In the “Historical Figures” section of the packet, Rita Dove’s poem titled Sonnet in Primary Colors contains metaphor and personification are used to portray the life of the famous painter Frida Kahlo. In line one, the metaphor of a “black wing perched over her eyes” is a reference to the artist’s iconic unibrow that she so much embraced. The word “wing” elludes to a bird, which is free and bold, just as Kahlo perceived herself. Another metaphor is present at the end of the poem in line 12 as Dove compares Diego’s love to a skull. The word skull proposes the idea of death, so the metaphor refers to the toxic, but very passionate, relationship that the two painters shared. Personification is used in line 6 where Dove states that, “her spine resides in the romance of mirrors”. Here, mirrors is personified as being romantic. This is done in order to show how comfortable Frida Kahlo was with herself as she looked in the mirror. Most of her paintings are self portraits, so her comfort with herself carried over into her artistic life as she used herself as her main model. Lines 11 through 13 contain the quote, “Diego’s love a skull in the circular window of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow”. This may be a reference to one of Frida Kahlo’s paintings titled “Thinking About Death”. In the self portrait, there is a circle just above the center of her brow with a skull and crossbones inside. This is the circular window, so with the skull being Diego’s love, Dove suggests that Diego’s love is closely correlated with death and dying. But even with that, her brow is not furrowed because she is so comfortable and honest with herself.
I agree with your statement that Frida’s love of Diego is toxic, and closely related to dying through Dove’s skull metaphor. In addition, I believe that part of Dove’s reference to the skull has a lot to do with the skull’s importance and symbolism in Mexican culture. Culture was very important to Frida, and so was Diego. Just as Mexican culture embraces death as a part of life through their Day of the Dead celebration, Frida embraces Diego’s dark side and the toxic nature of their relationship as a part of her life. Dove used this image because it more closely ties the poem to Frida’s life and culture, and shows that while on the outside their relationship may seem very negative, Frida herself accepted that this relationship would not be perfect.
Forced marriages have been a tradition in many cultures for the past hundreds of years. Usually, the parents deriving from a wealthy society or an empire set up these marriages to sustain their power or improve their status. Before free will became an issue in modern society, most women from over a millennium ago were not entitled on having to choose who they marry, especially ones in a higher position than the rest of the citizens. Problems can arise from this issue since couples may end up not truly loving one another. In Rita Dove’s poem “Tou Wan Speaks to Her Husband, Liu Sheng” the setting is placed during the Western Han Dynasty in 200 B.C. At that time, it is reasonable to assume society accepted forced marriages for the sake of the empire and family’s name. The significance of the poem was to illustrate the Chinese prince being spoken to by his consort with an interesting approach, revealing her true feelings about him.
Throughout the poem, it is evident Dove wanted to characterize Tou Wan with an attitude towards her significant other to set the poem’s mood. In lines 6-7 and 21-23 Tou Wan refers to her husband as “my only conqueror” and “my constant emperor”. The structure of these lines places the word “my” as the last word in the line, emphasizing its repetition. Acknowledging her husband as these two names show a slight sense of sarcasm. Using the context of the poem, it can be seen Tou Wan does not actually view her husband with a higher power than her and is mocking him for receiving that perspective. Towards the second half Tou Wan includes the mentioning of the husband's’ affair with the palace girl. The lines before say, “For those times in your niche when darkness oppresses, I will set you a lamp” (34-37) which ties back to the beginning when she mentions the house she will build for him. “I will” in the 1st and 36th line is repeated to support the idea that she is willing to do what pleases him. This part of the poem reveals her motive to acknowledge her compliance as a wife and the prince disregarding her efforts.
The use of contrast is well constructed in the poem. In the first passage Dove writes, “I will build you a house of limited chambers but it shall last forever” (1-4). At the end, lines 41 through 45, it is said “two thousand jade wafers with gold thread puzzled to a brilliant envelope, a suit to keep the shape of your death”. The juxtaposition of the words “limited” and “forever” and referring to a beautiful suit and relating it to the end of the prince’s life provides a mistrustful or uncertain mood, attributing to their relationship. There are other signs of opposition throughout the poem as well such as the idea of Tou Wan providing a lamp for Liu Sheng’s time of darkness. Contrasting two things or ideas together also have the power to emphasize a motif of the story, which in this case is the consort portraying as the light in the prince’s life.
Dove captured an example of a declining marriage between the narrator and whom she is speaking to. Her word choice and literary devices supported the idea of a one-sided relationship.
I agree with your second paragraph when you said that Tou Wan uses "my only conqueror" and "my constant emperor" sarcastically because she doesn't really consider him as being any sort of higher being. I like how you considered this sarcasm to be a mockery of her husband because he has the idea that she thinks of him as greater than her. Also, I agree with your statement that she is willing to do what it takes to please him. To add to this idea, Tou Wan states that she will build "a figurine household/poised in servitude" (13-14). I think the word "figurine" implies that she wants to create a perfect tomb for him, while "poised in servitude" implies that serving him is her only purpose in life.
In “Nestor’s Bathtub”, Rita Dove writes of the truth behind the ruins of Nestor’s palace. By using lengthy descriptions of the palace contrasted with the ruined nature of the house, Dove creates a feeling of neglect that is meant to mirror the neglect that Nestor’s wife felt as Nestor went off on his many exploits. Much of the poem is spent describing the grandeur of Nestor’s palace. Dove states that the bathtub was “ tiny and voluptuous/as a gravy dish/ And the blackened remains of ivory combs and 2853 tall-stemmed /drinking cups. (27-30). Here, Dove writes of elegant dishes and a bathtub that survived the fire that destroyed Nestor’s house. While the claim of “2853 tall-stemmed drinking cups” inspires a feeling of awe, their description as blackened gives the feeling that they have long been destroyed. Dove uses this contrast to show that while the items in the house have the potential to be beautiful, this potential is lost through damage and neglect. This idea is strengthened by Dove’s description of the damaging fire itself. “But this heap of limestone/ blocks-- look how they fell, blasted/ by the force of olive oil/ exploding in the pot...” (15-18). Her description uses explosive diction like “blasted” and “exploding” to both draw attention to the damage and emphasize how destructive the fire was. This further adds to the mood of damage to go along with the neglect of the house. The reason that Dove creates this mood is to show that Nestor’s wife is like the house in many ways. While legend says that Nestor was the hero and the house belonged to him, “legend got it wrong”-- his wife’s contribution to the household and history is long forgotten after she dies, much like the house is destroyed after the fire and largely neglected. Dove wants the reader to realize that just like the house appears ruined and decrepit now, it was once full of splendor, just like while Nestor’s wife may seem unimportant she actually played a huge role in upkeep of the house while Nestor was away.
In Rita Dove’s poem “The Transport of Slaves from Maryland to Mississippi”, she uses various points of view to humanize both the slaves and the Negro driver who got them caught. Dove split up the poem into three sections and each one has its own unique style based on its viewpoint. The first section seems to be from the point of view of the slave woman who helped the driver up. I gathered this from when she claims that the Negro driver could have “been a son of mine” (13) as a reason that she helped him up. Her perspective shows that even as a slave she believed that the driver’s beating was undeserved and brutal. The second section is in quotes and appears to come from some sort of newspaper made for plantation owners. I gathered this because this section of the poem is not poetic in style and has a very matter of fact mood that is commonly seen in news articles. It tells the events of the night in a way that portrays the slaves as villains who committed a “shocking affray and murder” (18). Dove used this perspective to contrast the events as they are told without emotion to her own personal and emotional writing. The third section seems to come from the thoughts of the Driver, who is clubbed in the end. Towards the end of this section, he thinks “Wait. You ain’t supposed to act this way” (29). The driver is appalled by the fact that the slaves are murdering the white men without even skipping a beat, which illuminates the reason that he decides to warn the white men and go for help. Dove’s use of three different viewpoints includes all sides of the slavery issue and proves the fact that looking through different lenses displays historical events very differently.
I think your claim about the second stanza is really interesting and I didn't even consider it when I read it but I totally agree. Like you said, I think Dove did this purposefully to show different points of view on the same subject, just as there were so many differing views on the issue of slavery as a whole. I do believe, however, that the second stanza IS told with emotion, just a different kind. The negative diction in it evokes a mood of suspense and fright. If it is an excerpt from a news article as you claim, I believe that the writer has negative and racist emotions toward slaves in general.
In the “Historical Figures” section of the Rita Dove poetry packet, the poem Canary, dedicated to Michael S. Harper contains auditory, visual imagery and metaphors to summarize Holiday’s troublesome life. The first line states “Billie Holiday’s burned voice,” referring to her amazing voice that was soon sacrificed due to her drug addiction to heroin. By using the word “burned” the reader should almost immediately understand the reference to the drug use. When making heroine, one must burn the crystal form in order for it to turn into a liquid to inject into one’s body; so the connection between her voice and the use is clear and effortless. Within the third line of the first stanza, personification, mood and visual imagery can all be found within one line. The line states, “a mournful candelabra” first showing personification, as a candelabra, a candle stick holder, is only a thing and not one that is living making it impossible for it to posses the feeling of mournfulness. By using the emotion describing word “mournful” the sentence also gives off a mood of depression and sadness within the poem. If even a non-living object can have such a feeling, the reader can easily tell that it is not a positive nor uplifting time. Lastly, just those two words show visual imagery as it describes the room that is being explained, providing a picture within the reader’s mind. Skipping to the second stanza, with the use of metaphors, the reader can comprehend the great sadness and mood that is reassembled and given off. In the second line of the stanza, it states “magic spoon, magic needle,” this phrase references back to the topic of Holiday’s drug use with heroine. As mentioned before, one must burn or “cook” crystal heroine in order for it to be injectable in one’s body; many times one will use a spoon to cook the heroine, referring the the phrase “magic spoon” since the spoon holds the substance that will temporarily change Holiday’s emotions and feelings as if it were magic. The next phrase stated, writes “magic needle,” since the needle is the object that physically injects the substance into the user’s body making it seem as if it is a tool that “magically” solves her problems while the heroine gives one the “special” temporary new feeling and emotion. The last line of the stanza states, “with your mirror and your bracelet of song,” referring to not only Holiday’s drug use, but also her music career in total. Many times, when using the abuse of drugs, one will use a mirror to either inhale, cook, measure, etc. one’s drugs; as Holiday uses a mirror she sees her reflection and within her reflection she is immediately reminded of how disappointed she is in her life for the way events have turned out. As a result of being used by men throughout her life, she turned to drugs for her happiness making Holiday heartbroken and disappointed that she was forced to turn to a harmful substance enable to enjoy the feeling of love, rather a man in her life that truly loved her. Just like a bracelet wraps around one’s wrist, that’s exactly what music did to Holiday but around her life. Music was her everything but may have been the main cause to her sadness and drug use but since there was no way of her avoiding her clear talent, it was an ongoing cycle of sadness, drug use and disappointment.
“The House Slave” by Rita Dove is an example of realism created to depict a slave’s detailed morning. It was written in first person point of view to emphasize the emotional toll a slave would have felt during that era. For example, the beginning of the poem uses visual imagery when Dove mentions the morning dew on the grass and the rest of the morning routine: children putting on their aprons and the process of breakfast-making. In the middle of the passage, the narrator includes the screams of his sister. The last line also includes, “I weep. It is not yet daylight.” This impresses a realistic perspective on the slave’s experiences as soon as he wakes in the morning. It generates a sense of fear so the reader is able to grasp on the narrator’s struggle as a slave.
Dove also provides the idea of restlessness through her words in this poem. In the 8th line Dove writes, “I cannot fall asleep again.” The slave cannot fall asleep because he fears for what the rest of the day brings for him. Another example is lines 11 through 12 where it says, “Those days I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat”. Although the morning brings warmth to the house and field, he shudders at the thought of his sister being whipped by his master. The words “shivering in the heat” juxtapose each other to support the idea of the uneasiness and anxiety he deals with everyday.
Throughout the poem, the use of figure of speech is present. The beginning line says, “The first horn lifts its arm” which is an example of personification. This generates a position of higher power for the horn, a sound in which is mandatory to obey by the slaves. Dove uses simile as she writes, “their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick” (6). The word ivory describes her pale skin and may also be used to refer to the superiority of the mistress. Toothpick represents the woman’s slender figure. Rita Dove uses great examples of imagery and incorporates different styles of figure of speech to illustrate the life of a slave before the break of dawn.
I greatly agree with all of this. The sense of realism is clearly evident throughout the whole poem as it describes a slaves morning routine. The reader can also easily experience the mood of inferiorness of the slaves and their daily feeling of fear through the use of personification and figure of speech. I believe that tactile imagery is also a huge part of this poem as it brings up many aspects of the body feeling emotions vs real actions upon the body; for example "across the back" referring to the fear that is presented when one is whipped.
In the poem “The Abduction” by Rita Dove, the use of positive imagery that transitions into negative imagery shows the contrast between the dream of equality and the harshness of slavery. The poem starts off with positive and happy imagery. An example of this is on lines 4-5 where Rita puts, “...free papers in my pocket, violin // under arm, my new friends Brown and Hamilton by my side.” Rita shows the happy nature of being free and pursuing personal goals through the positive imagery in these lines. The beginning of the poem then transitions into negative imagery which shows that the slave was dreaming and is awakened to the harsh reality of enslavement. The moment the slave wakes up is on line 13-14 where the poem states, “I floated in water I could not drink. Though the pillow // was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep.” The negative imagery here shows the harsh reality contrasting with the previous positive imagery that represented the dreams of the enslaved. Through the use of positive and negative imagery, Rita Dove shows the contrast between the brutal life of a slave and the dreams that they had of freedom. This can also be shown to relate to the civil rights movements as the colored dreamed of equality, but the reality was harsh.
I think the contrast of the positive and negative diction also serves to illustrate how fast things changed for Solomon Northup. Solomon believed that he was being paid well to fiddle in front of joyous crowds in Washington DC. The whole scene at this time is painted as celebratory to show how great life was as a freeman. From one line to the next, the diction seems to change from positive to negative to show that in an instant, Solomon was thrust into the worst possible scenario he could imagine. Dove wanted to emphasize this change because it showed that even the free were not safe from the evils of slavery and racism.
