Billie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights, a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano, the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass, magic spoon, magic needle. Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can’t be free, be a mystery.
Billie Holiday was one of the best jazz singers of all time, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but she also struggled with a drug addiction towards the end of her life. Rita Dove uses contrasting diction to give the impression of the differences in the public’s view of Holiday and Holiday’s view of herself. For example, in line two, Dove contrasts “shadows” and “lights” to describe Holiday’s “burned” voice. This gives the reader the feeling of depth- that Holiday’s voice had layers and dimension, as did her life. She had had a rough childhood; her father left her soon after she was born and she was raised by her aunt, and was a prostitute with her mom during her teenage years. This explains why she was described as “mournful” in line three. To the public, however, she was always on stage and always presented a polished image, hence the phrase, “sleek piano”. The piano is a metaphor for what audiences saw when Holiday was performing. Dove also alludes to Holiday’s love life in the last two stanzas, when describing “women under siege”. She uses contrasting diction in the phrase “sharpen love”, which the reader associates with Holiday’s complicated love life, during which she married twice and had an affair. The use of the word “sharpen” to describe love gives the reader the feeling that Holiday was somewhat jaded when it came to relationships. In the final line of the poem, Dove writes that if one can’t be free, one should become a mystery, which impresses upon the reader that Holiday was really a different person than the public thought her to be. She was a mystery.
Billie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights, a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano, the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass, magic spoon, magic needle. Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can’t be free, be a mystery.
Billie Holiday was an influential jazz singer who suffered from a hard life of abuse, prostitution, and excessive drug use. This is seen through the use of parenthesis in the second stanza of the poem which is a key component to the overall form of this poem. The parenthesis are put here to allude to what Billie’s life was like behind the curtains. The poem starts and ends with what outside people observed of Billie but then looking at the lines inside the parenthesis there are allusions to Billie's abusive drug use. Looking at lines 5 and 6 Rita alludes to Billie’s heroin addiction when she writes, “Now you’re cooking” and “magic spoon, magic needle”. Cooking and spoon are terms used when someone is preparing their heroin for injection and needles are usually what people use when injecting heroin. the use of the repetition of magic in line 6 alludes to how the drug makes Billie feel, the high makes her feel like magic. In line 4 Rita uses contrasting diction of a gardenia, Billie’s signature thing, to Billie’s “ruined” face. The gardenia is a symbol of beauty and she would wear them in her hair to hide the sorrow and mayhem in her life. Rita captures Holiday’s ascetics through the title of this poem being a metaphor. Like a canary, Billie sings through a cage, her personal truths stuck behind the fear of tabloids. Billie must hide most of her life due to the horrors she has faced however when she is on stage she is able to be free, like a bird in flight, for just a moment.
I really like your analysis of the poem, especially the part about the parenthesis and how it describes the life of Billie Holiday behind curtains. Rita Dove used lots of allusions, which you mentioned. To connect the imagery of “cooking” to the drug heroin was very interesting, as you continued to present more evidence like “magic spoon, magic needle”. Also, I would have mentioned the significance of the 4th stanza, and how Rita Dove uses this to express the “freeness” and feeling of heroin, as she refers to it as a “mystery”. -Hajir Hosseini, period 5
I found your analysis of "Canary" very insightful. I did not catch the use of contrasting diction when I first read the poem. I also realized that Billie Holiday is able to let go of her past and addiction for the short time she performs. One thing I would also add is the use of personification such as "burned voice" and "sharpen love" to describe Billie Holiday's characteristics. Also, I would add the use of musical diction such as “drummer to bass” and hints to the ups and downs of the famous jazz musicians life. -Al Atieh, period 5
This is for the woman with one black wing perched over her eyes: lovely Frida, erect among parrots, in the stern petticoats of the peasant, who painted herself a present-- wildflowers entwining the plaster corset her spine resides in the romance of mirrors. Each night she lay down in pain and rose to her celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead, Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead. And rose to her easel, the hundred dogs panting like children along the graveled walks of the garden, Diego's love a skull in the circular window of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow.
The sonnet has the theme of adoration of Frida-the woman who has beautified herself with nice paintings that makes her stand out among other peasants. The poem has an appreciation for women’s looks. Those women are supposed to be appreciated for what they are. If they are painters like it seems to Frida the woman being described, they must be appreciated. Rita dove makes use of various stylistic devices as the ones described below to bring out the true picture of a woman who knows how take care of herself. The value is portrayed through the devices of style to express the theme of adoration and liking for women for what they are made of. Also Alliteration has been used in the poem by repetition of ‘L’ sound to give the poem some sense of musicality when reading the qualities portrayed of the woman. The woman is beautiful before the eyes of the persona. The poem has value to the society as to sensitize women about how they look and how they present themselves before the people. Though they may be poor or nobody in the society but its important how they put on and how they portray themselves to be. -Hajir Hosseini, period 5
I really thought that your analysis of this sonnet was very spectacular. I felt while reading this post I kept thinking to myself "why I didn't think about that." I liked how you mentioned the alliteration of the L's in the poem and how they create a musical sound which I found ironic since music is a type of art and she is a painter. I also found lit terms like visual imagery and similes that contribute to your analysis of how it shows appreciation for women's looks. One example would be the imagery of the parrot as they are extremely loud so they are attention seekers which can relate to the woman as she is extremely beautiful so she gets the attention of others. Also a simile that I found that would relate to your analysis is where they talk about the "hundred dogs panting like children" which could also relate to their reaction of seeing the beautiful woman.
