“Warming Her Pearls” is a free verse poem written by Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy. It is a dramatic monologue told from the perspective of a maid who pines for the mistress she serves. The poem is set in Britain’s Victorian era, the period spanning 1837 to 1901, during which same-gender relationships were forbidden. Unable to express her desires, the poem's speaker channels her lust into the pearl necklace that her mistress directs her to wear, warming it to bring out the pearls' natural luster. Published in 1987, “Warming Her Pearls” is one of Duffy’s earliest poems about queer love, which has since become a prominent theme in her writing.
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The Full Text of “Warming Her Pearls”
The Full Text of “Warming Her Pearls”
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“Warming Her Pearls” Summary
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“Warming Her Pearls” Themes
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Unrequited Love and Fantasy
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Class and Inequality
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Warming Her Pearls”
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Lines 1-4
Next to my ...
... cool, white throat. -
Lines 4-8
All day I ...
... neck, her rope. -
Lines 9-12
She's beautiful. I ...
... her milky stones. -
Lines 13-16
I dust her ...
... want to speak. -
Lines 17-21
Full moon. Her ...
... she always does.... -
Lines 21-24
And I lie ...
... and I burn.
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“Warming Her Pearls” Symbols
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Pearls
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 1: “pearls”
- Line 2: “them,” “them”
- Line 3: “them”
- Line 8: “each pearl,” “her rope”
- Line 12: “milky stones”
- Line 19: “jewels”
- Line 22: “pearls”
- Line 24: “their”
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Temperature
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 2: “warm”
- Line 4: “cool”
- Line 6: “She fans herself”
- Line 7: “heat”
- Line 22: “cooling”
- Line 24: “burn”
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Full Moon
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 17: “Full moon”
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“Warming Her Pearls” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Asyndeton
Where asyndeton appears in the poem:- Line 2: “wear them, warm them”
- Line 5: “resting in the Yellow Room, contemplating silk”
- Lines 9-10: “I dream about her / in my attic bed; picture her”
- Line 11: “tall men, puzzled”
- Line 12: “her French perfume, her milky stones”
- Lines 13-14: “I dust her shoulders with a rabbit's foot, / watch the soft blush”
- Lines 18-20: “Undressing, / taking off her jewels, her slim hand reaching / for the case, slipping naked into bed”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “skin, her pearls. My”
- Line 2: “them, warm them, until”
- Line 3: “hair. At six, I”
- Line 4: “cool, white throat. All”
- Line 5: “Room, contemplating”
- Line 6: “tonight? She”
- Line 7: “willingly, my”
- Line 8: “pearl. Slack,” “neck, her”
- Line 9: “beautiful. I”
- Line 10: “bed; picture”
- Line 11: “men, puzzled,” “faint, persistent”
- Line 12: “perfume, her”
- Line 15: “sigh. In”
- Line 17: “moon. Her”
- Line 18: “head.... Undressing”
- Line 19: “jewels, her”
- Line 20: “case, slipping,” “bed, the”
- Line 21: “does.... And”
- Line 23: “sleeps. All”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Next,” “my own skin, her pearls. My mistress”
- Line 2: “bids me wear them, warm them, until evening”
- Line 3: “when I'll brush her hair. At six,,” “place them”
- Line 4: “round her cool, white throat,” “All day,” “think,” “her”
- Line 5: “resting,” “Room,” “contemplating silk”
- Line 6: “which gown,” “ fans herself”
- Line 7: “whilst,” “work willingly,” “slow”
- Line 8: “pearl,” “Slack,” “neck,” “rope”
- Line 9: “beautiful,” “dream”
- Line 10: “bed,” “picture,” “dancing”
- Line 11: “men,” “puzzled,” “my,” “faint,” “persistent scent”
- Line 12: “French perfume”
- Line 13: “shoulders,” “rabbit's foot”
- Line 14: “soft blush seep,” “skin”
- Line 15: “like,” “indolent sigh,” “looking,” “glass”
- Line 16: “lips part,” “as,” “speak”
- Line 17: “Her carriage brings her home”
- Line 18: “her,” “every movement,” “my,” “head”
- Line 19: “taking,” “off,” “slim”
- Line 20: “for,” “case,” “slipping,” “naked,” “way”
- Line 21: “always,” “awake”
- Line 22: “knowing,” “now”
- Line 23: “where my mistress sleeps,” “All,” “night”
- Line 24: “feel,” “burn”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “mistress / bids”
- Lines 2-3: “evening / when”
- Lines 3-4: “them / round”
- Lines 5-6: “silk / or”
- Lines 6-7: “herself / whilst”
- Lines 7-8: “entering / each”
- Lines 9-10: “her / in”
- Lines 10-11: “dancing / with”
- Lines 11-12: “scent / beneath”
- Lines 14-15: “skin / like”
- Lines 15-16: “looking-glass / my”
- Lines 17-18: “see / her”
- Lines 19-20: “reaching / for”
- Lines 20-21: “way / she”
- Lines 22-23: “now / in”
- Lines 23-24: “night / I”
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Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “my own skin, her pearls”
- Line 2: “warm”
- Line 4: “cool, white,” “I think of her”
- Lines 5-6: “contemplating silk / or taffeta”
- Lines 6-7: “She fans herself / whilst I work willingly, my slow heat”
- Line 10: “my attic bed; picture her dancing”
- Lines 11-12: “my faint, persistent scent / beneath her French perfume”
- Line 21: “I lie here awake”
- Line 22: “cooling”
- Line 23: “my mistress sleeps”
- Line 24: “burn”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 8: “Slack on my neck, her rope.”
- Line 12: “her milky stones”
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Line 6: “which gown tonight?”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 14-15: “the soft blush seep through her skin / like an indolent sigh”
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“Warming Her Pearls” 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.
- Mistress
- Bids
- Taffeta
- Rabbit's foot
- Indolent
- Looking-glass
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “mistress”; Line 23: “mistress”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Warming Her Pearls”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Warming Her Pearls” Speaker
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“Warming Her Pearls” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Warming Her Pearls”
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More “Warming Her Pearls” Resources
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External Resources
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Biography of Carol Ann Duffy — A concise summary of Duffy's life and works from the Poetry Foundation.
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The Liverpool Poets — An overview of Adrian Henri, Roger McGough, and Brian Patten's artistic practices in mid-20th century Liverpool.
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Feeling Chilly? Reach for Your Pearls — An explanation of why pearls store heat.
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Hard Conditions for Victorian Servants — A synopsis of the conditions in which domestic servants lived and worked during the Victorian era, with a hierarchy of positions and pay.
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"Warming Her Pearls" on the South Bank Show — A performance of Duffy's poem.
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A Short History of LGBTQ Rights in the UK — An examination of LGBT rights in Britain from 1533, with primary source material.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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