The Full Text of “Circe”
The Full Text of “Circe”
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“Circe” Introduction
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A satirical tale of revenge, Carol Ann Duffy's "Circe" is a dramatic monologue told from point of view of an enchantress from Greek myth known for turning men into pigs. Duffy's Circe describes, in grisly detail, how she likes to cook these man-pigs and implies that she transformed them as payback for taking advantage of her hospitality. "Circe" was published in Duffy's 1999 collection, The World's Wife, which features poems told from the perspective of the female counterparts of famous male figures from history and myth.
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“Circe” Summary
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Circe addresses the minor nature goddesses who live with her on an island, saying she rather likes pigs, though she knows not everyone does. She then lists off a number of names that are used to refer to pigs and their body parts: "the tusker," "swine" and so forth. Regardless of what you call them, Circe continues, they've all belonged to her at some point. She's dominated their tense, sweaty bodies and smelled their strong, piggy perfumes. She says that she's well acquainted with both big pigs and small ones, and with the banging, smashing chorus of sounds that they make. She describes standing outside a pigpen with a bucket of slop in the early evening, inhaling the sharp scent of their sweat, envisioning the moon as a lemon that the sky was holding in its mouth. But first, Circe says, there's a foreign recipe she wants to share with the women of the island.
The recipe uses a pig's cheeks—in fact, not just the cheek, but the tongue as well. You take the cheeks, she explains, along with the tongue, put them all in a bowl, and season it with a good amount of salt and cloves. Keep in mind what tongues are good for: licking, slurping up liquids, loosening things up, wetting things, lying in the squishy pocket of the jaw. Also keep in mind, she tells the nymphs, that however a pig might look—whether spineless or courageous, funny or grand, sneaky or knowledgeable, mean or compassionate—it's still a pig. Add a dash of mace.
After properly cleaning the ears, Circe continues, one should scald them quickly in hot water, sear them around the edges, throw them in a pot, cook them on high heat, and then put them on a plate with some herbs for decoration. Pointing out a stewing ear, Circe asks the nymphs whether they recall that ear ever paying any attention to them—listening to their pleas and poems and their lovely, bright, musical voices. Crush the potatoes, Circe says to the women; pour yourselves a drink. Next up: the brains, the legs, the shoulders, the jaws; then slice open the swollen, unprotected sack of testicles and slip out the sweet treats. Once the pig's heart has grown hard, she says, cut it up into little pieces.
Cut it up into little pieces, Circe says again. She then recounts a time when she fell to her knees on the brilliant beach, looking out to sea as huge ships seemed to emerge from the sun shining vividly at the horizon, appearing like something out of legends. She took off her clothes and walked out into the water until it rose as high as her chest; she motioned at the ships and called out to them. Then she leapt into the water and swam, chest up, while three dark ships bobbed in the water near shore. But she was just a young woman then, Circe says. This was back when she still dream of men coming to the island. Returning to the present, she says it's time to pour juices over the crackling, roasting pigs once more.
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“Circe” Themes
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Gender, Power, and Control
“Circe” is a humorous and scathing retelling of the myth of Circe, a witch infamous for turning the men who visited her island into pigs. Circe has often been presented as a kind of femme fatale who lures unwitting men to their doom. This poem, however, shows things from Circe’s perspective instead: these transformations, as she presents them, are essentially acts of righteous vengeance for men's selfishness and cruelty. Readers might interpret the poem’s violence as a satirical reversal of men’s control over and abuse of women’s bodies, or they might simply take it as a grisly revenge fantasy. Regardless, in letting Circe finally speak for herself the poem illuminates the way that women’s experiences have long been misrepresented or erased from the stories told about them.
Circe insists that she wasn’t always this callous butcherer of pigs. She was once “young[]” and “hoping for men” to come to the island, but these visiting men took her kindness for granted. As Circe describes the pigs she’s cooking, readers can sense that she’s actually describing the coldness and greed of these male visitors. She rhetorically asks the “nereids and nymphs” (i.e., minor female nature deities) who live on the island with her, “did [the pigs] listen, ever, to you, to your prayers and rhymes, / to the chimes of your voice, singing and clear?” These men, in other words, failed to consider their hosts or even pay them common courtesy.