Billie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights, a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano, the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass, magic spoon, magic needle. Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can’t be free, be a mystery.
Rita Dove uses a contrast of words with negative connotations alongside musical diction to elicit emotion from the reader in the contrast between Billie Holiday’s love of music and her miserable experiences in life. The author uses words such as “a mournful candelabra” and “that ruined face” alongside musical diction such as “drummer to bass” and hints to the ups and downs of the famous jazz musicians life with the line “Billie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights.” There is also a line “magic spoon, magic needle” which may be alluding to Billie Holiday’s heroin addiction and later mentions a mirror which could be a metaphor about taking a look at yourself. “Bracelet of song” is also mentioned after the part with the mirror as more comparison between her tragic heroin addiction and her love of music.
This is for the women with one black wing perched over her eyes: lovely Frida, erect among parrots, in the stern petticoats of the peasant, who painted herself a present- - wildflowers entwining the plaster corset her spine resides in the romance of mirrors. Each night she lay down in pain and rose to her celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead, Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead. and rose to her easel, the hundred dogs panting like children along the graveled walks of the garden, Diego’s love a skull in the circular window Of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow
This sonnet happens to showcase a persona as being a man who is describing a woman who is known as Frida and describes her as lovely in “stern petticoats.” The persona also uses similes and visual imagery to describe the women who is apparently mourning the death of her beloved dead. In stanzas 3-4 where she is seen in the “stern petticoats of the peasant and painted herself a present” The persona uses visual imagery with the stern petticoats as well as the word present to clearly indicate that she had worn clothing that looked beautiful, and we can infer that the persona has highly adored the woman although she was in much pain of losing a beloved one as seen in stanza 7 with her laying down in “pain.” Another example of imagery would be in stanza 2-3 “erect among parrots” and this also showcases imagery as parrots are known as very noisy and talkative and you can clearly get their attention, so this imagery relates to the women as she was very stunning with her looks so you can get her attention very quickly as well. An example of a simile would be in stanza 10-11 “the hundred dogs panting like children” and throughout the ending of the poem he begins to admire the woman’s feet and hands and how they are painted in a unique manner and how the eyebrows as well form together to form the perfect ultimate woman. This simile is used to be comical as it shows how many things are attached to her and witness her beauty.
"Catherine of Alexandria" by Rita Dove is an interesting poem, as its premise consists of how restricted the opportunities were for women in the era she existed. "Deprived of learning and the chance to travel" is a good example of how proper education and freedom to migrate were barred from the opposite gender, so many of the women at this time became devoted to religion. Catherine of Alexandria is known for her very strong belief in Christianity and her ability to convert others, even after death. She was depicted in many forms of artwork, primarily around the late medieval era. She is known as a "great martyr" in the orthodox church, and many depictions of religious sacrifice. The poem's structure is different from the other poems: there is an indent on each 2nd and 4th line on each stanza to put emphasis on pairing the couplets, indicating the significance and structure of how religion was meant to be: a structured set of rules that have to be followed with no other interpretations. The lines "...but Jesus. His breath of a lily. His spiraling pain" was interesting as it juxtaposes the passiveness of his speech and his suffering into two separate fragment sentences.
I think your analysis of Catherine's life is solid, and all the background information is really helpful in understanding the poem. I also liked how you related the poem's structure to a set of rules in a religion, since this was not something I had noticed previously. I also noticed that there were a lot of allusions to Catherine's virginity in this poem, and her "marriage with jesus" (Which isn't mentioned in the poem but I saw it in my background knowledge reading). How do you think this fits into your analysis of the poem?