In the poem “The Abduction” in the section of poems written by Rita Dove, Slavery, uses realism to tell of a sorrowful but common story of a free black man that was taken of his rights overnight. In the third and fourth line of the first stanza, the author writes, “-I among them, Solomon Northrup from Saratoga Springs, free papers in my pocket”. Solomon Northrup, the main character and narrator of the poem, was a black man born free in 1808, Minerva, New York that was kidnapped and enslaved in 1808. In the phase, “among them,” this use of metaphor is able to compare Northrup himself as a black man among the white people within the city, being referred to as “them”. By using that term for the white people in the city it shows and represents the clear difference between the two races and although Northrup was free, there was still a considerable amount of discrimination.
In the second stanza, the author writes, “I remember how the windows rattled with each report./Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped./I was lifted-the sky swivelled, clicked into place”(10-12). As I am honestly not 100% sure what the author means within this stanza, from my view I believe as if she is trying to explain the abduction of Northrup with the helpful use of personification, similes, and auditory imagery to help the reader to completely comprehend the actions that are occurring. The use of auditory imagery from the tenth line in the phrase “windows rattled” could refer to and symbolize the reactions that people within the town acquire when they hear of a free black man; their spirits are rattled with discontent and they are unable to accept the news. Also within that phrase, there is the literal meaning of windows rattling symbolizing and representing the many white men that constantly came to his home trying to take away and conquer his rights of being a free man with every time they heard of Northrup. On the twelfth line the author writes, “I was lifted-the sky swivelled, clicked into place.” Swivelled, a verb meaning to turn or pivot on or as if on a swivel, helps create a personification pertaining to the sky. Northrup was lifted, or picked up, by men and as this happened the sky began to spin in all different ways; as all this was happening, everything “clicked into place” as Northrup knew what was happening at the moment of distress and he realized he was being kidnapped. Still not 100% conscious, he was still able to comprehend what was going on. This sadly happened many times throughout this time period as slavery was in full effect at the time.
In the second to last stanza, the author writes, “I floated on water I could not drink” (13). With the use of this metaphor the reader is able to tell that this is explaining Northrup’s journey while being chained and forced to walk through many traitorous areas now that he was a kidnapped slave and had no real rights as a human being. He was forced in terrible conditions with barely any food nor water as it explains; he walked through water in these long walks, but there was no time for him to stop and drink. Sadly many slaves experienced this during this time; and although I do not 100% know exactly what the author is trying to say, I comprehend it through this light.
Continuing with your third paragraph, the second to last stanza is a negative diction with the use of metaphor. I believe that lines 13 through 14 refers to his experiences as he is drugged. The water he "floated on" was poison and he was unable to drink it because it will harm him. As the poem continues, the 14th line says "I climbed on ladders in that sleep." This refers to the inescapable trap he had gotten himself into.
In her poem titled “Belinda’s Petition”, Rita Dove combines sarcasm and the use of capitalization to emphasize the importance of poem. In the second stanza she writes, “pure Air being the sole Advantage/of which I can boast” (line 11-12). I think sarcasm is used here as political and social commentary. The word “boast” basically says that whatever Belinda is talking about is something that is worthy of being flaunted or shown off. Obviously, the simple ability to breath is not something that many people brag about, which is exactly the point. Rita Dove is trying to convey the absolute lack of human rights that slaves faced in the late 1700s through Belinda’s sarcastic remark. Sarcasm is present in the third stanza as well when Dove says (from Belinda’s point of view of course), “All my Childhood/I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance” (line 15-16). Here, Belinda is countering the accusation of ignorance by saying that the only possible way for her to be considered ignorant is by her inability to see into the future as a child. It's obvious that Belinda, at twelve years old, was completely unable to predict her enslavement when she had never heard of any such thing. This sarcasm emphasizes the effect that slavery has had on her as she understands her innocence and lack of freedom.
Dove’s use of capitalization throughout the sentences within the poem emphasizes the important words that have more weight to them. In the first stanza words like “Senate”, “House of Representatives”, “Country”, “Fathers”, and “Nation” are capitalized to show the power and stature of the U.S. Government. The capitalized words in the second stanza present Belinda’s concern with the action of the U.S. Government and how they have affected her. Words in the third stanza that are capitalized draw emphasis to Belinda’s life prior to her enslavement and serve as a reminiscence to when she was young and free.
In the poem Rosa by Rita Dove the use of vague writing shows the that a simple act can have a gigantic impact. The vague wording of the poem in lines 1-3 shows the simpleness of the event yet the lines 7-9 show the impact of the simpleness form the first stanza. Even without using names, only the title, Rita still uses our knowledge of the rosa parks incident to retell the story. The vague writing allows us to picture the event ourselves and fill in the blank details.
I agree that the language used is somewhat vague, but Dove still uses metaphors to describe and tell about this huge event in black history. I don't believe that the vague wording represents the simpleness of the event as a whole. The simple action of sitting is the "simple" part, but if looking at the event as a whole, the reality is, is that it changed history for the civil rights movement making the vagueness of the poem not exactly represent the event in total rather just the action she took.
The poem “Claudette Colvin Goes to Work” by Rita Dove, has a very minimal style when it comes to the use of literary devices. The poem mentions the theme of light vs dark or “flipping the switch” many times suggesting the theme of light within the story and poem. In the second stanza on the fourteenth line, the author states, “Sometimes I wait until it’s dark enough for my body to disappear”. With the use of the metaphor “it’s dark enough for my body to disappear”, Colvin’s doesn't actually disappear but she enjoys the idea of “hiding” behind the dark as she discreetly goes to work in the morning trying to avoid all forms of social contact. Colvin had stood up to white law by refusing to move a seat down on the public bus transportation for a white passenger. As a consequence for this action, Colvin sat in jail for the night and the next day her family and her were greatly afraid of possible retaliation the next day. This explains why she wanted to just disappear and hide behind the shadows of the morning in hopes that she was up and leaving before the busy day had begun. Every time that Colvin’s turned on the light, a large wave of fear whipped over her as she worried she would be caught for her wrong-doings in the white society.
In the third stanza, the author states, “as the male integers light up their smokes and let loose…” it refers to the idea that the white men have no fears in their life and they are able to live freely within the society without having to worry about ever be accused for their “wrong-doings” or “unacceptable actions.” With just one little simple act, all their fears and worries and disappear; Colvin is mocking their lifestyle as the white people can do one simple thing to rid of their problems while Colvin constantly lives in fear now.
Within the last stanza, the sentences are very simple and minimal which refer to and represent how Colvin was going on through life at the time. She followed rules, stayed quiet, and try to pass by with little to no attention drawn to herself due to the fear that she had when it came to her and her family being possibly retaliated for her false actions. Colvin does exactly what has to be done in order to survive with out getting in legal trouble but still standing up for her rights.
I agree with your analysis on the minimal structure of the entirety of the poem. I believe it symbolizes the simplicity of the life she was trying to put up to disguise her actions. The second to last line says, "I do what needs to be done" indicating that she has become a rule-follower to avoid any more consequences she has to face. Although her refusal to give up her seat stirred conflict within the community, she no longer wants to be given more attention from the incident.
“The Situation is Intolerable” by Rita Dove contains a negative mood throughout the poem. In the beginning, the narrator asks, “Aren’t we civilized, too?” He asks this because he wonders why he does not receive the same respect. Lines 2 through 7 refers to why the narrator’s race is a civilized society with comparison to white people. Dove writes, “each starched cuff unyielding” (3) which is a use of personification characterizing the cuff as staying in tact.
The second stanza is an allusion to the country’s situation. Lines 9 and 10 explains the darkness and hatred found throughout the country because of discrimination against the colored. As Dove mentions the stars, she refers to hope. Another use of personification is “missionary stars” (12) indicating its position as ones who bring hope and prosperity even when the country seems to be engulfed in chaos.
The last line of each stanza include religious diction. The three lines says, “in the name of the Lord..”, “the inky brow of heaven”, and “O mercy on our souls”. Each line emphasize the last line which is a call out to God for mercy. This produces a motif of religious hope and how much the citizens rely on Him for help.
I definitely agree with your idea that the first stanza is all about the “civilization” of the narrator’s society. One thing that I would add is that the third stanza contains a harsh contrast to this civilized description. In lines 15-18, Dove writes “So what if we were born up a creek/and knocked flat with the paddle,/ if we ain’t got a pot to piss in/ and nowhere to put it if we did?” Here, Dove is using fairly crude idioms to describe the view that the “civilized” white society has of the black society. These idioms are used in a sarcastic manner to say that it doesn’t matter that black Americans may seem inferior to whites, because the fact that they have nothing is an intolerable evil.
In the poem “Lady Freedom Among Us”, Rita dove uses anaphora and visual imagery to paint a picture of a Lady Liberty far different from the one that most of us imagine. In the third stanza, lines 8-10, Dove writes “with her oldfashioned sandals/with her leaden skirts/with her stained cheeks and whiskers and heaped up trinkets” By using descriptors like “oldfashioned” “stained” and “trinkets”, Dove creates an old- timey, rustic feeling in the reader. This is a huge contrast to the traditional view of lady liberty. The “Lady Freedom” referenced in the title and the poem represents this more traditional view. The statue carries a sword and laurels, symbols of war and victory. She is dressed in battle armor as well. Dove wanted to contrast her description of a more ragged lady liberty with this more heroic imagery for two main reasons: to make lady liberty more closely tied to the common man and to show that liberty in the USA is not in its best shape. She wanted to convey this because it shows that although liberty seems to be falling apart, even the most common of people are a part of lady liberty-- everyone can make a difference in restoring lady liberty to her former glory. That same idea of unity under liberty is seen in the last two lines, when Dove writes “for she is one of the many/ and she is each of us” This line, along with the stubborn tone created by the repeated “don’t”s enhances the idea that if the entire black community stands behind the ideals of liberty, there is nothing that can stand in their way.
Honestly, I didn't understand this poem at all until I read your analysis. I realize now that I agree with your statement about how the statue is a symbol of unity. Another example of the theme of unity under liberty is present on line 16 where Dove writes, "all of you even the least of you". This suggests that no matter the social status of the citizen, each and every person in the society is influential.
“Climbing In” by Rita Dove is telling the story of a white citizen climbing into a city bus. The “dear lady” in line eight is a metaphor for Rosa Parks herself. She is sweating because obviously she’s nervous from her decision to take such an unprecedented social risk. The teeth in line one I believe are a metaphor for the stairs leading into the bus, which ties into the last line of the poem. Here, “the clinking gullet” is a metaphor for the body of the bus itself. A bus is long and narrow, as if to be a throat, but it is clinking because it is metal. The thing that “tumbles head over tail down [it]” (line 14), is not Rosa herself, but the social norm of discrimination against black people when it came to public transportation, as if she were swallowing it up and spitting it out. The short and abrupt sentence fragments that make up this poem are on purpose in my opinion. I feel as though they are used to portray the narrow-mindedness and racism that was so prominent among white people of that time. The motif of metal throughout the poem like “metallic”, “dime”, “silver pole”, and “clinking” give off a cold and harsh tone which portrays the hostility between the two races. At the end of the third stanza and beginning of the fourth, Dove says, “teeth of a wolf/under Grandmother’s cap” (line 10-11). I understood this as an allusion to the folk tale “Little Red Riding Hood”, suggesting that the social threat that a public bus truly poses, is covered up by its simple appearance.
The poem Parsley by Rita Dove uses symbolism of the parrot and connects with an excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat to show the face of evil of the parsley massacre and the emotion of those who endured it. The parrot symbolizes the irony of beauty persisting through terror and the enslavement of something (or a people) that should be free. On lines 6-7 the parrot is compared to “we”, or the slaves, and it says, “we lie down screaming as rain punches through // and we come up green.” The simile here shows how the slaves are submissive to the leader while still fighting back with words, but all they can do is hope that they get up again. The rain punching through describes the rain needed to grow a plant, but in this context it illustrates the abuse given by the general of the massacre, while the slaves hope it ends with them rising again “ and come up green.” On lines 17-18 the parrot meets the word blood which illustrates the horror of the massacre and the feelings of the enslaved. In the excerpt from The farming of Bones the slaves are force fed parsley and beat for not following the exact standards set by the general. This connects to lines 32-35 where the general orders pastries for the parrot which is harsh irony contrasting the richness of pastries with the force feeding of parsley onto the slaves. The parrot also shows that beauty persists in terror. The excerpt shows the slaves all love each other and the poem illustrates this by describing the parrot as imitating spring and parsley green. however the parsley green is also paralleling the massacre. The symbol of the parrot shows the evil of the general and the feelings of those receiving the abuse. The excerpt helps explain the feelings of the slaves more deeply and describes the horrors of the generals doings.
In the excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, there is a large theme and motif surrounding the idea and topic of parsley. Parsley was used to torture the characters within this section of the book and it clearly shows the many painful and disturbing actions the parsley put their bodies through; as they were also beaten. Literary devices; metaphors, similies, visual imagery, auditory imagery, mood, and theme were all used to describe and depict this horrible experience within this small excerpt. To the main the narrator of this section, parsley is such a simple herb that has many different uses within her and her family's daily life, it’s something that keeps them alive through its many uses. Although it can be used for such good within their daily life, it can also be used in such harsh ways almost killing one. As the characters were being beaten and parsley shoved in their mouths, “I told myself that eating the parsley would keep me alive,” (16-17) one character reminded themselves. The parsley brought them so much pain as they constantly were throwing up, but it also kept them alive making the idea of parsley almost like an oxymoron. Death and being alive are two opposites, and that’s exactly the effect the parsley had on them; either dying without it or suffering through extreme pain and agonizing, but still living, with it. With all that said though, I am not completely confident with my interpretation and believe that the symbolism of the parsley may mean and represent something else. The parsley and idea of it depicts a mood within the character and reader. For the reader, they are now constantly reminded of this horrible time whenever parsley is brought up and the word brings an appalling feeling and mood which the reader also experiences because of the brilliant use of visual and auditory imagery used when describing the experience. Not only does the parsley bring this mood and emotion, but the thought of Generalissimo brings this as well. Due to him, these characters and people were under such extreme horrendous pain and because of the parsley, it also brought pain, causing the two elements of this excerpt to have common emotions and mood when brought up in the novel.
