The choice to focus on a emotion as the structure for my re-telling of the myth is, in large part inspired by my classical background. In Greek 'myth' the pantheon of gods was partly comprised of minor deities who controlled the human condition; there are perhaps more commonly known as abstract personifications such as Justice, Love, Fear or Death. These ranged from emotions and states of mind, to aspects of the human condition, qualities or personality traits, and other abstract nouns. During the 'Golden Age' of Latin literature, poets often emulated Greek literature, incorporating thematic and stylistic elements into their work, such as the use of these personifications in order to intimate the deeds and workings of the gods on the everyday lives of humans (deservedly or not). Such personification and metaphorical descriptions were most famously used by Ovid and Virgil (cf. Ovid Met.11.600ff, Met.8.750ff, Virgil Aen.4.174ff). Having read Ovid a long time ago at school, I revisited the Metamorphoses for inspiration for my personification allegory. As I hadn't remembered reading a personification for Grief, I decided to use this as my abstract noun. Ovid used the Latin form of the word—as opposed to the Greek—in his allegories, which I also used in my re-telling. The word dolor in Latin means grief, but it also means pain (as in physical pain), both of which I imagined Demeter would experience. In Ovid and Virgil's work, much time is spent creating an image of the deity for the reader, particularly a full description of their physical characteristics, which embody the trait of the deity (Somnus is nodding himself to sleep, Fames is wasting away with hunger). In fact, much of my re-telling is the story of Dolor, and the consequence that his presence has for Demeter (unfortunately I did not find a suitable female noun for Grief, however this male messenger for the gods may also allude to another aspect of the myth: the unjust suffering of a woman at the hands of one of the chief 'architects' of the patriarchal classical world).
I tried to incorporate thematic elements as used by Roman authors—personification of the deity (including a description of their appearance) and the consequences of their presence, in this case, the actual Grief that Demeter would suffer—as well as stylistic elements, including a tricolon simile, a chiasmus, epithets, and allusions to other events and ideas not included in my re-telling but which are part of the general story. I also changed the goddesses names to Ceres and Proserpina, which are the Roman versions of their Greek names.
In focusing on this one moment in the 'myth', I wanted to concentrate completely on Demeter's sense of anguish and grief at the loss of her daughter, and the helplessness of her situation. This helplessness is brought out by the use of an external actor, Grief, as the figure who torments her every turn, whilst Demeter is condemned to a double suffering: the loss of her daughter and the constant presence of the deity. Her suffering is made even more distressing with our knowledge of her divinity; most persons affected by the gods were humans, and her irrepressible suffering indicates the raw emotions that all individuals experience. I think this use of abstract nouns indicates the purpose for which they were used: to show the vulnerability of individuals at the hands of uncontrollable forces (as it was assumed in Classical Antiquity and perhaps still today?). Demeter suffers because of Grief, and humans on earth suffer because of Demeter. The 'myth' finishes by alluding back to the cause of this mother's anguish, and is the last word of my re-telling, the sign of her beloved daughter and the root of her grief, Persephone.
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