Circe also reminds these women how the “tongue” can be used “to lick, to lap, to loosen, lubricate, [and] to lie,” implying that these men seduced and misled the women. And in saying the pigs should be “season[ed] with mace”—a spice whose name calls to mind both a weapon from antiquity and the modern-day pepper spray often used by women to deter attackers—the poem hints that the men used force to get what they wanted.
It didn’t matter whether they were “cowardly,” “brave,” or “comical”; when it came to their treatment of women, Circe says that all of these men were the same. They had “piggy eyes,” insinuating that they were violent, greedy animals. In a metaphorical sense, then, they were already pigs—Circe just revealed their true nature.
In taking control of their bodies, Circe is essentially treating the men just as they’ve treated women. She says, “One way or another, all pigs have been mine” and “under [her] thumb.” She also describes cutting up the different parts of the body, everything from the “brain” to “the sweetmeats slipped / from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls.”
This gruesome description suggests that she enjoys emasculating and humiliating these men, presumably as payback. In short, she’s giving them a taste of their own medicine. “Circe” thus grants a typically sidelined character a chance to tell her own story; in her mind, she’s not a wily enchantress so much as a disillusioned woman giving men no less than they deserve.
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-37
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Circe”
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Lines 1-3
I'm fond, nereids ...
... have been mine—Circe was a minor goddess/witch from Greek mythology with a talent for transforming people into animals. She's probably most famous for the supporting role she played in Homer's epic The Odyssey, and knowing a bit about this tale will help make sense of the poem:
- The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, trying to find his way home after fighting in the Trojan War. Odysseus and his men stumble upon Aeaea, the island where Circe lives and which is populated by a number of "nereids and nymphs" (minor Greek nature deities who took the form of beautiful maidens).
- Circe plays a pivotal role in Odysseus's journey, although Circe herself is depicted as little more than a scheming seductress. She also infamously transforms Odysseus's men into pigs (though Odysseus convinces her to change them back).
This poem only vaguely alludes to the events of The Odyssey, however, diving instead into Circe's point of view.
In the first line, Circe addresses the "nereids and nymphs" of the island. Right away, the alliteration of "nereids and nymphs" elevates the poem's language; Circe's speech sounds rather epic and grand, perhaps as a nod to her tale's origins in classical mythology. It quickly becomes clear, however, that this poem isn't going to take a classical view of her story.
While there are some people who don't like "pigs," Circe continues, she's not one of them. Circe then lists off the various names people might use to refer to a pig: "the tusker, the snout, the boar, and the swine." The anaphora (the repetition of "the") of this list adds an easy rhythm and a playful tone to the poem, as if Circe is getting a kick out of her own story. It doesn't really matter what you call them, she continues; "one way or another," Circe declares, they've all belonged to her.
Notice how the end rhyme between "swine" in line 2 and "mine" in line 3 emphasizes what Circe's saying: that she possesses these pigs. The poem is written in free verse (meaning it doesn't use a regular meter or rhyme scheme), but occasional rhymes like this one emphasize key points. This language of possession, of bodily ownership, is meant to echo the language of sexual conquest.
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Lines 4-7
under my thumb, ...
... grunts, their squeals. -
Lines 7-10
I've stood with ...
... of the sky. -
Lines 11-15
But I want ...
... and cloves. -
Lines 15-17
Remember the skills ...
... of the face— -
Lines 17-20
and how each ...
... Season with mace. -
Lines 21-25
Well-cleaned pig's ears ...
... singing and clear? -
Lines 25-30
Mash ...
... Dice it small. -
Lines 30-35
I, too, once ...
... the shallow waves. -
Lines 36-37
Of course, I ...
... spit once again.