Throughout the poem Parsley by Rita Dove, Dove uses the symbol of the sugarcane and the swamp. The sugarcane representing both the fruit of the people’s labors and their hope for the future. The swamp represents the mire that the people are trapped in under Trujillo’s reign. The sugar cane also represents the people themselves. The sugar cane rising out of the swamp represents a message which states that they will rise up from the swamp of Trujillo’s rule and stand tall like sugarcane. The repetition of the line ”out of the swamp the cane appears” in every other stanza in the first section of the poem except for the last two stanzas where it appears in both as the last line. This repetition of this singular hope, symbolized in these words, shows that this hope of Trujillo being brought down is what unites them as one similar to a mantra during meditation. In the third stanza of the first section of the poem the people are compared to the sugarcane. It states that “we lie down screaming as rain punches through/and we come up green ...//out of the swamp, the cane appears” the people laying down screaming are the bulbs of the sugarcane and as the rain punches through, which feeds the plant and the people’s emotions, the sugarcane grows becoming the symbol of hope and outrage at the government. This can also been seen in lines 15-16 where is states “ in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming,/And we lie down” showing that through the abuse of the government the sugarcane remains upright and standing.
I agree with your interpretation of the sugarcane as unity for the slaves. Although, I believe the first and last mention of the cane depicts the field as a horrific place. Towards the end Dove writes, "The cane appears / in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. / And we lie down." (15-17). In my opinion I believe the cane haunts them wherever they go, even in their dreams. Their bodies are abused by the soldiers (the word "lashed" makes me think they were whipped) and the sentence "And we lie down." (17) signifies the death resulted from the Parsley Massacre.
The poem “Parsley” by Rita Dove contains two different scenarios depicting a Haitian slave’s point of view in the cane fields and Trujillo’s thoughts as he roams through the palace. Both settings include examples of juxtaposition emphasizing the light and darkness during the Trujillo Era. As I annotated the poem, I noticed uses of imagery, metaphor, and foreshadowing to set the mood of the story. Throughout The Cane Fields Dove utilizes anaphora providing a rhythmic pattern to showcase a motif as the poem continues. The parrot is portrayed as the “light” in the story. Imitating spring translates to having feathers the color of green (the color of parsley) signifying beauty and wealth. Lines 3-4 says, “Out of the swamp the cane appears / to haunt us, and we cut it down. El General”. Skipping towards the end Dove writes, “He laughs, teeth shining / out of the swamp.” (14-15). These lines represent the immorality of Trujillo’s reign. The sugarcane haunts the slaves as they are forced to work. The separation of “out of the swamp” and “the cane appears” in lines 14-15 follows Trujillo’s shining teeth. This illustrates the dictator as the predator in the slave's’ eyes incorporating a horrific description for the general. The Palace contains a different approach of structure with less repetition, more personal thoughts, and longer stanzas. In comparison to the first passage, the opposition in structure of the two delineate the contrast in status and intelligence between the general and the slaves. In the beginning of the second part of the poem, the parrot is seen as elegance and purity in the life of Trujillo after the death of his mother. Even though his hatred for sweets was present, he was willing to feed the parrot tasty treats “dusted with sugar on a bed of lace.” (42). As the poem progresses, Trujillo’s rage starts to increase and the characterization of the parrot changes. Through lines 61-63 it reads, “the bright feathers arch in a parody / of greenery, as the last pale crumbs / disappear under the blackened tongue.” Dove includes the words “parody of greenery” to ridicule the parrot’s previous portrayal which shows Trujillo’s inhumane personality. The parrot’s blackened tongue convinces that it’s not as beautiful as it seems.
I agree with your analysis about The Cane Fields section. I think the motif of the parrot is a metaphor for life and light, as you said, because El General is portrayed as downcast and upset because of his mother's death. His personal woes cause him to be a corrupt leader, and I think that the parrot is a symbol of the only positive in the society.
In the excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, kinesthetic and visual imagery are used to portray the events of the Parsley Massacre of 1937. The Dominican Republic and Haiti share a border on the island of Hispaniola. Many Dominicans of the time falsely accused their poor Haitian neighbors that lived along the border of stealing their property. Dominican dictator, President Rafael Trujillo, was anti-Haitian, so the complaints of his people resonated with his views. Because of this, Trujillo ordered a genocide of the Haitian people. In the first paragraph the author states, “The young toughs waved parsley sprigs in front of our faces”, and continues in the second paragraph with, “Tell us what this is”. The kinesthetic imagery of waving parsley gives the reader the idea that the soldiers are mocking the narrator. In order to know if the citizen was Dominican or Haitian, Trujillo’s soldiers would ask them what parsley was. If they pronounced the Spanish word “perejil” (seen later on the same line) correctly, the soldier knew that they were Dominican and they would be let go. However, if they pronounced it incorrectly, it was apparent that they were Haitian and they would be tortured and eventually murdered. In the last sentences of the second paragraph, both visual and kinesthetic imagery are used as the narrator describes the torture that was involved when one was named a Haitian. “Shoved down onto our knees”, “parsley stuffed into our mouths”, “forcing the handfuls into my mouth”, and “bulging jaw” are all examples of visual and kinesthetic imagery in order to show the intensity of the torture and hatred toward the Haitian people.
I agree with your interpretation of the visual and kinesthetic imagery showing the intensity of the hatred towards Haitian- Americans. I also think that the images are accompanied by a mood of defiance that shows that the feelings are, in many ways, mutual between the Dominicans and Haitians. This is most clear in the last lines when Danticat writes “To the devil with your world, your grass, your wind, your water, your air, your words.” This clear statement of defiance shows the anger and hatred that Trujillo’s actions inspired in the Haitians. The author wanted to show that the Dominican hatred did not simply depress the Haitians, but further divided the two populations.
In her poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove uses flashbacks and visual imagery to humanize General Trujillo. By humanizing a general who is usually viewed as entirely malevolent, Dove is able to both reveal his motivations and show that history is never black and white, but rather some shade of gray. In the second part of the poem, Dove writes of General Trujillo in his palace, musing over his mother’s death and his own grief. Most of the section is made of flashbacks and the general’s thoughts. In lines 36-40, Dove writes “Ever since the morning/ his mother collapsed in the kitchen/ while baking skull- shaped candies/ for the Day of the Dead, the general/ has hated sweets.” The general’s hatred of sweets proves how profound an effect his mother’s death had on him. Even something as innocent as sweets has been ruined for the general simply because his mother died while baking them. Here, the general is characterized as a hard, bitter character whose anger and resentment are caused mainly by the death of his mother. Dove humanizes Trujillo because the reader can see that although the general is certainly angry, resentful, and otherwise negative, it is out of grief, an emotion that can drastically affect anybody’s personality. Dove also uses visual imagery to show the general’s emotions. Towards the end of her poem, Dove writes, “...Someone/ calls out his name in a voice/ so like his mother’s, a startled tear/ splashes the tip of his right boot,” (63-66). The visual imagery of the tear hitting his boot is a clear representation of the general’s continuing sorrow over his mother’s death. Dove uses this image because it is a powerful message that General Trujillo is a human-- although he ordered the death of thousands of Haitians, he still feels pain and even cries. Dove’s humanization of the general through flashbacks and imagery allows the reader to realize that even horrific actions have a human reason.
Today within the western culture, many people value the materialistic world far more than things one can't put a price on. For example, many people would much rather have a brand new Mercedes over a close relationship with distant family. People value money and power far more than they value personal relationships and daily physical communication; this all follows and represents the relationship a mother has with her daughter in the poem “Demeter, Waiting,” by Rita Dove. Within the first stanza the author writes, “Only someone who hates herself, who believes to pull a hand back from a daughter’s cheek is to put love into her pocket”(1-4). The first topic to tackle in this quote is who “someone” represents; any mother going through this hard time/struggle with their daughter. I personally interpret this quote by believing it compares how frustrated a mother may get with their rebellious daughter, but all they really want is the love a mother has for their child given back to them. They believe that by properly punishing their daughter they will only push them away making their relationship even more broken and the mother hating herself for being the cause of that. So to “win her daughter back” she is putting love or as I interpret, money, in her pocket hoping that their daughter's love for the materialistic world will influence their daughter to possibly want a real relationship with her after she is given what she wants; money. Within the second stanza, I feel as if it is referring to the eternal love mothers have for their daughter as they will do just about anything in the world for them and to get to them. The author writes, “She is gone again and I will not bear it, I will drag my grief through a winter of my own making and refuse any meadow that recycles itself into hope,”(7-11). The daughter has completely forgotten about her mom and has completely isolated herself and this is driving the mother crazy. She “can’t bear” her daughter being gone and so distant and she greatly desires the personal relationship so much that she will “drag [her] grief through a winter of [her] own making,” in other words, she will do just about anything to get to her daughter and create that relationship with her.
I like your interpretation of the second stanza as referring to eternal love. When I first read it, it stood out to me as a more angry section in which Demeter cursed the world for taking Persephone away from her. Dove even uses vulgar diction ("shit on the cicadas") to create this mood. This very angry tone makes the poem seem very negative in nature. After reading your post, I realized that this is not simply anger at Hades, but more anger as a result of love. I now see this poem more as illuminating the anger that can be caused by unconditional love.
In her poem “Persephone, Falling” Rita Dove uses mythological allusions and trite diction to show that the concern a mother has for her children spans from ancient times to modern times. The entire poem is essentially a long allusion to the story of how Persephone was abducted by Hades. According to the myth, Persephone, the daughter of Demeter (goddess of agriculture), was out picking flowers when Hades burst up through a hole in the ground. Hades then whisked her away to the underworld, causing Demeter great grief. The Greeks believed that winter occurred when Persephone was separated from Demeter and Demeter’s grief caused the crops to no longer grow. Dove alludes to the abduction when she writes, “when, sprung out of the earth/on his glittering terrible/carriage, he claimed his due... No one heard her./ No one! She had strayed from the herd,” (4-8). Dove used this allusion to create an effect of concern. Because Persephone “strayed from the herd”, Dove makes it seem that Persephone should have been more careful. The reader can also connect the poem to Demeter’s love for Persephone. By making this connection, the second stanza becomes much more clear. In the second stanza, there is a long parenthetical that uses trite diction to connect modern times with the myth of Persephone. Dove writes “(Remember: go straight to school./ This is important, stop fooling around!/ Don't answer to strangers,” (9-11). The trite phrases “don’t answer to strangers” and “stop fooling around” are common instructions given to children by their mothers in the modern world. Dove used these phrases so that the reader would connect story of Persephone with the modern world. This allows the audience to see that even over 2000 years ago, mothers have been telling their children not to stray off the beaten path, lest they end up like Persephone.
I agree with your whole analysis, especially the third paragraph. I had a hard time understanding why Dove included this stanza but your analysis helped my comprehend its relationship to trying to create a realistic feel for her readers. It's a little humorous how she provided instructions for children to go straight to school, no fooling around, etc. because she is warning them that they might end up like Persephone if they disobey.
Using the helplessness of childhood and the shame of being unable to stand up for yourself to your bullies, Rita Dove illustrates, in the poem Primer, what so many children have always felt: I will show them, I will be better than you all. This is addressed not only to her bullies, the Gatlin kids, but also to her mother, who like the bullies, uses force to intimidate, even though it is in defense of her daughter. Everyone wants to fight their own battles and when a parent figure gets involved it hurts the confidence of the kid. The poem shows this on the last line where it says, “ I’d show them all: I would grow up.” The line describes the feeling that “we won't be like them” that we have all felt. This also shows the relationship that a mother has with their daughters: protect no matter what. When the kid grows up, she will take on the same feeling as her mom.
The word “wiederkehr”, also the title of one of Rita Dove’s poems, translated from German means recurrence or repetition. One reason she may have chosen this title is because her husband is a German writer. This poem contains uses of metaphor emphasizing the motif of uncontrollable.
The narrator in the beginning addresses her lover only wanting her for his own happiness. After mentioning this information Dove writes, “to walk in air and not think so much” (2-3). Walking in air indicates that nothing was in her control. Her man did not allow her to make her own decisions. Towards the end the narrator refers to a choice appearing and reaching for it as soon as possible. That choice is referring to whether or not she should stay or leave the man and her choosing the latter. This provides a shift in tone because she was not able to voluntarily do that for herself in the beginning of the poem.
Throughout “Wiederkehr”, the mood of sadness and discontent is present. The first half of the poem only refers what her maybe-abusive lover wants for her, never mentioning what might be best for the narrator. Lines 4-7 says, “to watch the smile / begun in his eyes / end on the lips / his eyes caressed.” All first lines are examples of enjambment which makes the reader quickly move on to the next line to complete an idea. The repetition of the “s” sounds also make it an example of consonance. His smile emphasizes the first line of the poem acknowledging his happiness is greater than her own.
In Greek mythology, a narcissus is a symbol of Hades, the god of the underworld. In the poem “The Narcissus Flower”, Rita Dove uses mythological allusion and negative diction to portray Hades’ abduction of Persephone from her point of view. Persephone was abducted by Hades when picking flowers in a field. The narcissus flower, similar to a daisy, caught her eye and when she attempted to pick it, she was taken into the underworld. In the second stanza, “as the blossom incinerated” (line 4) refers to the beautiful flower going up in flames just as her life goes up in flames as she is pulled into Hades’ realm. At the end of stanza three and the beginning of stanza four, Dove writes, “this man adamant as a knife easing into the humblest crevice” (line 6-8). “This man” obviously refers to Hades, and in this situation, “humblest” means small in size. These lines suggest that Hades was unyielding in his efforts to keep Persephone, a relatively young and insignificant figure, with him as his consort. In the last stanza, “become a queen whom nothing surprises” (line 13-14), refers to the role Persephone eventually takes on as the goddess of the underworld, as well as the hardened personality she develops, as she sees and experiences anything and everything hell has to offer. Negative diction like “frightened”, “scream”, “incinerated”, and “dying”, as well as the comparison of Hades to a knife, creates an all around eerie and hateful mood for the reader.
The first thing I noticed while analyzing “Chocolate” by Rita Dove was the overall structure. Each stanza represents a piece of chocolate which provides an aesthetically pleasing composition to the reader. The last line of the poem, in my opinion, kind of looks like a bite of the chocolate bar!
Throughout the poem, Dove uses chocolate diction to emphasize the motif of lust. Lines 4-5 says, “how you numb me / with your rich attentions!” The word rich is a word commonly used to describe the taste of chocolate. The narrator’s lover relieves her from her problems whenever she is given attention. The fourth stanza also contains many descriptive words, especially including the words “dark” and “night”, illustrating the darkness of their love.