“The Abduction” by Rita Dove Solomon Northrup was the son of a freed slave, a farmer who own land, and a violinist. He met Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton who offered him a job as a traveling musician in a circus, which is being alluded to in lines 6-9. Solomon, eagerly accepted their request. Pursuing the circus they urged Solomon to go farther into Washington D.C., which was slave territory. After a day of celebration Solomon was drugged and kidnapped, mentioned in line 11 “Then the wine, like a pink lake tipped”. When he woke he was “in darkness and in chains”. Lines 13 and 14 write, “Though the pillow was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep” this is a biblical reference to Jacob in Genesis 28:18. Jacob is fleeing from his brother Esau because Jacob cheated Esau of his inheritance. Jacob found rest in the city of Luz where he used a group of stones as a pillow to rest, he then had a dream of a ladder ascending to heaven where he saw God and there God promised Jacob land and blessed Jacob and his descendants. This contrasts to the life of Solomon Northrup because while Jacob set out with nothing and received everything, Solomon set out with having everything he needed and then had it all taken away from him. God promises Jacob these riches much like how Solomon had been promised by his friends Brown and Hamilton of riches and a secure working environment in a circus. Solomon in his innocence trusted his “loyal” companions and they betrayed him. Brown and Hamilton symbolize the moral corruption seen in people through the slave trade.
I found your analysis of “The Abduction” to be very insightful and I was particularly intrigued by the biblical reference and how it contrasted with Solomon’s life. Contrasting God’s interaction with Jacob in the Bible with Solomon’s interaction with his “friends” Brown and Hamilton really emphasizes the point you made about Brown and Hamilton symbolizing the moral corruption in people through the slave trade. In the last line “I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains” I think that the conflicting connotations of darkness and something that might represent light, such as god further adds to the contrast.
I really like your analysis of the poem, especially the part about how this poem is connected to the bible and how it is connected to the life of Jacob. Rita Dove used lots of reference, which you mentioned, To connect the life of the slave to the life of Jacob from the bible, as you continued to present more evidence like “loyal companions, moral corruption”. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
“David Walker” by Rita Dove is about the story of a famous abolitionist writer who moved to Boston from the South to run a clothing shop which is alluded to in the visual imagery “white caps, ale-stained pea coats.” The phrase in David Walker, “Compass needles, eloquent as tuning forks, shivered, pointing north” is symbolic of the yearning for freedom in the North for slaves. By working in a clothing shop, David Walker could smuggle his pamphlets into the South by sewing them into the clothes of sailors as alluded to by the lines “Pamphlets transported in the coat linings of itinerant seamen” and those who despised Walker for his work in “jackets ringwormed with salt traded drunkenly to pursuers in the Carolinas, pamphlets ripped out.” “The jeweled canaries in the lecture halls tittered” is a metaphor for the more moderate abolitionists and politicians who would rather talk and debate rather than take action to immediately abolish slavery. “Jeweled canaries” carry a connotation of wealth and it is meant in a derisive way to mock the rich men who couldn’t understand the plight of the slave when living comfortable lives. “Every half-step was no step at all” also alludes to Walkers position on slavery that instead of using these measures to slowly achieve the abolition of slavery, action should be taken to abolish it immediately. At the end “a month-his person (is that all?) found face-down in the doorway at Brattle Street” tells of his death, possibly poisoned by those who despised him.
I was a little confused by this poem at first, but your analysis completely answered all of my questions. The first thing I liked that you pointed out was the symbol of the compass meaning freedom in the north. I had wondered what was up with all the jackets, so you clearly did more research than I. That makes a lot more sense now. I also liked the analysis of the "every half-step was no step at all", mostly because I agree, but also because I couldn't put into words exactly what that meant, or how it connected to the "jewelled canaries" part. I just looked up bird symbolism in literature and it said that canaries represent joy and freedom. I think this fits with your analysis well too.
“Belinda’s Petition” by Rita Dove is a poem about a slave’s plea to the American government for her freedom. Dove uses formal diction and capitalizes important nouns to make Belinda’s point more clear and intellectual. Dove capitalizes words such as “Representatives”, “Country”, “Slave”, “Time”, “Life”, and “Nation” in the first stanza to call attention to such words, which are important because they are nouns that also relate to the American war for independence. America had just recently won its autonomy from Britain, and Belinda is pleading for independence for herself. Dove writes, “Lately your countrymen have severed / the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope / you would consider the Same for me” (8-10) to prove this point. Dove also uses formal diction to give the reader the feeling that Belinda is educated and intelligent and deserves to be free. In one example, Dove writes, “I will not take too much of your Time, / but to plead and place my pitiable Life / unto the Fathers of this Nation” (5-7). In this, Belinda refers to her own life as “pitiable” and unimportant, compared to the “honorable Senate and House” (1). Also, she refers to the government as the “Fathers of this Nation”, which is also capitalized, further calling attention to the respect given to the government, and the faith placed in them to authorize freedom for all. Since Belinda wants her freedom, she appeals to the government in a petition, which is lawful to do. In hindsight, the reader knows that the petition was probably for naught, because the idea of “freedom for all” and “all men are created equal” only applied to white, landowning men.