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“Circe” Symbols
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Cooking the Pigs
In cooking these pigs, Circe is taking her revenge (or, perhaps in her mind, doling out justice) for men's mistreatment of the women of the island. Her dominance over the pigs represents a symbolic reversal of the control men have traditionally held over women's bodies (and narratives) throughout history.
The poem links the pigs' various body parts with the various ways that the men mistreated women on the island. Cooking their tongues, for example, seems to represent payback for the men's dishonest seduction tactics. Likewise, searing the pigs' ears is revenge for all the times these men failed to listen to the island's women, while dicing up the pigs' hardened hearts is revenge for the men's general cruelty and callousness.
Most strikingly, Circe instructs her nymphs to slice open the pigs' "bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls" and pull out "the sweetmeats" inside. In other words, she tells the island's women to remove the pigs' testicles. This represents the ultimate act of emasculation; Circe is robbing these men-turned-pigs of their manhood itself (and insulting it in the same breath—deeming it both vulgar and fragile!).
The poem suggests that the men already abandoned that manhood in acting like "pigs," meaning that Circe's actions suggest a symbolic reveal of who the men have always been. That she cooks and eats these "sweetmeats" further represents her ultimate power over the men—and, perhaps, her own problematic turn towards masculine violence in pursuit of that power.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 13-17: “Lay two pig's cheeks, with the tongue, / in a dish, and strew it well over with salt / and cloves. Remember the skills of the tongue— / to lick, to lap, to loosen, lubricate, to lie / in the soft pouch of the face”
- Lines 21-25: “Well-cleaned pig's ears should be blanched, singed, tossed / in a pot, boiled, kept hot, scraped, served, garnished / with thyme. Look at that simmering lug, at that ear, / did it listen, ever, to you, to your prayers and rhymes, / to the chimes of your voice, singing and clear?”
- Lines 27-30: “to the sweetmeats slipped / from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls. / When the heart of a pig has hardened, dice it small. / Dice it small.”
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“Circe” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Allusion
The poem very clearly alludes to the mythology surrounding Circe, an goddess/enchantress most famous for her appearance in Homer's Odyssey.
The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, who is trying to return home by sea after fighting in the Trojan War. In his travels, he and his men come upon Aeaea, the island where Circe lives with various "nereids and nymphs" (minor Greek nature deities who took the form of beautiful young women).
In Homer's tale, Circe turns Odysseus's men into pigs and then tries to seduce Odysseus to the same end. Odysseus, however, having been warned by Hermes (messenger of the gods), doesn't fall for Circe's tricks and compels her to turn his men back into human beings. After this, Circe and Odysseus become lovers, and Circe bears Odysseus two sons. She then offers him valuable advice that allows him and his men to sail safely home.
The end of this poem alludes to the arrival of Odysseus and his men on Aeaea, but the poem doesn't name them outright. After all, this is a reimagining of the classic myth, and in this version, Circe's story is the one that matters. Rather than being a small, supporting character in the male hero's journey, this Circe is at the center of her own narrative.
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “I'm fond, nereids and nymphs, unlike some, of the pig, / of the tusker, the snout, the boar and the swine.”
- Lines 30-36: “I, too, once knelt on this shining shore / watching the tall ships sail from the burning sun / like myths; slipped off my dress to wade, / breast-deep, in the sea, waving and calling; / then plunged, then swam on my back, looking up / as three black ships sighed in the shallow waves. / Of course, I was younger then. And hoping for men.”
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Imagery
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Simile
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Pun
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Anaphora
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Asyndeton
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Onomatopoeia
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Rhetorical Question
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Repetition
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"Circe" 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.