Dove uses a fast-paced rhythm considering chocolate will melt if not consumed quickly. For example, Dove writes, “If I don’t eat you quickly, / you’ll melt in my palm.” (6-7). Another is lines 15-16 which says, “Enough chatter: I am ready / to fall in love!” These two examples provide chocolate diction to explain her impatience to make love. If she doesn’t act quick enough, his love will fade, providing an image of their relationship. Although the narrator and her lover seemingly have great “sexual experiences” (I’m sorry) together, their love for each other isn’t real.
My opinion on the third stanza was that it shows that both romance and chocolate can be highly impermanent. When I read these lines, the first thing that jumped out at me was the phrase “pleasure seeker”. This is a personification of the chocolate that connects it with romance. Dove notes that chocolate melts if you do not eat it quickly because just as chocolate will melt if you hold on to it for too long, if you do not enjoy a romance fully you will eventually run out of time. I felt that rather than indicating impatience, it was meant as almost an appreciation of the fact that while it can’t last forever, it is worth it while it lasts
In the poem Cozy apologia, Rita Dove uses heroic diction and imagery as well as flashbacks to her teen years to show that she loves her husband Fred in a way that spans across time. In the first stanza, Dove focuses on heroic diction and imagery. She writes “I could choose any hero, any cause or age/And, sure as shooting arrows to the heart,/ Astride a dappled mare.../There you’ll be, with furrowed brow/And chain mail glinting, to set me free:” (4-9). Phrases like “astride a dappled mare” “chain mail” and “set me free” all create a startlingly heroic mood for a poem dedicated to her German- born husband. This mood is not meant to imply that Fred had to fight through legions of enemies to win her over, but rather to connect his love to a time when stories of heroes told of dashing men on horses, clad in armor, rescuing damsels in distress. This connection makes the love Rita and Fred share seem more timeless. In the second stanza, Dove flashes back to her teenage romances. She writes, “Of daydreams: awkward reminiscences/ Of teenage crushes on worthless boys/ Whose only talent was to kiss you senseless.../Sweet with a dark and hollow center,” (15-20) Dove uses this flashback to compare the hollow “love” of her teenage years with the more complete, mature love she now shares with her husband. She refers to her former romances as “awkward”, and claims that they were hollow on the inside. By making these relationships seem purely physical, Dove channels her own growth over the years to show that her relationship with Fred is far more emotional and important. It also reinforces the theme of their love lasting over time.
I actually believe that Rita Dove was trying to explore and examine the dynamic of modern love and show her regret for conforming to society's expectations. The first stanza is a love poem to her husband and she uses medieval imagery here. The second stanza contrasts this with adolescent puppy love directed at worthless boys which ends up conveying a message that we now focus on business and routine over emotion.
I agree with the idea that this poem shows and represents the true love that they have for eachother. She uses the comparison of time and different possible events to prove that she knows no matter what situation or time, he will always be there for her and she will eternally love him. For example, in the first stanza Dove writes, "I could choose any hero, and cause or age / ... Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / as standing in silver stirrups will allow-- / there you'll be"(4-8). So at no matter time, place or situation, Dove knows that "a dappled mare," her husband, will be there for her to love and save her.
The poem Reverie In Open Air by Rita Dove, the use of visual imagery and natural diction to describe the fact that humans materialize everything and are “strangers” to the species we coexist with. On lines 2 and 3 the natural diction used explains the out of syncness we have with other species. “Inappropriate clothes, odd habits / Out of sync with wasp and wren.” The out of the ordinary clothes and habits lead to the view that we are separating ourselves from nature and the wap and wren represent the other species we do not care about since as a society we focus on material goods, not the needs of our planet. On line 5, Rita Dove iterates the fact that humans can be purposefully purposeless. Everything we do has purpose to us, but in the grand scheme it has no purpose. The poem tries to show the tie we have to a material world and how it is destroying the world around us.
In the poem, “Meditation at Fifty Yards, Moving Target” by Rita Dove, it is split into three, what I would call, mini poems, each having their own specific meaning behind them and symbolism. “Safety First” brings to the table the knowledge that many people have and know, that guns can be very dangerous and used for the wrong reason. These objects can kill people and have their own evil within and behind them. But while they have evil in them, each gun is individual and specific in their own way and each holds a kind of beauty within them. They also hold a form of protection but so much harm in damage within only one object.
Within the third mini poem, “Open Air,” it expresses the emotions Dove had when shooting her first gun with the use of a simile, tactile, and visual imagery as well to depict the guilty pleasure shooting a gun gives one. The author writes, “Then the sudden / pleasure of heft--as if the hand / had always yearned for this solemn / fit…”(13-16). As Dove first holds a gun within her hands, there is a huge relief within her and a “pleasure of heft” or weight lifted off her shoulders. The feeling her body gets is almost as if her hand “had always yearned for this solemn fit.” There is a debate in Dove’s mind as she holds the gun, “Don’t pull the trigger, squeeze it-- / squeeze between heart beats. / … Don’t hold / anything, just stop breathing. / … Listen. / Soft, now: squeeze” (18-24). With this tactile and visual imagery, one can imagine the mental banter and feel the gun within their own hands picturing themselves trying to make the same decision. Although, Dove wants to fight this feeling as she believes it is not right to feel this way about such a horrific object, but there is no true way to fight such a satisfying feeling of the fit of the gun in her hands and hitting the targets; similar to the immensely satisfying feeling of hitting targets within one’s own life.
I enjoy your analysis of the second mini poem "Open Air", but I interpreted it a little differently. Instead of a weight lifted OFF her shoulders I feel as though the phrase "please of heft" is referring to the power that she feels when holding a gun. A power which she has never before felt, which is why it seems so natural for her to have it. This natural feeling is present when she says "as if the hand / had always yearned for this" (line 14). This suggests that she's always longed to feel powerful and substantial, maybe because she's a woman, maybe because she's African American, but either way, the gun gives her that power. Also, I wasn't really clear about how what the second half of "Open Air" was, but your idea of an internal conflict makes a lot of sense!
In the poem “Cozy Apologia”, Rita Dove uses personification and simile to create an “apologia” for loving someone. An “apologia” is a written explanation, justification, or defense of one’s opinions. In this case, Dove is justifying her love for her husband Fred, whom the poem is written for. The last line of the first stanza says, “one eye smiling, the other firm upon the enemy” (line 10). An eye obviously can't smile, but Dove personifies it as such in order to contrast the second part of the line. One eye is smiling because one part of Fred is tender and loving, but the other is firm because the other side of him is protective over her. The hurricane is personified as bringing up “a host/Of daydreams” (line 14) because a natural disasters like that causes ones life to flash before their eyes. In lines 20 and 21, “Floyd’s/Cussing up a storm.//You’re bunkered in your/Aerie,//I’m perched in mine”, Dove personifies the storm as being tumultuous and thrashing around them yet they are safe and happy together within it, claiming that no matter what goes on around them, they will continue to love each other. At the end of the second stanza, Dove compares teenage boys to licorice through simile. They are “sweet with a dark and hollow center” (line 20) because they aren't genuine. As Dove reminisces on these young crushes she justifies the true love that she found with her husband.
I agree with last part of your first paragraph. I also want to add that lines 21 through 22 talks about their individualism. Even though they are inseparable from one another, they will never be dependent on one another for true happiness. Line 24 says, "We're content, but fall short of the Divine." The Divine represents perfection. Dove is referring to the fact that they may not be perfect, but they are happy with their relationship and how they still love each other deeply.
The first thing I noticed about the poem “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove was its structure. It contains many short lines, sometimes including only one word. In my opinion, this resembles the beating of the heart, giving a fast rhythm for the whole poem. The second stanza refers to the overall shape of the muscle. Dove writes, “It doesn’t have / a tip to spin on, / it isn’t even / shapely- / just a thick clutch / of muscle, / lopsided, / mute.” (10-17). At this point, Dove is referring to the stereotypes of what a heart looks and sounds like, no shape and little to no sound. Then she writes, “Still, / I feel it inside / its cage sounding / a dull tattoo: / I want, I want-” (17-21). The statement “I want, I want-” (21) again is another resemblance of a heartbeat shown by its repetition and the lines before. In comparison to the first half of the stanza, Dove mentions this to emphasize that even though it is just muscle, she can feel her emotions building up in her heart. Overall I think the message of the poem is no matter what the heart’s purpose is, she can’t help but feel real and deep emotions in her heart. The last statement says, “Here, / it’s all yours, now- / but you’ll have / to take me, / too.” (28-32). By the end of the poem, the narrator is stating how she may be feeling something for the other person. The title “Heart to Heart” refers to her confessing her feelings to the person she wants the most.
In “Lady Freedom Among Us”, Dove uses powerfully ordinary diction in extraordinary ways to create a unique, modern American portrait. Dove highlights how each of our unique strengths, weaknesses, and differences create a colorful story that add to our freedom. She strips the ideal from the "American Dream" and paints an image of what a true American often looks like: "with her old fashioned sandals", "she has fitted her hair under a hand-me-down cap". These are the images of America: hard-working, sensible people who know that "freedom" does not always mean "ease".
I like your interpretation of the poem as stating that freedom does not necessarily come easy. I think Dove also offered a solution to overcoming obstacles in the way of freedom. There is an idea of unity under liberty seen in the last two lines, when Dove writes “for she is one of the many/ and she is each of us” This line, along with the stubborn tone created by the repeated “don’t”s enhances the idea that if the entire black community stands behind the ideals of liberty, there is nothing that can stand in their way. This connects to your idea because it shows how America can only achieve liberty with all of its hard-working, sensible people.
In Rita Dove’s poem “The Bistro Styx”, Rita dove uses an allusion, indirect characterization, and a light versus dark motif to tell the story of a mother who feels that she knows her daughter is taking the wrong path but cannot change her actions, while changing the perspective of an ancient myth to fit modern times. The word Styx in the title is a reference to the river that crossed the underworld in Greek mythology. This immediately made me think that the poem was an allusion to Persephone and her life in the underworld. Throughout the whole poem, Demeter is portrayed as slightly dismayed at her daughter’s life choices. Dove writes, “Are you content to conduct your life/ as a cliche and, what’s worse,/ an anachronism, the brooding artist's demimonde?” (17-19). Here, Dove characterizes Demeter indirectly, and her thoughts imply that she highly disapproves of her daughter’s decision to live with an artist (Hades). Demeter calls her a demimonde, which means she believes Persephone’s morals are not as high as they once were, and the word really shows the despair Demeter is feeling. Dove uses a light vs dark motif throughout the whole poem to show that while Demeter very much sees Persephone as in the wrong, Persephone sees it much differently. This is most obvious in lines 45- 48, when Dove writes “ before the warning: ‘He dresses all/ in black now. Me, he drapes in blues and carmine--/ and even though I think it’s kinda cute,/ in company I tend toward more muted shades.” I thought that by referring to Persephone’s description of Hades’ dress as a warning, it gave the whole quote a negative connotation. This negativity is contrasted with the fact that Persephone thinks it is “cute”. For me, this illustrated the nature of this mother- daughter relationship- Demeter is worried that she is choosing darkness over light, while Persephone recognizes that there may be some value in dark that her mother does not quite understand.
In the poem “Fox,” by Rita Dove, the poem is written with a very simplistic and realism style as I am made to believe that this method refers to the girls very simple life. Within the first stanza, Dove writes, “She knew that / she was and so / was capable / of anything / anyone / could imagine” (1-6). Within this first sentence, it describes a girl that has completely found herself within this world; she knows what she can and can’t accomplish and, what I am led to think, she has reached enlightenment. The next sentence writes, “She loved what / she was....” (7-8). This girl is not only content with her life, but also content with herself and her capabilities and it leads me to remind myself of a man by the name of Vasudeva in the novel “Siddhartha.” Vasudeva lived a very simple life but was completely content and was enlightened, just like this young girl.
Within the second stanza, the author writes, “She imagined / nothing. / She loved / nothing more / than what she had,...”(11-15). The girl lives a simplistic lifestyle, but she is completely content with what she has, even though it may not be much in some people’s eye’s, it’s perfect for her. Much like her simplistic lifestyle, the poem is written with no more than three words per line in each stanza. I feel as if this completely refers to the idea of her simple living, the poem is written with simple writing.
In the poem “Mother Love” by Rita Dove, mythological allusion and fire diction are used to create a theme of motherly instinct. The whole first stanza talks about the innate instinct that comes along with being a mother. In this case, Demeter is reflecting on herself and her inability to lose her motherly instinct. In line 4 she states that, “Any woman knows the remedy for grief / is being needed”. After the loss of Persephone, Demeter became a nurse maid to fill the void and keep herself occupied in order to cope with her grieving. Lines 5 through 12 present the passion =ate love that a mother feels for her child while getting little in return. In these lines Demeter outlines all a mother does for her children until they no longer need the help and begin to pull away from the relationship. This separation between mother and child is seen in line 11 when the first fire diction is used in the phrase, “as their fledgling heroes slip / through // storming the smoky battlefield”. The term fledgling heroes refers to other young men and/or women that begin to get in the way of the parent-child bond, as if being smoke which obstructs one’s view. In the second stanza, Demeter is given a baby to take care of, and of course, she accepts it because she no longer has the responsibility of looking after her own child. She “put aside the lavish trousseau of the mourner” (line 19), because she is getting rid of the blackness of grief that she’s carried with her for so long in order to be the best she can be for this new child. Line 22 presents more fire diction as Demeter, “laid him on the smoldering embers”. In mythology, the act of cooking a mortal child causes that child to become immortal, so that is what she is doing. I feel as though the word smoldering is used here in a literal sense as well as to describe Demeter’s emotions. As seen in the first stanza, she has a deep desire to feel needed again, to feel like a mother again, and to practice those maternal instincts that she will always have. By making this baby immortal, she is creating an avenue to fulfill that desire for eternity. The use of fire diction diction creates a warm but harsh mood, just as a mother’s love is warm and nurturing at the beginning of our lives, but becomes overbearing and harsh once we are grown.
In the “Historical Figures” section of the packet, Rita Dove’s poem titled Sonnet in Primary Colors contains metaphor and personification are used to portray the life of the famous painter Frida Kahlo. In line one, the metaphor of a “black wing perched over her eyes” is a reference to the artist’s iconic unibrow that she so much embraced. The word “wing” elludes to a bird, which is free and bold, just as Kahlo perceived herself. Another metaphor is present at the end of the poem in line 12 as Dove compares Diego’s love to a skull. The word skull proposes the idea of death, so the metaphor refers to the toxic, but very passionate, relationship that the two painters shared.
