Literary Allusions

The Vessel “Demeter”- In the novel Dracula, the title character boards and hijacks a ship called the Demeter. This is an allusion to the Greek goddess Demeter because Dracula is carrying soil from his homeland that he needs to establish himself in a new land. Demeter is a fitting name for the ship because she is the goddess of the earth and that is what Dracula needs the ship to transport. The ship Demeter also resembles the Greek goddess as it was struck with great tragedy when its crew was murdered by Dracula and it crashed. The Greek goddess Demeter also experienced great sorrow and tragedy when she lost her daughter Persephone to another person closely related to death like Dracula, Hades.

Stoker, Bram, and Tudor Humphries. "Chapter 7." Dracula. New York: DK Pub., 1997. 85-99. Print.

“It turns out that the schooner is Russian from Varna, and is called the Demeter. She is almost entirely in ballast of silver sand, with only a small amount of cargo, a number of great wooden boxes filled with mould.”

The Vessel Dracula

The Tempest by William Shakespeare- The line above from the play The Tempest is alluding to the Roman Goddess Ceres, who is the Roman equivalent to Demeter in Greek Mythology. Ceres/Demeter was the Goddess of the Harvest and most prominently wheat. In the passage the messenger goddess Iris is imploring Ceres for a rich and bountiful harvest. In The Tempest, Iris is calling on Ceres to make the lands of the earth more bountiful and productive so the human race can thrive. Demeter was commonly associated with agriculture, land, and plentiful food. In The Tempest Shakespeare alludes to the belief of the ancient Romans and Greeks that it was Ceres or Demeter who provided prosperous fields.

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909-1914. Scene IV Act I. Print.

The Tempest by Shakespeare

¨Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leasf of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and peas; Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep, and flat meads thatched with stover, them to keep; Thy banks with pionèd and twillèd brims.¨