- Nereids and nymphs
- The tusker, the snout, the boar and the swine
- Bristling
- Yobby
- Hogs
- Runts
- Percussion
- Pail of swill
- Sty
- Tongue in cheek
- Strew
- Lubricate
- Mace
- Blanched
- Singed
- Lug
- Trotters
- Sweetmeats
- Baste
- Spit
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “I'm fond, nereids and nymphs, unlike some, of the pig,”)
Minor nature deities of Greek mythology, traditionally depicted as beautiful young maidens.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Circe”
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Form
"Circe" is a free verse poem whose 37 lines are broken up into four stanzas of varying length. Like many of Duffy's poems—and particularly the poems of The World's Wife, the collection in which "Circe" was published—"Circe" is also a dramatic monologue: a poem told from a specific character's perspective to an unseen audience (in this, the off-stage "nereids and nymphs").
Free verse makes the poem's language sound casual and conversational, as though Circe is simply rattling off a tale in real-time. The use of free verse adds to the poem's humor as well, bringing this ancient, mysterious, mythical figure into the modern world.
Visually, the poem is also quite hefty; the lines are long, making the stanzas look dense with text. This feels intentional: Circe's story has traditionally been filtered through the men around her (especially Odysseus), yet this poem gives her the opportunity to describe things from her own perspective. In this way, the poem's long lines and thick blocks of text suggest just how rich Circe's perspective is—and how many details male narratives have left out of her story until now.
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Meter
"Circe" is written in free verse and therefore does not use meter. This is generally the case for contemporary poetry and also for most of Duffy's work. The poem seeks to grant readers insight into Circe's mind, and the use of free verse adds to poem's feeling of authenticity and intimacy. The language feels organic rather than forced into a strict, rigid meter. Free verse also keeps the poem's language surprising, filled with rough rhythms suited to a poem about butchering pigs.
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Rhyme Scheme
As a free verse poem, "Circe" doesn't use a rhyme scheme. This keeps the language feeling casual, modern, and conversational. The lack of rhyme scheme also keeps the language feeling surprising and thus adds a bit of tension to Circe's tale.
The poem is still quite musical thanks to Duffy's clever wordplay and use of sonic devices like assonance and alliteration. And because there's no predictable rhyme pattern, the occasional end rhymes that do pop up really stand out ("swine" and "mine" in lines 1 and 2, for example, or "sty" and "sky" and lines 8 and 10). These intermittent rhymes are like surprising jolts of sonic intensity that keep readers on their toes.
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“Circe” Speaker
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The speaker of this poem is Circe, a mythical sorceress who lived on an island and was known for seducing men and then turning them into pigs. She most famously did this to the crew of Odysseus, the legendary Greek hero from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus outsmarted Circe and made her undo the spell; Circe and Odysseus became lovers, and she bore him multiple children before he eventually returned to his own family.
In this poem, however, this history is only alluded to; the poem never mentions Odysseus by name, nor any of the other men who visited Circe's island. Instead, Circe's perspective takes center stage as she butchers the men-turned-pigs and teaches the "nereids and nymphs" (i.e., other minor female figures from Greek mythology who live on her island) how to cook them. Her vivid descriptions of the control she has over these pigs are laced with anger and irony, suggesting that for her, this process is a chance to take revenge on the men who've hurt her and the women in her care.
Circe has often been depicted as a wily, predatory temptress, her tale typically filtered through the men who have passed through her orbit. Here, however, Duffy gives Circe a chance to speak for herself and add some nuance to her tale. This Circe wasn't born a heartless destroyer of men; she once eagerly "hop[ed] for men" to visit her island. The poem implies that she got metaphorical pigs instead: crude, violent, selfish male visitors who took advantage of her hospitality. In her telling, she's a disillusioned woman giving men what they deserve.
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“Circe” Setting
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Though the poem doesn't state it outright, it takes place on the mythical Greek island of Aeaea where the enchantress Circe lived alongside other "nereids and nymphs."
Towards the end of the poem, Circe recalls "kne[eling] on this shining shore / watching the tall ships sail from the burning sun / like myths." This alludes to the arrival of Odysseus and his men, who, as told by Homer in The Odyssey, came upon Aeaea on their way home from the Trojan War. In the poem's depiction of Circe, she was a young woman "hoping for men" when these ships first arrived, and she swam out into the sea to greet them.
