and the inescapable pull of fate. Through rich, evocative imagery and dialogue, Greenwell brings the myth of Demeter and Persephone to life, highlighting the tension between the light of the world above and the darkness of the underworld. Both mother and daughter are bound by their love for one another, yet they are also constrained by the roles and realms they inhabit. In the end, the poem is a poignant reflection on the pain of separation and the enduring power of love, even in the face of inevitable loss.

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