In "Stabat Mater," New Zealand poet Sam Hunt reflects on the shifting dynamic between his parents over the years. As a young woman, his mother was so shy around her much older husband that she called him "Mr. Hunt." As the speaker's father grew older and frailer, however, his mother assumed the role of authority figure and caregiver. The poem explores the way that time and aging change people and their relationships, while also paying tribute to the speaker's mother for her grace and humor in the face of hardship. The title "Stabat Mater" is Latin for "the mother stood," and it alludes to an old Christian hymn about Mary's suffering while witnessing Jesus's crucifixion.

• Read the full text of “Stabat Mater”

• “Stabat Mater” Summary

• “Stabat Mater” Themes

  • 

    Time, Aging, and Relationships

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-14
  • 

    Love and Sacrifice

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-14

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Stabat Mater”

  • Lines 1-4

    My mother called ...
    ... his loving wife."

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-8

    She was embarrassed ...
    ... seem so small.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-10

    Now in a ...
    ... sort of name;

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-12

    And guiding him ...
    ... were a game…

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-14

    That once I ...
    ... there's no return.

    

    

    

    

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• “Stabat Mater” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “father”
    • Line 2: “For,” “first few”
    • Line 5: “when,” “why”
    • Line 6: “how hard”
    • Line 8: “seem so small”
    • Line 13: “stand,” “straight”
    • Line 14: “walk away,” “know,” “no”

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Line 13: “That once I stand up straight”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 11: “And guiding him as he roams old age”
    • Line 13: “That once I stand up straight”
    • Lines 13-14: “, I too must learn / To walk away and know there's no return”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Lines 9-10: “still like a girl, / She calls my father every other sort of name;”
    • Line 12: “Sometimes turns to me as if it were a game…”

• “Stabat Mater” 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.

  • Stabat Mater
  • Inscribed
  • Her father's elder
  • Roams
  • (Location in poem: )

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Stabat Mater”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Stabat Mater” Speaker

• “Stabat Mater” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Stabat Mater”

• More “Stabat Mater” Resources

  • External Resources

    • "Stabat Mater" Hymn — Listen to a performance of the "Stabat Mater" hymn to which this poem alludes, set to music by 18th-century Italian composer Pergolesi.

    • The Poet at Home — Sam Hunt discusses his work and reads his poems from his coastal home.

    • Stabat Mater — Learn more about the famous hymn from which the poem takes its title.

    • Sam Hunt on Poetry — Read an interview with Hunt that discusses his approach to the poetic craft.

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