Most of the poem, however, stays away from the shoreline and closer to where Circe keeps her men-turned-pigs. In the first stanza, she describes standing "with a pail of swill" (or scraps of food for the pigs) "at dusk, at the creaky gate of the sty" (or pig pen). She mentions the "sweaty, spicy air," supposedly laced with the smells of terrified pigs, and "the moon / like a lemon popped the mouth of the sky," an image that hints at what Circe is going to do with the pigs: eat them.
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Literary and Historical Context of “Circe”
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Literary Context
Carol Ann Duffy is among the most acclaimed and high-profile poets in the contemporary UK. Born in Scotland in 1955, she became the UK's first female poet laureate in 2009 and served in the position for the next 10 years.
“Circe” was published in Duffy's fifth poetry collection, The World’s Wife (1999). In this collection, Duffy writes from the viewpoints of the wives, sisters, and female contemporaries of famous and infamous men. Some of her characters include Mrs. Pilate, Queen Kong, Mrs. Sisyphus, Frau Freud, Elvis’s Twin Sister, and Pygmalion’s Bride. In witty, conversational language, The World’s Wife subverts traditional male perspectives, examining instead the ways that women's stories have been ignored or overlooked.
Duffy was deeply influenced by Sylvia Plath, whose Collected Works she received for her 25th birthday. She would go on to edit an edition of Plath’s poems and to write a piece for The Guardian about how Plath's work, with its revolutionary interest in women's internal lives, blazed a trail Duffy would follow in her own poetry.
This poem in particular, of course, also draws from the Greek myth of Circe, a sorceress famous for transforming men into pigs. Circe appeared as a relatively minor character in Homer's Odyssey, where she became the titular hero's lover for a time and bore him multiple children. While often depicted as a dangerous temptress preying on men, Circe has also been considered a sexually liberated and even feminist figure at various points in history.
Duffy wasn't the first to reimagine Circe or to retell the myth from Circe's point of view; in fact, many female writers have gravitated toward her story. Some famous poetic interpretations (all entitled "Circe") include those by 19th century English poet Augusta Webster and early 20th-century American poets Leigh Gordon Giltner and Hilda Doolittle (also known as H.D.). Perhaps the most famous contemporary retelling of the myth is Madeleine Miller's 2018 novel, Circe.
"Circe" is written as a dramatic monologue, a form Duffy often uses in her poetry. Dramatic monologues are told from the perspective of someone who is clearly not the poet (in this case, Circe), and they are addressed to a specific audience (here, the "nereids and nymphs").
Historical Context
Duffy was born in Scotland in 1955 and came of age during second-wave feminism. While early feminism had been focused primarily on securing women's right to vote, second-wave feminism addressed a wider range of issues including reproductive rights, domestic violence, workplace equality, and more. Second-wave feminism was responding to many of the restrictive gender norms of the mid-20th century, including the idea that women's purpose in life was to become demure mothers and wives. By the 1990s, when this poem was written, third-wave feminists began more actively seeking to upend patriarchal norms altogether—and with them, the treatment of the straight, white, male perspective as the model for all human experience.
It's also worth considering the poem within the context of Duffy's own relationship with poet Adrian Henri. She and Henri began a relationship when Henri was 39 and Duffy was 16; they lived together for 10 years, with Henri acting not only Duffy's romantic partner but also as her mentor. Henri was persistently unfaithful, and it is likely that this formative relationship influenced some of the themes of The World's Wife.
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More “Circe” Resources
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External Resources
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A History of the Dramatic Monologue — An overview of the dramatic monologue (a form Duffy often turns to in her poetry) and how it has been used over time.
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A Look at the Poet's Life — A brief biography of Duffy from the Poetry Foundation.
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A Review of The World's Wife — Author Jeanette Winterson reviews The World's Wife, the collection in which "Circe" was published.
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An Introduction to the Circe of Greek Myth — Check out a video explaining Circe's role in Greek mythology.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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