I felt that your interpretation of this poem was very similar with my interpretation of the poem regarding the overuse of capital letters. I really liked how you used many historical terms to relate her objectives to the American war for Independence. However I felt that her use of capital words were used for both anger and to demonstrate the most important words that characterize her life. Like for example she capitalizes the word "Banks" to establish that is where she was captured and that she is expressing her hate towards the action that Senate and House of Representatives are taking. Also I found it relatively ironic how when she addresses the Senate and House of Representative she praises them and pleads for them even though inside she felt complete dissatisfaction with them.
The house slave The first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass and in the slave quarters there is a rustling- children are bundled into aprons, cornbread
and water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken. I watch them driven into the vague before-dawn while their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick
and Massa dreams of asses, rum and slave-funk. I cannot fall asleep again. At the second horn, the whip curls across the backs of the laggards-
sometimes my sister's voice, unmistaken, among them. "Oh! pray," she cries. "Oh! pray!" Those days I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat,
and as the fields unfold to whiteness, and they spill like bees among the fat flowers, I weep. It is not yet daylight.
Rita Dove discusses the horrors and inequality of slavery. In the opening stanza Dove is describing the way in which the slaves are woken up in the morning. In this five stanza poem the speaker, a house slave, conveys an immeasurable sense of loneliness and despair. Dove uses simple lines and common diction, like the slang "Massa" to convey the theme of how simple the life of a slave was. The poem is about a young slave awakening in the master’s house to the horn summoning less privileged field slaves to work. While the words make clear that Dove dislikes slavery, she never raises her voice. One strong ability which Rita Dove has that she uses often in her poems is how she connects the character to the reader emotionally, and the way she does conveys this so perfectly is by connecting the reader to the setting of the poem. Examples of this are found in the first stanza in which talks about "dew-lit grass" which indicates that they are in the south which means that slavery is legal and also in very bad conditions, another example of this is in the last stanza which talks about "and as the fields unfold to whiteness, and they spill like bees among the fat flowers," which indicates that they are in a cotton field which is the hardest job a slave had to do. overall this examples of setting helps Rita Dove convey the theme of how the slaves had very miserable lives and lived in horrible conditions. -Hajir Hosseini, period 5
To the honorable Senate and House of Representatives of this Country, new born: I am Belinda, an African, since the age of twelve a Slave. I will not take too much of your Time, but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation.
Lately your Countrymen have severed the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope you would consider the Same for me, pure Air being the sole Advantage of which I can boast in my present Condition.
As to the Accusation that I am Ignorant: I received Existence on the Banks of the Rio de Valta. All my Childhood I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance. The only Travelers were the Dead who returned from the Ridge each Evening. How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?
I felt that Dove used a very perceiving and demanding tone when writing this poem. This can be seen by the overuse of capitalization in unnecessary places to hopefully prove a point to the intended audience possibly being the Senate and the House of Representatives. I believe that she also uses the capitalization of many words to express her emotion of anger and how she believes that her being taken in as a slave as a child and how that is completely unfair. I have also realized that maybe the use of the capital words was to discuss the main words that were very important to her for example the word “Banks” in stanza 14 is capitalized because she is describing that place where she seemed to have been captured by the banks of the Rio de Valta by white men and taken through the Middle Passage. I found it quite sarcastic about how she used words like “honorable, hope, plead” towards the Senate and House of Representatives because I feel that she is trying to mock them and try to be friendly, but inside she really wants to fight for her own rights and end slavery. Another part of the poem I found interesting was when she said “I am Belinda, an African” in stanza 3 and this spoke out to me because many blacks were captured by whites and sold off to families as slaves and that causes people to wish that weren’t black, but this passage demonstrates that she is proud of being an African and that no matter how much a person would judge her she would be extremely brave and never change her opinion. Lastly I felt that Dove wrote this poem to also make a connection to Belinda because I found that during Dove’s life her house got completely burned down so she obviously would have felt many sorrows as how Belinda felt being a slave, so they both had found a way of stepping up and fighting to solve this problem and trying to develop a productive solution to this issue.
In the poem, The Abduction, Rita Dove portrays the story of Solomon Northrup through his own point of view. The poem starts with the positive things in Solomon’s life. He is a free black male in Washington, “violin under arm” (3-4). The poem starts with the use of positive diction to give the reader an understanding of Solomon’s life. He then meets his “new friends” Brown and Hamilton, whom display a fake interest in his skills. Then later kidnap him and sell him to slave owners. The poem starts transitioning from positive to negative diction. Negative words such as: “alone,” “darkness,” and “chains.” The use of visual imagery to portray Solomon’s situation helps the reader feel like they are experiencing this with him. The use of visual imagery and similes in the second stanza: “...the wine, like a pink lake” (11) help the reader feel as if he/she is watching the chaos unfold right before his/her eyes. Rita Dove uses these devices to describe the unjustness that occurred at the time.