ReplyDeletePersonification is used in line 6 where Dove states that, “her spine resides in the romance of mirrors”. Here, mirrors is personified as being romantic. This is done in order to show how comfortable Frida Kahlo was with herself as she looked in the mirror. Most of her paintings are self portraits, so her comfort with herself carried over into her artistic life as she used herself as her main model.
Lines 11 through 13 contain the quote, “Diego’s love a skull in the circular window of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow”. This may be a reference to one of Frida Kahlo’s paintings titled “Thinking About Death”. In the self portrait, there is a circle just above the center of her brow with a skull and crossbones inside. This is the circular window, so with the skull being Diego’s love, Dove suggests that Diego’s love is closely correlated with death and dying. But even with that, her brow is not furrowed because she is so comfortable and honest with herself.
I agree with your statement that Frida’s love of Diego is toxic, and closely related to dying through Dove’s skull metaphor. In addition, I believe that part of Dove’s reference to the skull has a lot to do with the skull’s importance and symbolism in Mexican culture. Culture was very important to Frida, and so was Diego. Just as Mexican culture embraces death as a part of life through their Day of the Dead celebration, Frida embraces Diego’s dark side and the toxic nature of their relationship as a part of her life. Dove used this image because it more closely ties the poem to Frida’s life and culture, and shows that while on the outside their relationship may seem very negative, Frida herself accepted that this relationship would not be perfect.
DeleteForced marriages have been a tradition in many cultures for the past hundreds of years. Usually, the parents deriving from a wealthy society or an empire set up these marriages to sustain their power or improve their status. Before free will became an issue in modern society, most women from over a millennium ago were not entitled on having to choose who they marry, especially ones in a higher position than the rest of the citizens. Problems can arise from this issue since couples may end up not truly loving one another. In Rita Dove’s poem “Tou Wan Speaks to Her Husband, Liu Sheng” the setting is placed during the Western Han Dynasty in 200 B.C. At that time, it is reasonable to assume society accepted forced marriages for the sake of the empire and family’s name. The significance of the poem was to illustrate the Chinese prince being spoken to by his consort with an interesting approach, revealing her true feelings about him.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the poem, it is evident Dove wanted to characterize Tou Wan with an attitude towards her significant other to set the poem’s mood. In lines 6-7 and 21-23 Tou Wan refers to her husband as “my only conqueror” and “my constant emperor”. The structure of these lines places the word “my” as the last word in the line, emphasizing its repetition. Acknowledging her husband as these two names show a slight sense of sarcasm. Using the context of the poem, it can be seen Tou Wan does not actually view her husband with a higher power than her and is mocking him for receiving that perspective. Towards the second half Tou Wan includes the mentioning of the husband's’ affair with the palace girl. The lines before say, “For those times in your niche when darkness oppresses, I will set you a lamp” (34-37) which ties back to the beginning when she mentions the house she will build for him. “I will” in the 1st and 36th line is repeated to support the idea that she is willing to do what pleases him. This part of the poem reveals her motive to acknowledge her compliance as a wife and the prince disregarding her efforts.
The use of contrast is well constructed in the poem. In the first passage Dove writes, “I will build you a house of limited chambers but it shall last forever” (1-4). At the end, lines 41 through 45, it is said “two thousand jade wafers with gold thread puzzled to a brilliant envelope, a suit to keep the shape of your death”. The juxtaposition of the words “limited” and “forever” and referring to a beautiful suit and relating it to the end of the prince’s life provides a mistrustful or uncertain mood, attributing to their relationship. There are other signs of opposition throughout the poem as well such as the idea of Tou Wan providing a lamp for Liu Sheng’s time of darkness. Contrasting two things or ideas together also have the power to emphasize a motif of the story, which in this case is the consort portraying as the light in the prince’s life.
Dove captured an example of a declining marriage between the narrator and whom she is speaking to. Her word choice and literary devices supported the idea of a one-sided relationship.
I agree with your second paragraph when you said that Tou Wan uses "my only conqueror" and "my constant emperor" sarcastically because she doesn't really consider him as being any sort of higher being. I like how you considered this sarcasm to be a mockery of her husband because he has the idea that she thinks of him as greater than her. Also, I agree with your statement that she is willing to do what it takes to please him. To add to this idea, Tou Wan states that she will build "a figurine household/poised in servitude" (13-14). I think the word "figurine" implies that she wants to create a perfect tomb for him, while "poised in servitude" implies that serving him is her only purpose in life.
DeleteIn “Nestor’s Bathtub”, Rita Dove writes of the truth behind the ruins of Nestor’s palace. By using lengthy descriptions of the palace contrasted with the ruined nature of the house, Dove creates a feeling of neglect that is meant to mirror the neglect that Nestor’s wife felt as Nestor went off on his many exploits.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the poem is spent describing the grandeur of Nestor’s palace. Dove states that the bathtub was “ tiny and voluptuous/as a gravy dish/ And the blackened remains of ivory combs and 2853 tall-stemmed /drinking cups. (27-30). Here, Dove writes of elegant dishes and a bathtub that survived the fire that destroyed Nestor’s house. While the claim of “2853 tall-stemmed drinking cups” inspires a feeling of awe, their description as blackened gives the feeling that they have long been destroyed. Dove uses this contrast to show that while the items in the house have the potential to be beautiful, this potential is lost through damage and neglect. This idea is strengthened by Dove’s description of the damaging fire itself. “But this heap of limestone/ blocks-- look how they fell, blasted/ by the force of olive oil/ exploding in the pot...” (15-18). Her description uses explosive diction like “blasted” and “exploding” to both draw attention to the damage and emphasize how destructive the fire was. This further adds to the mood of damage to go along with the neglect of the house.
The reason that Dove creates this mood is to show that Nestor’s wife is like the house in many ways. While legend says that Nestor was the hero and the house belonged to him, “legend got it wrong”-- his wife’s contribution to the household and history is long forgotten after she dies, much like the house is destroyed after the fire and largely neglected. Dove wants the reader to realize that just like the house appears ruined and decrepit now, it was once full of splendor, just like while Nestor’s wife may seem unimportant she actually played a huge role in upkeep of the house while Nestor was away.
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ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove’s poem “The Transport of Slaves from Maryland to Mississippi”, she uses various points of view to humanize both the slaves and the Negro driver who got them caught. Dove split up the poem into three sections and each one has its own unique style based on its viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteThe first section seems to be from the point of view of the slave woman who helped the driver up. I gathered this from when she claims that the Negro driver could have “been a son of mine” (13) as a reason that she helped him up. Her perspective shows that even as a slave she believed that the driver’s beating was undeserved and brutal.
The second section is in quotes and appears to come from some sort of newspaper made for plantation owners. I gathered this because this section of the poem is not poetic in style and has a very matter of fact mood that is commonly seen in news articles. It tells the events of the night in a way that portrays the slaves as villains who committed a “shocking affray and murder” (18). Dove used this perspective to contrast the events as they are told without emotion to her own personal and emotional writing.
The third section seems to come from the thoughts of the Driver, who is clubbed in the end. Towards the end of this section, he thinks “Wait. You ain’t supposed to act this way” (29). The driver is appalled by the fact that the slaves are murdering the white men without even skipping a beat, which illuminates the reason that he decides to warn the white men and go for help.
Dove’s use of three different viewpoints includes all sides of the slavery issue and proves the fact that looking through different lenses displays historical events very differently.
I think your claim about the second stanza is really interesting and I didn't even consider it when I read it but I totally agree. Like you said, I think Dove did this purposefully to show different points of view on the same subject, just as there were so many differing views on the issue of slavery as a whole. I do believe, however, that the second stanza IS told with emotion, just a different kind. The negative diction in it evokes a mood of suspense and fright. If it is an excerpt from a news article as you claim, I believe that the writer has negative and racist emotions toward slaves in general.
DeleteIn the “Historical Figures” section of the Rita Dove poetry packet, the poem Canary, dedicated to Michael S. Harper contains auditory, visual imagery and metaphors to summarize Holiday’s troublesome life. The first line states “Billie Holiday’s burned voice,” referring to her amazing voice that was soon sacrificed due to her drug addiction to heroin. By using the word “burned” the reader should almost immediately understand the reference to the drug use. When making heroine, one must burn the crystal form in order for it to turn into a liquid to inject into one’s body; so the connection between her voice and the use is clear and effortless.
ReplyDeleteWithin the third line of the first stanza, personification, mood and visual imagery can all be found within one line. The line states, “a mournful candelabra” first showing personification, as a candelabra, a candle stick holder, is only a thing and not one that is living making it impossible for it to posses the feeling of mournfulness. By using the emotion describing word “mournful” the sentence also gives off a mood of depression and sadness within the poem. If even a non-living object can have such a feeling, the reader can easily tell that it is not a positive nor uplifting time. Lastly, just those two words show visual imagery as it describes the room that is being explained, providing a picture within the reader’s mind.
Skipping to the second stanza, with the use of metaphors, the reader can comprehend the great sadness and mood that is reassembled and given off. In the second line of the stanza, it states “magic spoon, magic needle,” this phrase references back to the topic of Holiday’s drug use with heroine. As mentioned before, one must burn or “cook” crystal heroine in order for it to be injectable in one’s body; many times one will use a spoon to cook the heroine, referring the the phrase “magic spoon” since the spoon holds the substance that will temporarily change Holiday’s emotions and feelings as if it were magic. The next phrase stated, writes “magic needle,” since the needle is the object that physically injects the substance into the user’s body making it seem as if it is a tool that “magically” solves her problems while the heroine gives one the “special” temporary new feeling and emotion. The last line of the stanza states, “with your mirror and your bracelet of song,” referring to not only Holiday’s drug use, but also her music career in total. Many times, when using the abuse of drugs, one will use a mirror to either inhale, cook, measure, etc. one’s drugs; as Holiday uses a mirror she sees her reflection and within her reflection she is immediately reminded of how disappointed she is in her life for the way events have turned out. As a result of being used by men throughout her life, she turned to drugs for her happiness making Holiday heartbroken and disappointed that she was forced to turn to a harmful substance enable to enjoy the feeling of love, rather a man in her life that truly loved her. Just like a bracelet wraps around one’s wrist, that’s exactly what music did to Holiday but around her life. Music was her everything but may have been the main cause to her sadness and drug use but since there was no way of her avoiding her clear talent, it was an ongoing cycle of sadness, drug use and disappointment.
“The House Slave” by Rita Dove is an example of realism created to depict a slave’s detailed morning. It was written in first person point of view to emphasize the emotional toll a slave would have felt during that era. For example, the beginning of the poem uses visual imagery when Dove mentions the morning dew on the grass and the rest of the morning routine: children putting on their aprons and the process of breakfast-making. In the middle of the passage, the narrator includes the screams of his sister. The last line also includes, “I weep. It is not yet daylight.” This impresses a realistic perspective on the slave’s experiences as soon as he wakes in the morning. It generates a sense of fear so the reader is able to grasp on the narrator’s struggle as a slave.
ReplyDeleteDove also provides the idea of restlessness through her words in this poem. In the 8th line Dove writes, “I cannot fall asleep again.” The slave cannot fall asleep because he fears for what the rest of the day brings for him. Another example is lines 11 through 12 where it says, “Those days I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat”. Although the morning brings warmth to the house and field, he shudders at the thought of his sister being whipped by his master. The words “shivering in the heat” juxtapose each other to support the idea of the uneasiness and anxiety he deals with everyday.
Throughout the poem, the use of figure of speech is present. The beginning line says, “The first horn lifts its arm” which is an example of personification. This generates a position of higher power for the horn, a sound in which is mandatory to obey by the slaves. Dove uses simile as she writes, “their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick” (6). The word ivory describes her pale skin and may also be used to refer to the superiority of the mistress. Toothpick represents the woman’s slender figure. Rita Dove uses great examples of imagery and incorporates different styles of figure of speech to illustrate the life of a slave before the break of dawn.
I greatly agree with all of this. The sense of realism is clearly evident throughout the whole poem as it describes a slaves morning routine. The reader can also easily experience the mood of inferiorness of the slaves and their daily feeling of fear through the use of personification and figure of speech. I believe that tactile imagery is also a huge part of this poem as it brings up many aspects of the body feeling emotions vs real actions upon the body; for example "across the back" referring to the fear that is presented when one is whipped.
DeleteIn the poem “The Abduction” by Rita Dove, the use of positive imagery that transitions into negative imagery shows the contrast between the dream of equality and the harshness of slavery. The poem starts off with positive and happy imagery. An example of this is on lines 4-5 where Rita puts, “...free papers in my pocket, violin // under arm, my new friends Brown and Hamilton by my side.” Rita shows the happy nature of being free and pursuing personal goals through the positive imagery in these lines. The beginning of the poem then transitions into negative imagery which shows that the slave was dreaming and is awakened to the harsh reality of enslavement. The moment the slave wakes up is on line 13-14 where the poem states, “I floated in water I could not drink. Though the pillow // was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep.” The negative imagery here shows the harsh reality contrasting with the previous positive imagery that represented the dreams of the enslaved. Through the use of positive and negative imagery, Rita Dove shows the contrast between the brutal life of a slave and the dreams that they had of freedom. This can also be shown to relate to the civil rights movements as the colored dreamed of equality, but the reality was harsh.
ReplyDelete- Samuel Maxon
I think the contrast of the positive and negative diction also serves to illustrate how fast things changed for Solomon Northup. Solomon believed that he was being paid well to fiddle in front of joyous crowds in Washington DC. The whole scene at this time is painted as celebratory to show how great life was as a freeman. From one line to the next, the diction seems to change from positive to negative to show that in an instant, Solomon was thrust into the worst possible scenario he could imagine. Dove wanted to emphasize this change because it showed that even the free were not safe from the evils of slavery and racism.
DeleteIn the poem “The Abduction” in the section of poems written by Rita Dove, Slavery, uses realism to tell of a sorrowful but common story of a free black man that was taken of his rights overnight. In the third and fourth line of the first stanza, the author writes, “-I among them, Solomon Northrup from Saratoga Springs, free papers in my pocket”. Solomon Northrup, the main character and narrator of the poem, was a black man born free in 1808, Minerva, New York that was kidnapped and enslaved in 1808. In the phase, “among them,” this use of metaphor is able to compare Northrup himself as a black man among the white people within the city, being referred to as “them”. By using that term for the white people in the city it shows and represents the clear difference between the two races and although Northrup was free, there was still a considerable amount of discrimination.
