"Little Red Cap" was written by the Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy, who served as the first female poet laureate of the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2019. It is the first poem in her 1999 collection The World's Wife, which depicts figures from history or mythology through a feminist lens. In "Little Red Cap," this figure is Little Red Riding Hood, from the classic fairy tale. Though usually portrayed as a naive girl hoodwinked and eaten by a wolf, Duffy's Little Red Cap is a young woman brimming with sexual curiosity, artistic ambition, and personal agency. Her relationship with the wolf, though marked by a predatory power imbalance, serves as the catalyst for her coming-of-age.

• Read the full text of “Little Red Cap”

• “Little Red Cap” Summary

• “Little Red Cap” Themes

  • 

    Sexual Awakening and Coming of Age

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Line 1
    • Lines 5-6
    • Lines 7-11
    • Lines 11-12
    • Lines 14-22
    • Lines 31-32
    • Lines 32-34
    • Lines 34-39
    • Lines 39-41
    • Line 42
  • 

    Artistic Coming-of-Age

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-8
    • Lines 13-16
    • Lines 23-30
    • Lines 31-32
    • Lines 33-36
    • Lines 38-39
    • Line 42
  • 

    Gender and Power

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Line 6
    • Lines 11-13
    • Lines 16-22
    • Lines 26-27
    • Lines 31-33
    • Lines 34-36
    • Lines 38-40
    • Line 42

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Little Red Cap”

  • Lines 1-5

    At childhood’s end, ...
    ... of the woods.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-10

    It was there ...
    ... had! What teeth!

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-13

    In the interval, ...
    ... my first.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-16

    You might ask ...
    ... eyes of owls.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-18

    I crawled in ...
    ... lost both shoes

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 19-22

    but got there, ...
    ... love a wolf?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 23-27

    Then I slid ...
    ... licking his chops.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 27-30

    As soon as ...
    ... music and blood.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 31-36

    But then I ...
    ... rhyme, same reason.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 36-40

    I took an ...
    ... my grandmother’s bones.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 41-42

    I filled his ...
    ... singing, all alone.

    

    

    

    

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• “Little Red Cap” Symbols

  • 

    Birds

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 16: “lit by the eyes of owls.”
    • Lines 24-25: “went in search of a living bird – white dove – / which flew, straight, from my hands to his open mouth.”
    • Line 30: “warm, beating, frantic, winged”
    • Lines 33-34: “that birds / are the uttered thought of trees”
    • Line 42: “singing”
  • 

    The Woods

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 5: “the edge of the woods.”
    • Line 14: “deep into the woods,”
    • Line 15: “dark tangled thorny place”
    • Line 19: “got there, wolf’s lair, better beware.”
    • Lines 31-32: “ten years / in the woods”
    • Lines 36-38: “ I took an axe / to a willow to see how it wept. I took an axe to a salmon / to see how it leapt.”
    • Line 42: “Out of the forest”
  • 

    White and Red

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 9: “red wine”
    • Line 17: “scraps of red”
    • Line 24: “white dove ”
    • Line 28: “crimson”
    • Line 40: “virgin white”
  • 

    Grandmother's Bones

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 40: “the glistening, virgin white of my grandmother’s bones.”
  • 

    Books and Poetry

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 7: “reading ”
    • Line 8: “paperback ”
    • Line 13: “Poetry.”
    • Line 28: “aglow with books.”

• “Little Red Cap” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-6: “till you came at last to the edge of the woods. / It was there that I first clapped eyes on the wolf.”
    • Lines 9-10: “What big ears / he had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!”
    • Lines 14-19: “The wolf, I knew, would lead me deep into the woods, / away from home, to a dark tangled thorny place / lit by the eyes of owls. I crawled in his wake, / my stockings ripped to shreds, scraps of red from my blazer / snagged on twig and branch, murder clues. I lost both shoes / but got there, wolf’s lair, better beware.”
    • Lines 26-27: “How nice, breakfast in bed, he said, / licking his chops.”
    • Lines 38-41: “I took an axe to the wolf / as he slept, one chop, scrotum to throat, and saw / the glistening, virgin white of my grandmother’s bones. / I filled his old belly with stones. I stitched him up.”
    • Line 42: “Out of the forest I come with my flowers, singing, all alone.”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “petered”
    • Line 2: “fields”
    • Line 6: “I,” “eyes”
    • Line 7: “clearing, reading,” “out loud”
    • Line 8: “drawl,” “paperback,” “paw”
    • Line 9: “staining,” “bearded jaw,” “ears”
    • Line 10: “teeth”
    • Line 11: “he,” “me”
    • Line 12: “sweet sixteen,” “been,” “babe, waif”
    • Line 13: “my,” “might,” “why,” “why”
    • Line 14: “lead me deep”
    • Line 17: “shreds,” “red”
    • Line 18: “clues,” “shoes”
    • Line 19: “there,” “lair,” “beware”
    • Line 26: “bite,” “dead,” “nice,” “breakfast,” “bed,” “said”
    • Line 27: “slept,” “crept”
    • Line 28: “gold, aglow”
    • Line 29: “tongue”
    • Line 30: “blood”
    • Line 31: “young”
    • Line 36: “season,” “season,” “reason”
    • Line 37: “wept”
    • Line 38: “leapt,” “wolf”
    • Line 39: “slept,” “scrotum,” “throat”
    • Line 40: “bones”
    • Line 41: “old,” “stones”
    • Line 42: “alone”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “out / into ”
    • Lines 2-3: “allotments / kept”
    • Lines 7-8: “loud / in”
    • Lines 9-10: “ears / he”
    • Lines 15-16: “place / lit”
    • Lines 17-18: “blazer / snagged”
    • Lines 21-22: “for / what”
    • Lines 23-24: “paws / and”
    • Lines 24-25: “dove – / which”
    • Lines 27-28: “back / of”
    • Lines 31-32: “years / in”
    • Lines 32-33: “mushroom / stoppers”
    • Lines 33-34: “birds / are”
    • Lines 34-35: “wolf / howls”
    • Lines 36-37: “axe / to”
    • Lines 37-38: “salmon / to”
    • Lines 38-39: “wolf / as”
    • Lines 39-40: “saw / the”