In the poem “The situation is intolerable” Dove writes through the persona of a black person in the time of the civil rights movement. Portraying the anger and the confusion of the blacks at this time Dove begins the poem with, “Intolerable: that civilized word. // Aren’t we civilized, too?” This was the question of the civil rights, other than their skin color, what was different? This question was not being answered which frustrated many. In the next lines Dove speaks of battle, “a righteous sword advancing// onto the field of battle// in the name of the Lord. . .” This can be looked at in two ways, the field of battle is symbolizing what it felt like to be a black walking among the whites, it portrays the tense and divided environment one would feel just walking out on the streets at that time. However, these lines also relate to the argument that blacks fought for America, therefore they deserve the same respect as every other white person who fought in battle. In the second stanza Dove writes, “All around us dark// and the perimeter in flames” the darkness symbolizes the little hope people had at this time, the normal black person. While the fire symbolizes the people who stood up for what they believed in, the people who stood out, the few people that gave the black people hope for the future. Stanza three, lines 15 through 18 Dove writes about what the blacks look liked through the whites eyes; uncivilized and inhumane. At the end of the poem Dove talks about the only thing worse than the problem they face daily, the fact that most people are doing nothing to fix it. Dove uses slang such as piss and trouser to portray the persona of a black person in this time period
I totally agree with you, and I especially loved your interpretation of the battle part. Also, I loved your analysis of the slang terms, which I hadn't noticed before. I noticed, however, that while you discussed the "All around us dark// and the perimeter in flames” line, you didn't mention the line right after it referencing the stars. I thought the stars represented hope for the future, however small or faint it may be... your thoughts? Also, what did you think about the final line, "O yes. O mercy on our souls."? I think it might have some connection to the battle "in the name of the Lord" because it sounds kind of religious. Anyway, I love your analysis!
In the poem “Claudette Colvin Goes to Work”, Rita Dove uses contrasting light and dark imagery, small details, and personification to help the reader visualize Colvin’s life. Since Colvin worked the night shift at a nursing home in Manhattan, this poem describes the journey she probably took every evening to get there. Dove describes the onset of evening as “menial twilight sweeps the storefronts..” and “shadows arrive”, somewhat personifying the darkness to give it movement in the reader’s mental picture. She then goes on to describe the bits of light from the houses as a “fickle brilliance” and a “golden wattage”. The words “brilliance” and “golden” show that the light is warm and inviting, as opposed to the “menial” and “scourge”-ly shadows. This contrast in light and dark also might reflect the racial prejudices of the time period- the idea that white people were better just because they were white. Dove also includes small details, such as describing what Colvin does when she gets home: “Lay / my keys on the table, pack the perishables away / before flipping the switch.” (8-10) These kinds of seemingly-insignificant things are what make the poem feel personal. The reader connects with Colvin because they, too, set down their keys and put the groceries away when they get home. It makes her life seem more normal and down-to-earth, which one couldn’t get by reading a biography of her. Dove also personifies elements of light and dark in order to further this effect. She writes, “...bleak interiors announcing Anyone home? / or I’m beat, bring me a beer.” (6-7) The “bleak interiors” of the houses are personified, which gives them a feeling of depth. We all know the feeling of seeing a dark alleyway and feeling like there’s something there, and I think that’s what Dove is getting at here. Also, on Colvin’s way to work, Dove writes that “neon stutters into ecstasy” (17) to give the reader a vivid visual. Neon signs (especially old ones) don’t light up instantly- instead, they “stutter” until they come on all the way. Neon signs turning on is a sign of the situation being dark, even though it’s been previously established.
“Freedom Ride” by Rita Dove is about the Freedom Rides that civil rights activists used in the 1960s to denounce the Jim Crow segregation laws regarding the segregation of people riding the bus. Rita Dove uses a lot of scary or violent diction such as “their fearful patches of yard rushing into the flames,” the diction being “fearful” and “flames.” In the poem the words “at every corner the same scorched brick, darkened windows” which could allude to how most people, including the police, tended to turn the blind eye towards the violent way that the Freedom Riders were treated. In the South, the Ku Klux Klan, the NSRP, and other white supremacists acted with impunity as there was little chance of prosecution for attacking the Freedom Riders for them with their police allies, even if they were to use fire bombs. “Fire” also has a connotation for passion and can be about the bravery and passion that many of the Freedom Riders exhibited in the face of such adversity, or it could reference the heated debates and publicity that the Freedom Rides sparked for the Civil Rights Movement. “Pick any stop: You can ride into the afternoon singing with strangers, or rush home to the scotch you’ve been pouring all day- But where you sit is where you’ll be when the fire hits” means that this affects all people whether you actively support the Civil Rights Movement or not, you will be affected by the results of this.
I really like your analysis of "Freedom Ride". I especially liked your analysis on the line "at every corner the same scorched brick, darkened windows". I did not think of that. Curacao was mentioned in line 4, did you think that held any significance? Also did the names Bobby, Malcolm, and Memphis hold any significance to the poem?