ReplyDeleteIn the second stanza, the author writes, “I remember how the windows rattled with each report./Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped./I was lifted-the sky swivelled, clicked into place”(10-12). As I am honestly not 100% sure what the author means within this stanza, from my view I believe as if she is trying to explain the abduction of Northrup with the helpful use of personification, similes, and auditory imagery to help the reader to completely comprehend the actions that are occurring. The use of auditory imagery from the tenth line in the phrase “windows rattled” could refer to and symbolize the reactions that people within the town acquire when they hear of a free black man; their spirits are rattled with discontent and they are unable to accept the news. Also within that phrase, there is the literal meaning of windows rattling symbolizing and representing the many white men that constantly came to his home trying to take away and conquer his rights of being a free man with every time they heard of Northrup. On the twelfth line the author writes, “I was lifted-the sky swivelled, clicked into place.” Swivelled, a verb meaning to turn or pivot on or as if on a swivel, helps create a personification pertaining to the sky. Northrup was lifted, or picked up, by men and as this happened the sky began to spin in all different ways; as all this was happening, everything “clicked into place” as Northrup knew what was happening at the moment of distress and he realized he was being kidnapped. Still not 100% conscious, he was still able to comprehend what was going on. This sadly happened many times throughout this time period as slavery was in full effect at the time.
In the second to last stanza, the author writes, “I floated on water I could not drink” (13). With the use of this metaphor the reader is able to tell that this is explaining Northrup’s journey while being chained and forced to walk through many traitorous areas now that he was a kidnapped slave and had no real rights as a human being. He was forced in terrible conditions with barely any food nor water as it explains; he walked through water in these long walks, but there was no time for him to stop and drink. Sadly many slaves experienced this during this time; and although I do not 100% know exactly what the author is trying to say, I comprehend it through this light.
Continuing with your third paragraph, the second to last stanza is a negative diction with the use of metaphor. I believe that lines 13 through 14 refers to his experiences as he is drugged. The water he "floated on" was poison and he was unable to drink it because it will harm him. As the poem continues, the 14th line says "I climbed on ladders in that sleep." This refers to the inescapable trap he had gotten himself into.
ReplyDeleteThis was a comment for McKenna's post :)
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ReplyDeleteIn her poem titled “Belinda’s Petition”, Rita Dove combines sarcasm and the use of capitalization to emphasize the importance of poem. In the second stanza she writes, “pure Air being the sole Advantage/of which I can boast” (line 11-12). I think sarcasm is used here as political and social commentary. The word “boast” basically says that whatever Belinda is talking about is something that is worthy of being flaunted or shown off. Obviously, the simple ability to breath is not something that many people brag about, which is exactly the point. Rita Dove is trying to convey the absolute lack of human rights that slaves faced in the late 1700s through Belinda’s sarcastic remark. Sarcasm is present in the third stanza as well when Dove says (from Belinda’s point of view of course), “All my Childhood/I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance” (line 15-16). Here, Belinda is countering the accusation of ignorance by saying that the only possible way for her to be considered ignorant is by her inability to see into the future as a child. It's obvious that Belinda, at twelve years old, was completely unable to predict her enslavement when she had never heard of any such thing. This sarcasm emphasizes the effect that slavery has had on her as she understands her innocence and lack of freedom.
ReplyDeleteDove’s use of capitalization throughout the sentences within the poem emphasizes the important words that have more weight to them. In the first stanza words like “Senate”, “House of Representatives”, “Country”, “Fathers”, and “Nation” are capitalized to show the power and stature of the U.S. Government. The capitalized words in the second stanza present Belinda’s concern with the action of the U.S. Government and how they have affected her. Words in the third stanza that are capitalized draw emphasis to Belinda’s life prior to her enslavement and serve as a reminiscence to when she was young and free.
In the poem Rosa by Rita Dove the use of vague writing shows the that a simple act can have a gigantic impact. The vague wording of the poem in lines 1-3 shows the simpleness of the event yet the lines 7-9 show the impact of the simpleness form the first stanza. Even without using names, only the title, Rita still uses our knowledge of the rosa parks incident to retell the story. The vague writing allows us to picture the event ourselves and fill in the blank details.
ReplyDelete-Samuel Maxon
I agree that the language used is somewhat vague, but Dove still uses metaphors to describe and tell about this huge event in black history. I don't believe that the vague wording represents the simpleness of the event as a whole. The simple action of sitting is the "simple" part, but if looking at the event as a whole, the reality is, is that it changed history for the civil rights movement making the vagueness of the poem not exactly represent the event in total rather just the action she took.
DeleteThe poem “Claudette Colvin Goes to Work” by Rita Dove, has a very minimal style when it comes to the use of literary devices. The poem mentions the theme of light vs dark or “flipping the switch” many times suggesting the theme of light within the story and poem. In the second stanza on the fourteenth line, the author states, “Sometimes I wait until it’s dark enough for my body to disappear”. With the use of the metaphor “it’s dark enough for my body to disappear”, Colvin’s doesn't actually disappear but she enjoys the idea of “hiding” behind the dark as she discreetly goes to work in the morning trying to avoid all forms of social contact. Colvin had stood up to white law by refusing to move a seat down on the public bus transportation for a white passenger. As a consequence for this action, Colvin sat in jail for the night and the next day her family and her were greatly afraid of possible retaliation the next day. This explains why she wanted to just disappear and hide behind the shadows of the morning in hopes that she was up and leaving before the busy day had begun. Every time that Colvin’s turned on the light, a large wave of fear whipped over her as she worried she would be caught for her wrong-doings in the white society.
ReplyDeleteIn the third stanza, the author states, “as the male integers light up their smokes and let loose…” it refers to the idea that the white men have no fears in their life and they are able to live freely within the society without having to worry about ever be accused for their “wrong-doings” or “unacceptable actions.” With just one little simple act, all their fears and worries and disappear; Colvin is mocking their lifestyle as the white people can do one simple thing to rid of their problems while Colvin constantly lives in fear now.
Within the last stanza, the sentences are very simple and minimal which refer to and represent how Colvin was going on through life at the time. She followed rules, stayed quiet, and try to pass by with little to no attention drawn to herself due to the fear that she had when it came to her and her family being possibly retaliated for her false actions. Colvin does exactly what has to be done in order to survive with out getting in legal trouble but still standing up for her rights.
I agree with your analysis on the minimal structure of the entirety of the poem. I believe it symbolizes the simplicity of the life she was trying to put up to disguise her actions. The second to last line says, "I do what needs to be done" indicating that she has become a rule-follower to avoid any more consequences she has to face. Although her refusal to give up her seat stirred conflict within the community, she no longer wants to be given more attention from the incident.
Delete“The Situation is Intolerable” by Rita Dove contains a negative mood throughout the poem. In the beginning, the narrator asks, “Aren’t we civilized, too?” He asks this because he wonders why he does not receive the same respect. Lines 2 through 7 refers to why the narrator’s race is a civilized society with comparison to white people. Dove writes, “each starched cuff unyielding” (3) which is a use of personification characterizing the cuff as staying in tact.
ReplyDeleteThe second stanza is an allusion to the country’s situation. Lines 9 and 10 explains the darkness and hatred found throughout the country because of discrimination against the colored. As Dove mentions the stars, she refers to hope. Another use of personification is “missionary stars” (12) indicating its position as ones who bring hope and prosperity even when the country seems to be engulfed in chaos.
The last line of each stanza include religious diction. The three lines says, “in the name of the Lord..”, “the inky brow of heaven”, and “O mercy on our souls”. Each line emphasize the last line which is a call out to God for mercy. This produces a motif of religious hope and how much the citizens rely on Him for help.
I definitely agree with your idea that the first stanza is all about the “civilization” of the narrator’s society. One thing that I would add is that the third stanza contains a harsh contrast to this civilized description. In lines 15-18, Dove writes “So what if we were born up a creek/and knocked flat with the paddle,/ if we ain’t got a pot to piss in/ and nowhere to put it if we did?” Here, Dove is using fairly crude idioms to describe the view that the “civilized” white society has of the black society. These idioms are used in a sarcastic manner to say that it doesn’t matter that black Americans may seem inferior to whites, because the fact that they have nothing is an intolerable evil.
DeleteIn the poem “Lady Freedom Among Us”, Rita dove uses anaphora and visual imagery to paint a picture of a Lady Liberty far different from the one that most of us imagine. In the third stanza, lines 8-10, Dove writes “with her oldfashioned sandals/with her leaden skirts/with her stained cheeks and whiskers and heaped up trinkets” By using descriptors like “oldfashioned” “stained” and “trinkets”, Dove creates an old- timey, rustic feeling in the reader. This is a huge contrast to the traditional view of lady liberty. The “Lady Freedom” referenced in the title and the poem represents this more traditional view. The statue carries a sword and laurels, symbols of war and victory. She is dressed in battle armor as well. Dove wanted to contrast her description of a more ragged lady liberty with this more heroic imagery for two main reasons: to make lady liberty more closely tied to the common man and to show that liberty in the USA is not in its best shape. She wanted to convey this because it shows that although liberty seems to be falling apart, even the most common of people are a part of lady liberty-- everyone can make a difference in restoring lady liberty to her former glory. That same idea of unity under liberty is seen in the last two lines, when Dove writes “for she is one of the many/ and she is each of us” This line, along with the stubborn tone created by the repeated “don’t”s enhances the idea that if the entire black community stands behind the ideals of liberty, there is nothing that can stand in their way.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I didn't understand this poem at all until I read your analysis. I realize now that I agree with your statement about how the statue is a symbol of unity. Another example of the theme of unity under liberty is present on line 16 where Dove writes, "all of you even the least of you". This suggests that no matter the social status of the citizen, each and every person in the society is influential.
Delete“Climbing In” by Rita Dove is telling the story of a white citizen climbing into a city bus. The “dear lady” in line eight is a metaphor for Rosa Parks herself. She is sweating because obviously she’s nervous from her decision to take such an unprecedented social risk. The teeth in line one I believe are a metaphor for the stairs leading into the bus, which ties into the last line of the poem. Here, “the clinking gullet” is a metaphor for the body of the bus itself. A bus is long and narrow, as if to be a throat, but it is clinking because it is metal. The thing that “tumbles head over tail down [it]” (line 14), is not Rosa herself, but the social norm of discrimination against black people when it came to public transportation, as if she were swallowing it up and spitting it out.
ReplyDeleteThe short and abrupt sentence fragments that make up this poem are on purpose in my opinion. I feel as though they are used to portray the narrow-mindedness and racism that was so prominent among white people of that time. The motif of metal throughout the poem like “metallic”, “dime”, “silver pole”, and “clinking” give off a cold and harsh tone which portrays the hostility between the two races.
At the end of the third stanza and beginning of the fourth, Dove says, “teeth of a wolf/under Grandmother’s cap” (line 10-11). I understood this as an allusion to the folk tale “Little Red Riding Hood”, suggesting that the social threat that a public bus truly poses, is covered up by its simple appearance.
The poem Parsley by Rita Dove uses symbolism of the parrot and connects with an excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat to show the face of evil of the parsley massacre and the emotion of those who endured it. The parrot symbolizes the irony of beauty persisting through terror and the enslavement of something (or a people) that should be free. On lines 6-7 the parrot is compared to “we”, or the slaves, and it says, “we lie down screaming as rain punches through // and we come up green.” The simile here shows how the slaves are submissive to the leader while still fighting back with words, but all they can do is hope that they get up again. The rain punching through describes the rain needed to grow a plant, but in this context it illustrates the abuse given by the general of the massacre, while the slaves hope it ends with them rising again “ and come up green.” On lines 17-18 the parrot meets the word blood which illustrates the horror of the massacre and the feelings of the enslaved. In the excerpt from The farming of Bones the slaves are force fed parsley and beat for not following the exact standards set by the general. This connects to lines 32-35 where the general orders pastries for the parrot which is harsh irony contrasting the richness of pastries with the force feeding of parsley onto the slaves. The parrot also shows that beauty persists in terror. The excerpt shows the slaves all love each other and the poem illustrates this by describing the parrot as imitating spring and parsley green. however the parsley green is also paralleling the massacre. The symbol of the parrot shows the evil of the general and the feelings of those receiving the abuse. The excerpt helps explain the feelings of the slaves more deeply and describes the horrors of the generals doings.
ReplyDelete- Samuel Maxon
In the excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, there is a large theme and motif surrounding the idea and topic of parsley. Parsley was used to torture the characters within this section of the book and it clearly shows the many painful and disturbing actions the parsley put their bodies through; as they were also beaten. Literary devices; metaphors, similies, visual imagery, auditory imagery, mood, and theme were all used to describe and depict this horrible experience within this small excerpt. To the main the narrator of this section, parsley is such a simple herb that has many different uses within her and her family's daily life, it’s something that keeps them alive through its many uses. Although it can be used for such good within their daily life, it can also be used in such harsh ways almost killing one. As the characters were being beaten and parsley shoved in their mouths, “I told myself that eating the parsley would keep me alive,” (16-17) one character reminded themselves. The parsley brought them so much pain as they constantly were throwing up, but it also kept them alive making the idea of parsley almost like an oxymoron. Death and being alive are two opposites, and that’s exactly the effect the parsley had on them; either dying without it or suffering through extreme pain and agonizing, but still living, with it. With all that said though, I am not completely confident with my interpretation and believe that the symbolism of the parsley may mean and represent something else.
ReplyDeleteThe parsley and idea of it depicts a mood within the character and reader. For the reader, they are now constantly reminded of this horrible time whenever parsley is brought up and the word brings an appalling feeling and mood which the reader also experiences because of the brilliant use of visual and auditory imagery used when describing the experience. Not only does the parsley bring this mood and emotion, but the thought of Generalissimo brings this as well. Due to him, these characters and people were under such extreme horrendous pain and because of the parsley, it also brought pain, causing the two elements of this excerpt to have common emotions and mood when brought up in the novel.