  • Extended Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where extended metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “At childhood’s end,”
    • Line 6: “the wolf.”
    • Line 8: “wolfy drawl,” “hairy paw,”
    • Lines 9-10: “What big ears / he had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!”
    • Line 14: “The wolf,,” “ I knew, would lead me deep into the woods,”
    • Line 15: “away from home, to a dark tangled thorny place”
    • Line 19: “wolf’s lair,”
    • Line 27: “licking his chops.”
    • Line 34: “a greying wolf”
    • Lines 35-36: “howls the same old song at the moon, year in, year out, / season after season, same rhyme, same reason”
    • Line 38: “I took an axe to the wolf”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 18: “murder clues.”
    • Line 19: “Lesson one”
    • Line 20: “love poem”
    • Line 24: “a living bird – white dove –”
    • Line 29: “Words, words were truly alive on the tongue, in the head,”
    • Line 30: “warm, beating, frantic, winged; ,” “music and blood.”
    • Lines 32-33: “a mushroom / stoppers the mouth of a buried corpse”
    • Lines 33-34: “birds / are the uttered thought of trees,”
    • Line 35: “howls the same old song”
    • Line 42: “Out of the forest I come with my flowers, ”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 9-10: “What big ears / he had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!”
    • Line 13: “You might ask why. Here’s why.”
    • Line 29: “Words, words”
    • Lines 35-36: “same old song at the moon, year in, year out, / season after season, same rhyme, same reason.”
    • Lines 36-38: “I took an axe / to a willow to see how it wept. I took an axe to a salmon / to see how it leapt. I took an axe to the wolf”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “petered”
    • Line 2: “playing,” “fields,” “factory”
    • Line 3: “mistresses,” “married men”
    • Line 4: “caravan”
    • Line 5: “came,” “woods”
    • Line 6: “was,” “there that,” “I,” “clapped,” “eyes,” “wolf”
    • Line 7: “clearing”
    • Line 8: “wolfy,” “paperback,” “paw,”
    • Line 9: “wine,” “bearded,” “big”
    • Line 10: “he had,” “big,” “he had”
    • Line 11: “spotted”
    • Line 12: “sweet sixteen,” “been, babe,” “bought”
    • Line 13: “my,” “might,” “why,” “why”
    • Line 14: “wolf,” “would,” “woods”
    • Line 15: “away”
    • Line 16: “wake”
    • Line 17: “stockings,” “scraps,” “blazer”
    • Line 18: “snagged,” “branch,” “both”
    • Line 19: “but,” “wolf’s,” “better beware”
    • Line 20: “breath,” “wolf,” “was”
    • Line 21: “fur, for”
    • Line 22: “doesn’t dearly”
    • Line 23: “his heavy”
    • Line 24: “went,” “white”
    • Line 25: “which,” “flew,” “from,” “hands,” “his”
    • Line 26: “bite,” “breakfast,” “bed”
    • Line 27: “soon,” “slept”
    • Line 28: “where,” “wall was,” “gold, aglow”
    • Line 29: “Words, words were,” “truly,” “tongue”
    • Line 30: “warm,” “beating,” “winged,” “blood”
    • Line 31: “But,” “took ten”
    • Line 32: “to tell”
    • Line 33: “buried,” “birds”
    • Line 35: “same,” “song,” “year,” “year”
    • Line 36: “season,” “season,” “same,” “same”
    • Line 37: “willow,” “wept,” “salmon”
    • Line 38: “see”
    • Line 39: “slept,” “scrotum,” “saw”
    • Line 40: “glistening,” “grandmother’s,” “bones”
    • Line 41: “belly,” “stones,” “stitched”
    • Line 42: “forest,” “flowers”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-5: “At childhood’s end, the houses petered out / into playing fields, the factory, allotments / kept, like mistresses, by kneeling married men, / the silent railway line, the hermit's caravan, / till you came at last to the edge of the woods.”
    • Lines 7-9: “reading his verse out loud / in his wolfy drawl, a paperback in his hairy paw, / red wine staining his bearded jaw.”
    • Line 12: “sweet sixteen, never been, babe, waif, ”
    • Lines 16-18: “I crawled in his wake, / my stockings ripped to shreds, scraps of red from my blazer / snagged on twig and branch, murder clues.”
    • Lines 28-30: “where a whole wall was crimson, gold, aglow with books. / Words, words were truly alive on the tongue, in the head, / warm, beating, frantic, winged; music and blood.”
    • Lines 32-36: “to tell that a mushroom / stoppers the mouth of a buried corpse, that birds / are the uttered thought of trees, that a greying wolf / howls the same old song at the moon, year in, year out, / season after season, same rhyme, same reason.”