I found Dove’s poem "Climbing In" very intriguing. Dove uses animalistic imagery to evoke an intimidating, anxious mood, and the poem itself is about buses and their significance in the Civil Rights movement. Buses were segregated, so Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders used them as forms of protest and political statements. The first stanza says, “Teeth. Metallic. Lie-gapped. Not a friendly shine” (Dove). This describes the bus itself from a black person’s point of view. The segregated nature of the buses made them very unfriendly and even scary, since African Americans knew that they would be judged and humiliated when riding them. These traits are the “teeth,” a natural weapon the oppressors had to trap and harm the oppressed. Segregation made it so they could never forget that they were deemed inferior, lesser humans. The punctuation in this first stanza is very abrupt, ending after one or two words to draw emphasis to each of the items in the list. The abruptness also adds to the unfriendly atmosphere, and reflects the thoughts of people trying to stay determined and calm in such a setting. The final stanza says “the bright lady tumbles head over tail down the clinking gullet” (Dove). “Head over tail” illustrates the woman as an animal, the prey in this situation, and “tumbling” represents her lack of control in this position. The poem compares the bus to a gullet, or esophagus, since the woman is being swallowed up by the bus to trap and devour her. The animal metaphors are meant to illustrate the relationship between white and colored people at the time, one predator and superior, one prey and inferior.
I really enjoyed your analysis of the poem, mostly because the poem I decided to analyze also had some of the same points you pointed out in your analysis. I especially liked the part about the analysis of the bus and segregation that existed. one other analysis that you could use for the first stanza is that Rita Dove uses paradox to convey the theme of "so wrong it was ready." -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
You and I had the same point in deciding that the poem was based on Rosa Parks and I when reading your analysis of the poem I found a lot of things I missed when reading the poem for myself. One thing I feel you should add is how she uses metallic imagery to capture the mood as being cold and how it relates to Rosa Parks and other blacks.
How she sat there the time right inside a place so wrong it was ready
That trim name with its dream of a bench to rest on. Her sensible coat.
Doing nothing was the doing: the clean flame of her gaze carved by a camera flash
how she stood up when they bent down to retrieve her purse. That courtesy
Because most people know the famous story of Rosa Parks, Rita Dove decides to approach it from another angle. Rosa parks entire protest is all about she sitting in a bus peacefully for 15 minutes. In the first stanza she uses the word "how" by asking "How she sat there" wanting the reader to take a moment and think about the courage and strength needed for someone to do what seems like such a simple task but has such a huge impact on humanity. This simple, but powerful act is exactly what dove is able to capture in this simple, but powerful, opening line. In the second line she writes about how the time and place were both right for what Rosa Park did, because of the high racial tension that was happening In Alabama in 1955; and the fact is that Dove knows what she is talking about because she wrote this poem 50 years after the event so from an outside perspective of that time she knows the effect of the timing and placement of Rosa Park's actions, this poem is more about reflecting on what happened that day instead of retelling it. In the third line she uses paradox "so wrong it was right." She is trying to convey the message that what Rosa Park was doing was considered wrong but it was fair and right because of all the wrongness that was happening at the public bus stations because of racial inequalities. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
like the dime cutting my palm as I clutch the silver pole to step up, up
(sweat gliding the dear lady’s cheek) – these are big teeth, teeth of the wolf
under Grandmother’s cap. Not quite a grin. Pay him to keep smiling
as the bright lady tumbles head over tail down the clinking gullet
This poem really interested me because I felt that this poem was written from the view of Rosa Parks and this poem is describing the famous bus scene and how poorly she was treated because they blacks were severely discriminated whenever they were surrounded in segregated areas like the bus scene. I noticed right away that Dove uses a lot of metallic imagery like in stanzas 4, 6, and 16 with the words “dime, silver, and “clinking.” I feel that the use of this type of imagery contributes to the mood the blacks feel with discrimination because the metals create a cold type of feeling. Also Dove uses an incredible metaphor in stanza 10 with the “wolf.” I thought that this metaphor was interesting because I felt that the “smiling” in stanza 13 is used as a fake to show that actually segregation in public system actually wasn’t true, and that the “smiling” reference was because the government wanted them to be seen as welcoming, but inside they actually aren’t really okay with this at all. In the last 3 stanzas I noticed the title “Climbing In” come into play because the man who is smiling isn’t going to make any attempts in order to stop this lady from falling down the hole and into the racist and discriminatory times and no one will take a stand at all to stop this madness, and continue to watch it happen again and again.