Throughout the poem Parsley by Rita Dove, Dove uses the symbol of the sugarcane and the swamp. The sugarcane representing both the fruit of the people’s labors and their hope for the future. The swamp represents the mire that the people are trapped in under Trujillo’s reign. The sugar cane also represents the people themselves. The sugar cane rising out of the swamp represents a message which states that they will rise up from the swamp of Trujillo’s rule and stand tall like sugarcane. The repetition of the line ”out of the swamp the cane appears” in every other stanza in the first section of the poem except for the last two stanzas where it appears in both as the last line. This repetition of this singular hope, symbolized in these words, shows that this hope of Trujillo being brought down is what unites them as one similar to a mantra during meditation. In the third stanza of the first section of the poem the people are compared to the sugarcane. It states that “we lie down screaming as rain punches through/and we come up green ...//out of the swamp, the cane appears” the people laying down screaming are the bulbs of the sugarcane and as the rain punches through, which feeds the plant and the people’s emotions, the sugarcane grows becoming the symbol of hope and outrage at the government. This can also been seen in lines 15-16 where is states “ in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming,/And we lie down” showing that through the abuse of the government the sugarcane remains upright and standing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of the sugarcane as unity for the slaves. Although, I believe the first and last mention of the cane depicts the field as a horrific place. Towards the end Dove writes, "The cane appears / in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. / And we lie down." (15-17). In my opinion I believe the cane haunts them wherever they go, even in their dreams. Their bodies are abused by the soldiers (the word "lashed" makes me think they were whipped) and the sentence "And we lie down." (17) signifies the death resulted from the Parsley Massacre.
DeleteThe poem “Parsley” by Rita Dove contains two different scenarios depicting a Haitian slave’s point of view in the cane fields and Trujillo’s thoughts as he roams through the palace. Both settings include examples of juxtaposition emphasizing the light and darkness during the Trujillo Era. As I annotated the poem, I noticed uses of imagery, metaphor, and foreshadowing to set the mood of the story.
ReplyDeleteThroughout The Cane Fields Dove utilizes anaphora providing a rhythmic pattern to showcase a motif as the poem continues. The parrot is portrayed as the “light” in the story. Imitating spring translates to having feathers the color of green (the color of parsley) signifying beauty and wealth. Lines 3-4 says, “Out of the swamp the cane appears / to haunt us, and we cut it down. El General”. Skipping towards the end Dove writes, “He laughs, teeth shining / out of the swamp.” (14-15). These lines represent the immorality of Trujillo’s reign. The sugarcane haunts the slaves as they are forced to work. The separation of “out of the swamp” and “the cane appears” in lines 14-15 follows Trujillo’s shining teeth. This illustrates the dictator as the predator in the slave's’ eyes incorporating a horrific description for the general.
The Palace contains a different approach of structure with less repetition, more personal thoughts, and longer stanzas. In comparison to the first passage, the opposition in structure of the two delineate the contrast in status and intelligence between the general and the slaves. In the beginning of the second part of the poem, the parrot is seen as elegance and purity in the life of Trujillo after the death of his mother. Even though his hatred for sweets was present, he was willing to feed the parrot tasty treats “dusted with sugar on a bed of lace.” (42). As the poem progresses, Trujillo’s rage starts to increase and the characterization of the parrot changes. Through lines 61-63 it reads, “the bright feathers arch in a parody / of greenery, as the last pale crumbs / disappear under the blackened tongue.” Dove includes the words “parody of greenery” to ridicule the parrot’s previous portrayal which shows Trujillo’s inhumane personality. The parrot’s blackened tongue convinces that it’s not as beautiful as it seems.
I agree with your analysis about The Cane Fields section. I think the motif of the parrot is a metaphor for life and light, as you said, because El General is portrayed as downcast and upset because of his mother's death. His personal woes cause him to be a corrupt leader, and I think that the parrot is a symbol of the only positive in the society.
DeleteIn the excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, kinesthetic and visual imagery are used to portray the events of the Parsley Massacre of 1937. The Dominican Republic and Haiti share a border on the island of Hispaniola. Many Dominicans of the time falsely accused their poor Haitian neighbors that lived along the border of stealing their property. Dominican dictator, President Rafael Trujillo, was anti-Haitian, so the complaints of his people resonated with his views. Because of this, Trujillo ordered a genocide of the Haitian people. In the first paragraph the author states, “The young toughs waved parsley sprigs in front of our faces”, and continues in the second paragraph with, “Tell us what this is”. The kinesthetic imagery of waving parsley gives the reader the idea that the soldiers are mocking the narrator. In order to know if the citizen was Dominican or Haitian, Trujillo’s soldiers would ask them what parsley was. If they pronounced the Spanish word “perejil” (seen later on the same line) correctly, the soldier knew that they were Dominican and they would be let go. However, if they pronounced it incorrectly, it was apparent that they were Haitian and they would be tortured and eventually murdered.
ReplyDeleteIn the last sentences of the second paragraph, both visual and kinesthetic imagery are used as the narrator describes the torture that was involved when one was named a Haitian. “Shoved down onto our knees”, “parsley stuffed into our mouths”, “forcing the handfuls into my mouth”, and “bulging jaw” are all examples of visual and kinesthetic imagery in order to show the intensity of the torture and hatred toward the Haitian people.
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DeleteI agree with your interpretation of the visual and kinesthetic imagery showing the intensity of the hatred towards Haitian- Americans. I also think that the images are accompanied by a mood of defiance that shows that the feelings are, in many ways, mutual between the Dominicans and Haitians. This is most clear in the last lines when Danticat writes “To the devil with your world, your grass, your wind, your water, your air, your words.” This clear statement of defiance shows the anger and hatred that Trujillo’s actions inspired in the Haitians. The author wanted to show that the Dominican hatred did not simply depress the Haitians, but further divided the two populations.
DeleteIn her poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove uses flashbacks and visual imagery to humanize General Trujillo. By humanizing a general who is usually viewed as entirely malevolent, Dove is able to both reveal his motivations and show that history is never black and white, but rather some shade of gray.
ReplyDeleteIn the second part of the poem, Dove writes of General Trujillo in his palace, musing over his mother’s death and his own grief. Most of the section is made of flashbacks and the general’s thoughts. In lines 36-40, Dove writes “Ever since the morning/ his mother collapsed in the kitchen/ while baking skull- shaped candies/ for the Day of the Dead, the general/ has hated sweets.” The general’s hatred of sweets proves how profound an effect his mother’s death had on him. Even something as innocent as sweets has been ruined for the general simply because his mother died while baking them. Here, the general is characterized as a hard, bitter character whose anger and resentment are caused mainly by the death of his mother. Dove humanizes Trujillo because the reader can see that although the general is certainly angry, resentful, and otherwise negative, it is out of grief, an emotion that can drastically affect anybody’s personality.
Dove also uses visual imagery to show the general’s emotions. Towards the end of her poem, Dove writes, “...Someone/ calls out his name in a voice/ so like his mother’s, a startled tear/ splashes the tip of his right boot,” (63-66). The visual imagery of the tear hitting his boot is a clear representation of the general’s continuing sorrow over his mother’s death. Dove uses this image because it is a powerful message that General Trujillo is a human-- although he ordered the death of thousands of Haitians, he still feels pain and even cries.
Dove’s humanization of the general through flashbacks and imagery allows the reader to realize that even horrific actions have a human reason.
Today within the western culture, many people value the materialistic world far more than things one can't put a price on. For example, many people would much rather have a brand new Mercedes over a close relationship with distant family. People value money and power far more than they value personal relationships and daily physical communication; this all follows and represents the relationship a mother has with her daughter in the poem “Demeter, Waiting,” by Rita Dove. Within the first stanza the author writes, “Only someone who hates herself, who believes to pull a hand back from a daughter’s cheek is to put love into her pocket”(1-4). The first topic to tackle in this quote is who “someone” represents; any mother going through this hard time/struggle with their daughter. I personally interpret this quote by believing it compares how frustrated a mother may get with their rebellious daughter, but all they really want is the love a mother has for their child given back to them. They believe that by properly punishing their daughter they will only push them away making their relationship even more broken and the mother hating herself for being the cause of that. So to “win her daughter back” she is putting love or as I interpret, money, in her pocket hoping that their daughter's love for the materialistic world will influence their daughter to possibly want a real relationship with her after she is given what she wants; money.
ReplyDeleteWithin the second stanza, I feel as if it is referring to the eternal love mothers have for their daughter as they will do just about anything in the world for them and to get to them. The author writes, “She is gone again and I will not bear it, I will drag my grief through a winter of my own making and refuse any meadow that recycles itself into hope,”(7-11). The daughter has completely forgotten about her mom and has completely isolated herself and this is driving the mother crazy. She “can’t bear” her daughter being gone and so distant and she greatly desires the personal relationship so much that she will “drag [her] grief through a winter of [her] own making,” in other words, she will do just about anything to get to her daughter and create that relationship with her.
I like your interpretation of the second stanza as referring to eternal love. When I first read it, it stood out to me as a more angry section in which Demeter cursed the world for taking Persephone away from her. Dove even uses vulgar diction ("shit on the cicadas") to create this mood. This very angry tone makes the poem seem very negative in nature. After reading your post, I realized that this is not simply anger at Hades, but more anger as a result of love. I now see this poem more as illuminating the anger that can be caused by unconditional love.
DeleteIn her poem “Persephone, Falling” Rita Dove uses mythological allusions and trite diction to show that the concern a mother has for her children spans from ancient times to modern times.
ReplyDeleteThe entire poem is essentially a long allusion to the story of how Persephone was abducted by Hades. According to the myth, Persephone, the daughter of Demeter (goddess of agriculture), was out picking flowers when Hades burst up through a hole in the ground. Hades then whisked her away to the underworld, causing Demeter great grief. The Greeks believed that winter occurred when Persephone was separated from Demeter and Demeter’s grief caused the crops to no longer grow. Dove alludes to the abduction when she writes, “when, sprung out of the earth/on his glittering terrible/carriage, he claimed his due... No one heard her./ No one! She had strayed from the herd,” (4-8). Dove used this allusion to create an effect of concern. Because Persephone “strayed from the herd”, Dove makes it seem that Persephone should have been more careful. The reader can also connect the poem to Demeter’s love for Persephone. By making this connection, the second stanza becomes much more clear.
In the second stanza, there is a long parenthetical that uses trite diction to connect modern times with the myth of Persephone. Dove writes “(Remember: go straight to school./ This is important, stop fooling around!/ Don't answer to strangers,” (9-11). The trite phrases “don’t answer to strangers” and “stop fooling around” are common instructions given to children by their mothers in the modern world. Dove used these phrases so that the reader would connect story of Persephone with the modern world. This allows the audience to see that even over 2000 years ago, mothers have been telling their children not to stray off the beaten path, lest they end up like Persephone.
I agree with your whole analysis, especially the third paragraph. I had a hard time understanding why Dove included this stanza but your analysis helped my comprehend its relationship to trying to create a realistic feel for her readers. It's a little humorous how she provided instructions for children to go straight to school, no fooling around, etc. because she is warning them that they might end up like Persephone if they disobey.
DeleteUsing the helplessness of childhood and the shame of being unable to stand up for yourself to your bullies, Rita Dove illustrates, in the poem Primer, what so many children have always felt: I will show them, I will be better than you all. This is addressed not only to her bullies, the Gatlin kids, but also to her mother, who like the bullies, uses force to intimidate, even though it is in defense of her daughter. Everyone wants to fight their own battles and when a parent figure gets involved it hurts the confidence of the kid. The poem shows this on the last line where it says, “ I’d show them all: I would grow up.” The line describes the feeling that “we won't be like them” that we have all felt. This also shows the relationship that a mother has with their daughters: protect no matter what. When the kid grows up, she will take on the same feeling as her mom.
ReplyDeleteSamuel Maxon
The word “wiederkehr”, also the title of one of Rita Dove’s poems, translated from German means recurrence or repetition. One reason she may have chosen this title is because her husband is a German writer. This poem contains uses of metaphor emphasizing the motif of uncontrollable.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator in the beginning addresses her lover only wanting her for his own happiness. After mentioning this information Dove writes, “to walk in air and not think so much” (2-3). Walking in air indicates that nothing was in her control. Her man did not allow her to make her own decisions. Towards the end the narrator refers to a choice appearing and reaching for it as soon as possible. That choice is referring to whether or not she should stay or leave the man and her choosing the latter. This provides a shift in tone because she was not able to voluntarily do that for herself in the beginning of the poem.
Throughout “Wiederkehr”, the mood of sadness and discontent is present. The first half of the poem only refers what her maybe-abusive lover wants for her, never mentioning what might be best for the narrator. Lines 4-7 says, “to watch the smile / begun in his eyes / end on the lips / his eyes caressed.” All first lines are examples of enjambment which makes the reader quickly move on to the next line to complete an idea. The repetition of the “s” sounds also make it an example of consonance. His smile emphasizes the first line of the poem acknowledging his happiness is greater than her own.
In Greek mythology, a narcissus is a symbol of Hades, the god of the underworld. In the poem “The Narcissus Flower”, Rita Dove uses mythological allusion and negative diction to portray Hades’ abduction of Persephone from her point of view. Persephone was abducted by Hades when picking flowers in a field. The narcissus flower, similar to a daisy, caught her eye and when she attempted to pick it, she was taken into the underworld. In the second stanza, “as the blossom incinerated” (line 4) refers to the beautiful flower going up in flames just as her life goes up in flames as she is pulled into Hades’ realm. At the end of stanza three and the beginning of stanza four, Dove writes, “this man adamant as a knife easing into the humblest crevice” (line 6-8). “This man” obviously refers to Hades, and in this situation, “humblest” means small in size. These lines suggest that Hades was unyielding in his efforts to keep Persephone, a relatively young and insignificant figure, with him as his consort. In the last stanza, “become a queen whom nothing surprises” (line 13-14), refers to the role Persephone eventually takes on as the goddess of the underworld, as well as the hardened personality she develops, as she sees and experiences anything and everything hell has to offer.
ReplyDeleteNegative diction like “frightened”, “scream”, “incinerated”, and “dying”, as well as the comparison of Hades to a knife, creates an all around eerie and hateful mood for the reader.
The first thing I noticed while analyzing “Chocolate” by Rita Dove was the overall structure. Each stanza represents a piece of chocolate which provides an aesthetically pleasing composition to the reader. The last line of the poem, in my opinion, kind of looks like a bite of the chocolate bar!
ReplyDeleteThroughout the poem, Dove uses chocolate diction to emphasize the motif of lust. Lines 4-5 says, “how you numb me / with your rich attentions!” The word rich is a word commonly used to describe the taste of chocolate. The narrator’s lover relieves her from her problems whenever she is given attention. The fourth stanza also contains many descriptive words, especially including the words “dark” and “night”, illustrating the darkness of their love.