  • Rhetorical Question

    

    

    

    

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    Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:

    • Lines 21-22: “for / what little girl doesn’t dearly love a wolf?”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “end, the”
    • Line 2: “fields, the factory, allotments”
    • Line 3: “kept, like mistresses, by”
    • Line 4: “line, the”
    • Line 7: “clearing, reading”
    • Line 8: “drawl, a”
    • Line 9: “jaw. What”
    • Line 10: “had! What,” “had! What”
    • Line 11: “interval, I”
    • Line 12: “sixteen, never been, babe, waif, and”
    • Line 13: “first. You,” “why. Here’s why. Poetry”
    • Line 14: “wolf, I knew, would”
    • Line 15: “home, to”
    • Line 16: “owls. I”
    • Line 17: “shreds, scraps”
    • Line 18: “branch, murder clues. I”
    • Line 19: “there, wolf’s lair, better beware. Lesson”
    • Line 20: “ear, was”
    • Line 21: “fur, for”
    • Line 24: “bird – white”
    • Line 25: “ flew, straight, from”
    • Line 26: “bite, dead. How nice, breakfast,” “bed, he”
    • Line 27: “chops. As,” “slept, I”
    • Line 28: “lair, where,” “crimson, gold, aglow”
    • Line 29: “Words, words,” “tongue, in”
    • Line 30: “warm, beating, frantic, winged; music”
    • Line 31: “young – and”
    • Line 33: “corpse, that”
    • Line 34: “trees, that”
    • Line 35: “moon, year in, year”
    • Line 36: “season, same rhyme, same reason. I”
    • Line 37: “wept. I”
    • Line 38: “leapt. I”
    • Line 39: “slept, one chop, scrotum,” “throat, and”
    • Line 40: “glistening, virgin”
    • Line 41: “stones. I”
    • Line 42: “flowers, singing, all”

• “Little Red Cap” 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.

  • Petered out
  • Allotments
  • Hermit
  • Caravan
  • Sweet sixteen, never been
  • Babe
  • Waif
  • Stockings
  • Lair
  • Aglow
  • Frantic
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “petered out”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Little Red Cap”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Little Red Cap” Speaker

• “Little Red Cap” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Little Red Cap”

• More “Little Red Cap” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Poem Out Loud — A video of "Little Red Cap" being read out loud.

    • The Original Fairy Tale — The 1812 fairy tale "Little Red Cap," as set down by the Brothers Grimm.

    • Duffy's Biography and More Poems — A valuable resource from the Poetry Foundation on Duffy's life and work.  

    • Review of "The World's Wife" — A review of "The World's Wife," the collection to which "Little Red Cap" belongs, by Jeannette Winterson.

    • Interview with Carol Ann Duffy — An interview with the poet, towards the end of her term as UK Poet Laureate.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy

    • A Child's Sleep

    • Anne Hathaway

    • Before You Were Mine

    • Circe

    • Death of a Teacher

    • Demeter

    • Education For Leisure

    • Elvis's Twin Sister

    • Eurydice

    • Foreign

    • Havisham

    • Head of English

    • In Mrs Tilscher’s Class

    • In Your Mind

    • Mean Time

    • Medusa

    • Mrs Aesop

    • Mrs Darwin

    • Mrs Faust

    • Mrs Icarus

    • Mrs Lazarus

    • Mrs Midas

    • Mrs Sisyphus

    • Originally

    • Penelope

    • Pilate's Wife

    • Pope Joan

    • Prayer

    • Pygmalion's Bride

    • Queen Herod

    • Quickdraw

    • Recognition

    • Salome

    • Standing Female Nude

    • Stealing

    • The Darling Letters

    • The Dolphins

    • The Good Teachers

    • Thetis

    • Valentine

    • Warming Her Pearls

    • War Photographer

    • We Remember Your Childhood Well

    • Work

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