I agree with your point about the story being told about the point of Rosa Parks and your analysis of the multitude of metallic diction used by Rita Dove since I’d missed that. I also agree with how you found the metaphor of “wolf” and the “smiling” reference interesting. Would you say that it could possibly be referencing the old fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood? A story where a defenseless, innocent girl is beset upon by her grandmother who, unbeknownst to her, is the wolf in disguise with the similarity being that an authority that should be protecting her is instead planning to turn against her.
The poem “Parsley”, by Rita Dove and the excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat both portray the parsley massacre of 1937 on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. General Trujillo was Dominican, and wanted to get rid of all the Haitians because he believed they weren’t properly Spanish. To find out if people were Haitian or not, his soldiers would hold up parsley and ask what it was called. If they said “perejil” and rolled the R, they were declared Dominican and allowed to live. If they could not pronounce “perejil” with a rolled R, they were declared Haitian and killed. The two pieces of literature describe the event differently. The excerpt from The Farming of Bones describes a small, personal experience. Written in first person, Danticat tells the story of Amabelle, Yves, and Odette encountering Trujillo’s soldiers and asked to tell what the parsley was. They can’t pronounce “perejil” with the rolled R, so the soldiers force-fed them handfuls and handfuls of parsley and threw rocks at them. When Odette died, her final word was “pesi”, the Creole word for “parsley”. This account of the massacre has a smaller scope. It’s showing what happened within the space of a day or two. Dove’s poem, “Parsley”, has a slightly larger scope- telling the point of view of the victims as well as the general himself. She divides the poem into two sections: The Cane Fields and The Palace. The first is told in first person, similar to Danticat’s telling, and describes the Hatians working in the sugarcane fields. The words “parsley”, “General”, and “parrot” are repeated throughout this to give the reader a sense of the omnipresent-ness of the General. In the second part of the poem, which is considerably longer, Dove describes the General’s point of view. When the general was younger, his mother died, and he had looked up to her very much. She could pronounce “perejil” perfectly, rolling the R “like a queen” (61). Details about his mother’s death. such as “how she died in the fall / and he planted her walking cane at the grave / and it flowered, each spring stolidly forming / four-star blossoms” (25-28), and how she died: “collapsed in the kitchen / while baking skull-shaped candies / for the Day of the Dead” (39). According to the poem, General owned a green parrot to keep him company after his mother’s death. Dove implies this through the use of seasons. His mother “died in the fall” (24), and she repeats the phrase “parrot imitating spring” (2, 7, 13, 19), often at the ends of stanzas. Since spring is a time associated with growth and rebirth, the parrot is “imitating” it by supplying false hope. Dove writes that “Even / a parrot can roll an R!” (62), and that “Someone / calls out his name in a voice / so like his mother’s” (66-67), to demonstrate the likeness between his dead mother and the parrot. The parrot is also green, like parsley is, to further connect the symbolism to actual events.
Ellie, I really enjoyed reading your analysis. I, also noticed the use of repetition of the words parsley", "General", and "parrot" but could not interpret it. The way you contrasted between the poem and the excerpt also helped me understand the differences between the sources. One thing you could add to your analysis is the use of violent/morbid diction to describe the harsh and daunting lifestyle of the migrant workers.
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat and “Parsley” by Rita Dove are both about the reign of General Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and his genocide against any Haitian immigrants. In the poem by Rita Dove, the part “we cannot speak an R” is alluding to the way that Trujillo’s soldiers would tell is someone was a Haitian as shown in the excerpt of The Faming of Bones. Also in the first part of “Parsley,” there is a repeating motif of ending the stanzas with “out of the swamp the cane appears” and “a parrot imitating spring” which are both important as the first motif is about the sugar canes that are cut and the second motif is referring to the metaphor in the second part of “Parsley.” The Parrot in the second part of “Parsley” is a metaphor for Trujillo’s refusal to let the death of his mother, who he loved greatly, go. The parrot is imitating spring because Trujillo’s mother “collapsed in the kitchen while baking skull-shaped candies for the Day of the Dead” in the fall so the use of seasons if to show how Trujillo refuses to accept her death. The seasons spring and fall also have their own connotations as spring is usually when flowers and plants grow and bloom, while fall is the season when the plants wither and die.
I totally agree. You basically said everything I did, except much more concisely. However, I do want to know what you think about the repetition of the phrase, "out of the swamp the cane appears". Why is it repeated so many times? Why that particular phrasing? Also, what is the significance of the line, "we lie down screaming as rain punches through / and we come up green"? Does it have to do with being whipped, maybe? I think the “and we come up green” means they died and their bodies later nourished growing grass and other plants. Also, how would you compare “Parsley” with The Farming of Bones in their storytelling styles? I thought that together they gave a close-up, personal view of the massacre. What about the use of the parrot in both the first and second part of the poem?