Dove uses a fast-paced rhythm considering chocolate will melt if not consumed quickly. For example, Dove writes, “If I don’t eat you quickly, / you’ll melt in my palm.” (6-7). Another is lines 15-16 which says, “Enough chatter: I am ready / to fall in love!” These two examples provide chocolate diction to explain her impatience to make love. If she doesn’t act quick enough, his love will fade, providing an image of their relationship. Although the narrator and her lover seemingly have great “sexual experiences” (I’m sorry) together, their love for each other isn’t real.
My opinion on the third stanza was that it shows that both romance and chocolate can be highly impermanent. When I read these lines, the first thing that jumped out at me was the phrase “pleasure seeker”. This is a personification of the chocolate that connects it with romance. Dove notes that chocolate melts if you do not eat it quickly because just as chocolate will melt if you hold on to it for too long, if you do not enjoy a romance fully you will eventually run out of time. I felt that rather than indicating impatience, it was meant as almost an appreciation of the fact that while it can’t last forever, it is worth it while it lasts
DeleteIn the poem Cozy apologia, Rita Dove uses heroic diction and imagery as well as flashbacks to her teen years to show that she loves her husband Fred in a way that spans across time.
ReplyDeleteIn the first stanza, Dove focuses on heroic diction and imagery. She writes “I could choose any hero, any cause or age/And, sure as shooting arrows to the heart,/ Astride a dappled mare.../There you’ll be, with furrowed brow/And chain mail glinting, to set me free:” (4-9). Phrases like “astride a dappled mare” “chain mail” and “set me free” all create a startlingly heroic mood for a poem dedicated to her German- born husband. This mood is not meant to imply that Fred had to fight through legions of enemies to win her over, but rather to connect his love to a time when stories of heroes told of dashing men on horses, clad in armor, rescuing damsels in distress. This connection makes the love Rita and Fred share seem more timeless.
In the second stanza, Dove flashes back to her teenage romances. She writes, “Of daydreams: awkward reminiscences/ Of teenage crushes on worthless boys/ Whose only talent was to kiss you senseless.../Sweet with a dark and hollow center,” (15-20) Dove uses this flashback to compare the hollow “love” of her teenage years with the more complete, mature love she now shares with her husband. She refers to her former romances as “awkward”, and claims that they were hollow on the inside. By making these relationships seem purely physical, Dove channels her own growth over the years to show that her relationship with Fred is far more emotional and important. It also reinforces the theme of their love lasting over time.
I actually believe that Rita Dove was trying to explore and examine the dynamic of modern love and show her regret for conforming to society's expectations.
DeleteThe first stanza is a love poem to her husband and she uses medieval imagery here. The second stanza contrasts this with adolescent puppy love directed at worthless boys which ends up conveying a message that we now focus on business and routine over emotion.
- Sam Maxon
I agree with the idea that this poem shows and represents the true love that they have for eachother. She uses the comparison of time and different possible events to prove that she knows no matter what situation or time, he will always be there for her and she will eternally love him. For example, in the first stanza Dove writes, "I could choose any hero, and cause or age / ... Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / as standing in silver stirrups will allow-- / there you'll be"(4-8). So at no matter time, place or situation, Dove knows that "a dappled mare," her husband, will be there for her to love and save her.
DeleteThe poem Reverie In Open Air by Rita Dove, the use of visual imagery and natural diction to describe the fact that humans materialize everything and are “strangers” to the species we coexist with.
ReplyDeleteOn lines 2 and 3 the natural diction used explains the out of syncness we have with other species. “Inappropriate clothes, odd habits / Out of sync with wasp and wren.” The out of the ordinary clothes and habits lead to the view that we are separating ourselves from nature and the wap and wren represent the other species we do not care about since as a society we focus on material goods, not the needs of our planet. On line 5, Rita Dove iterates the fact that humans can be purposefully purposeless. Everything we do has purpose to us, but in the grand scheme it has no purpose.
The poem tries to show the tie we have to a material world and how it is destroying the world around us.
- Samuel Maxon
In the poem, “Meditation at Fifty Yards, Moving Target” by Rita Dove, it is split into three, what I would call, mini poems, each having their own specific meaning behind them and symbolism. “Safety First” brings to the table the knowledge that many people have and know, that guns can be very dangerous and used for the wrong reason. These objects can kill people and have their own evil within and behind them. But while they have evil in them, each gun is individual and specific in their own way and each holds a kind of beauty within them. They also hold a form of protection but so much harm in damage within only one object.
ReplyDeleteWithin the third mini poem, “Open Air,” it expresses the emotions Dove had when shooting her first gun with the use of a simile, tactile, and visual imagery as well to depict the guilty pleasure shooting a gun gives one. The author writes, “Then the sudden / pleasure of heft--as if the hand / had always yearned for this solemn / fit…”(13-16). As Dove first holds a gun within her hands, there is a huge relief within her and a “pleasure of heft” or weight lifted off her shoulders. The feeling her body gets is almost as if her hand “had always yearned for this solemn fit.” There is a debate in Dove’s mind as she holds the gun, “Don’t pull the trigger, squeeze it-- / squeeze between heart beats. / … Don’t hold / anything, just stop breathing. / … Listen. / Soft, now: squeeze” (18-24). With this tactile and visual imagery, one can imagine the mental banter and feel the gun within their own hands picturing themselves trying to make the same decision. Although, Dove wants to fight this feeling as she believes it is not right to feel this way about such a horrific object, but there is no true way to fight such a satisfying feeling of the fit of the gun in her hands and hitting the targets; similar to the immensely satisfying feeling of hitting targets within one’s own life.
I enjoy your analysis of the second mini poem "Open Air", but I interpreted it a little differently. Instead of a weight lifted OFF her shoulders I feel as though the phrase "please of heft" is referring to the power that she feels when holding a gun. A power which she has never before felt, which is why it seems so natural for her to have it. This natural feeling is present when she says "as if the hand / had always yearned for this" (line 14). This suggests that she's always longed to feel powerful and substantial, maybe because she's a woman, maybe because she's African American, but either way, the gun gives her that power. Also, I wasn't really clear about how what the second half of "Open Air" was, but your idea of an internal conflict makes a lot of sense!
DeleteIn the poem “Cozy Apologia”, Rita Dove uses personification and simile to create an “apologia” for loving someone. An “apologia” is a written explanation, justification, or defense of one’s opinions. In this case, Dove is justifying her love for her husband Fred, whom the poem is written for. The last line of the first stanza says, “one eye smiling, the other firm upon the enemy” (line 10). An eye obviously can't smile, but Dove personifies it as such in order to contrast the second part of the line. One eye is smiling because one part of Fred is tender and loving, but the other is firm because the other side of him is protective over her. The hurricane is personified as bringing up “a host/Of daydreams” (line 14) because a natural disasters like that causes ones life to flash before their eyes. In lines 20 and 21, “Floyd’s/Cussing up a storm.//You’re bunkered in your/Aerie,//I’m perched in mine”, Dove personifies the storm as being tumultuous and thrashing around them yet they are safe and happy together within it, claiming that no matter what goes on around them, they will continue to love each other.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the second stanza, Dove compares teenage boys to licorice through simile. They are “sweet with a dark and hollow center” (line 20) because they aren't genuine. As Dove reminisces on these young crushes she justifies the true love that she found with her husband.
I agree with last part of your first paragraph. I also want to add that lines 21 through 22 talks about their individualism. Even though they are inseparable from one another, they will never be dependent on one another for true happiness. Line 24 says, "We're content, but fall short of the Divine." The Divine represents perfection. Dove is referring to the fact that they may not be perfect, but they are happy with their relationship and how they still love each other deeply.
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ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed about the poem “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove was its structure. It contains many short lines, sometimes including only one word. In my opinion, this resembles the beating of the heart, giving a fast rhythm for the whole poem.
ReplyDeleteThe second stanza refers to the overall shape of the muscle. Dove writes, “It doesn’t have / a tip to spin on, / it isn’t even / shapely- / just a thick clutch / of muscle, / lopsided, / mute.” (10-17). At this point, Dove is referring to the stereotypes of what a heart looks and sounds like, no shape and little to no sound. Then she writes, “Still, / I feel it inside / its cage sounding / a dull tattoo: / I want, I want-” (17-21). The statement “I want, I want-” (21) again is another resemblance of a heartbeat shown by its repetition and the lines before. In comparison to the first half of the stanza, Dove mentions this to emphasize that even though it is just muscle, she can feel her emotions building up in her heart.
Overall I think the message of the poem is no matter what the heart’s purpose is, she can’t help but feel real and deep emotions in her heart. The last statement says, “Here, / it’s all yours, now- / but you’ll have / to take me, / too.” (28-32). By the end of the poem, the narrator is stating how she may be feeling something for the other person. The title “Heart to Heart” refers to her confessing her feelings to the person she wants the most.
In “Lady Freedom Among Us”, Dove uses powerfully ordinary diction in extraordinary ways to create a unique, modern American portrait. Dove highlights how each of our unique strengths, weaknesses, and differences create a colorful story that add to our freedom. She strips the ideal from the "American Dream" and paints an image of what a true American often looks like: "with her old fashioned sandals", "she has fitted her hair under a hand-me-down cap". These are the images of America: hard-working, sensible people who know that "freedom" does not always mean "ease".
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation of the poem as stating that freedom does not necessarily come easy. I think Dove also offered a solution to overcoming obstacles in the way of freedom. There is an idea of unity under liberty seen in the last two lines, when Dove writes “for she is one of the many/ and she is each of us” This line, along with the stubborn tone created by the repeated “don’t”s enhances the idea that if the entire black community stands behind the ideals of liberty, there is nothing that can stand in their way. This connects to your idea because it shows how America can only achieve liberty with all of its hard-working, sensible people.
DeleteIn Rita Dove’s poem “The Bistro Styx”, Rita dove uses an allusion, indirect characterization, and a light versus dark motif to tell the story of a mother who feels that she knows her daughter is taking the wrong path but cannot change her actions, while changing the perspective of an ancient myth to fit modern times.
ReplyDeleteThe word Styx in the title is a reference to the river that crossed the underworld in Greek mythology. This immediately made me think that the poem was an allusion to Persephone and her life in the underworld.
Throughout the whole poem, Demeter is portrayed as slightly dismayed at her daughter’s life choices. Dove writes, “Are you content to conduct your life/ as a cliche and, what’s worse,/ an anachronism, the brooding artist's demimonde?” (17-19). Here, Dove characterizes Demeter indirectly, and her thoughts imply that she highly disapproves of her daughter’s decision to live with an artist (Hades). Demeter calls her a demimonde, which means she believes Persephone’s morals are not as high as they once were, and the word really shows the despair Demeter is feeling.
Dove uses a light vs dark motif throughout the whole poem to show that while Demeter very much sees Persephone as in the wrong, Persephone sees it much differently. This is most obvious in lines 45- 48, when Dove writes “ before the warning: ‘He dresses all/ in black now. Me, he drapes in blues and carmine--/ and even though I think it’s kinda cute,/ in company I tend toward more muted shades.” I thought that by referring to Persephone’s description of Hades’ dress as a warning, it gave the whole quote a negative connotation. This negativity is contrasted with the fact that Persephone thinks it is “cute”. For me, this illustrated the nature of this mother- daughter relationship- Demeter is worried that she is choosing darkness over light, while Persephone recognizes that there may be some value in dark that her mother does not quite understand.
In the poem “Fox,” by Rita Dove, the poem is written with a very simplistic and realism style as I am made to believe that this method refers to the girls very simple life. Within the first stanza, Dove writes, “She knew that / she was and so / was capable / of anything / anyone / could imagine” (1-6). Within this first sentence, it describes a girl that has completely found herself within this world; she knows what she can and can’t accomplish and, what I am led to think, she has reached enlightenment. The next sentence writes, “She loved what / she was....” (7-8). This girl is not only content with her life, but also content with herself and her capabilities and it leads me to remind myself of a man by the name of Vasudeva in the novel “Siddhartha.” Vasudeva lived a very simple life but was completely content and was enlightened, just like this young girl.
ReplyDeleteWithin the second stanza, the author writes, “She imagined / nothing. / She loved / nothing more / than what she had,...”(11-15). The girl lives a simplistic lifestyle, but she is completely content with what she has, even though it may not be much in some people’s eye’s, it’s perfect for her. Much like her simplistic lifestyle, the poem is written with no more than three words per line in each stanza. I feel as if this completely refers to the idea of her simple living, the poem is written with simple writing.
In the poem “Mother Love” by Rita Dove, mythological allusion and fire diction are used to create a theme of motherly instinct. The whole first stanza talks about the innate instinct that comes along with being a mother. In this case, Demeter is reflecting on herself and her inability to lose her motherly instinct. In line 4 she states that, “Any woman knows the remedy for grief / is being needed”. After the loss of Persephone, Demeter became a nurse maid to fill the void and keep herself occupied in order to cope with her grieving. Lines 5 through 12 present the passion =ate love that a mother feels for her child while getting little in return. In these lines Demeter outlines all a mother does for her children until they no longer need the help and begin to pull away from the relationship. This separation between mother and child is seen in line 11 when the first fire diction is used in the phrase, “as their fledgling heroes slip / through // storming the smoky battlefield”. The term fledgling heroes refers to other young men and/or women that begin to get in the way of the parent-child bond, as if being smoke which obstructs one’s view.
ReplyDeleteIn the second stanza, Demeter is given a baby to take care of, and of course, she accepts it because she no longer has the responsibility of looking after her own child. She “put aside the lavish trousseau of the mourner” (line 19), because she is getting rid of the blackness of grief that she’s carried with her for so long in order to be the best she can be for this new child. Line 22 presents more fire diction as Demeter, “laid him on the smoldering embers”. In mythology, the act of cooking a mortal child causes that child to become immortal, so that is what she is doing. I feel as though the word smoldering is used here in a literal sense as well as to describe Demeter’s emotions. As seen in the first stanza, she has a deep desire to feel needed again, to feel like a mother again, and to practice those maternal instincts that she will always have. By making this baby immortal, she is creating an avenue to fulfill that desire for eternity. The use of fire diction diction creates a warm but harsh mood, just as a mother’s love is warm and nurturing at the beginning of our lives, but becomes overbearing and harsh once we are grown.