The poem “Parsley” by Rita Dove is describing the horrors of the Parsley Massacre of 1937. Dominican Republic dictator, Rafael Trujillo ordered anyone who could not pronounce “perejil” (“parsley” in English) were to be executed. The people who could not pronounce this word were Haitians; therefore Trujillo’s goal was to eliminate a mass amount of Haitian migrant workers from the Dominican Republic. Dove uses violent diction to portray the harsh reality of being a Haitian migrant worker in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo’s rule. In “Parsley” Dove writes: “We lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green” (7-8). Dove uses the words “screaming” and “punches” instead of less harsh verbs to give a morbid mood and to also display the intensity of the situation. Rain does not literally “punch” so this personification intensifies the tone. Later in the poem, Dove uses morbid diction when she writes: “The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming” (15-16). The words “lashed” and “streaming” are both very strong, aggressive words that are describing the wind and its effect on the sugar cane. This reflects how the Haitian migrant workers were treated and how they experienced everyday life.
I really like your analysis of Parsley and I agree with everything you said. However I didn't see any references to the excerpt. I'm guessing, like me, you couldn't write down everything you wanted due to the word limit we have on these post. If you could write more, would you have talked about the repetition in The Cane Fields?
I agree with Sophia in how you could have talked about the repetition of the cane fields. Matter of fact that was what my analysis was about. I found out the "cane" relates to his mother and how it was buried with her when she passed. Since he was completely heartbroken with the loss of his mother he took out his anger on the Haitians and wanted them to suffer as well. Also the Dove uses the phrase "in fall" to showcase the time in which the Haitian genocide occurred which was actually the exact time in which his mother passed away. I really enjoyed reading your analysis Al and thought you give a thorough description of how the different types of diction is being portrayed throughout the entire poem.
The poem “Parsley” by Rita Dove and the excerpt of The Farming Bones by Edwidge Danticat are both pieces of literature focusing on the the parsley massacre of 1937. Both focus on the horrendous situation and help show it in detail through visual imagery and yet both also give off the slightest sense of hope from the Haitians. In the excerpt Odette says, “I told myself that eating the parsley would keep me alive.” In stanza 3 of Parsley, Dove writes “we lie down screaming as rain punches through/ and we come up green”. “we come up green” is referring to reincarnation. You die, and then you decompose into dirt and then come back as a plant, a new form of life. This is hopeful because it portrays the idea that once they die they will come back again full of life and strong like the roots of a tree. The poem Parsley is broken up into two different passages, The Cane Fields and The Palace. Like the excerpt from the book, The Cane fields is told in the point of view of Haitian workers. The Palace is told by the point of view of Trujillo. Dove immediately shows the vast contrast of these workers and Trujillo in stanza 1 “There is a parrot imitating spring/ in the palace, its feathers parsley green./ Out of the swamp the cane appears”. Right away these two sentences set up great tension in the poem, since a palace and a pet parrot give off wealth while typically poor, migrant workers work in sugarcane fields. In the next stanza Trujillo is referred to as “El General” and then he is referred to as “all the world”. The title El General, the general, shows that Trujillo is of higher power than the Haitian workers. However when he is then referred to as “all the world” we realize that he is more than just a respected power, Trujillo is a dictator. When living in great fear like that it is easy for one to be known with such importance like Trujillo was known by these workers.
I completely agree with everything that you said in your analysis, matter of fact my analysis of the poem was so similar to yours that I had to delete my comment and change and add a few extra analysis so it looks different from the points that you pointed out! Another point you could use is how at the end of the stanzas there are s sentences that are similar to each other and look mostly the same with a small difference of one or two words which demonstrates that Rita Dove is comparing the sentences together. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
The poem "Parsley" by Rita Dove describes the horrors of the parsley massacre of 1937 on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo was Dominican, and wanted to get rid of all the Haitians because he believed they weren’t properly Spanish. He ordered anyone who could not pronounce “perejil” (“parsley” in English) were to be executed. The people who could not pronounce this word were Haitians. Dove uses visual imagery to describe the horrible situation.
In the first stanza
There is a parrot imitating spring in the palace, its feathers parsley green. Out of the swamp the cane appears
she uses the words "palace" and "parrot" which both symbolize extreme wealth, she also uses the words "cane" and "swamp" which both refer to sugarcanes which take a lot of hard work and most people who work on sugarcane farms are poor and have to work very hard to maintain their fields. Already in the beginning of the poem there is tension, between how different classes of people are living.
In the second stanza
to haunt us, and we cut it down. El General searches for a word; he is all the world there is. Like a parrot imitating spring,
she writes about how the workers view "El General" as "he is all the world" which demonstrates that even though he isn't the king of the world, to the eyes of sugarcane workers who live in the fear of getting killed, he is everything. This demonstrates the horrible way of life that the Haitian workers had, not only they were extremely poor but they also feared for their life all the time.
In stanza number four
and then the mountains we call in whispers Katalina. The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads. There is a parrot imitating spring.
Dove writes about how "the children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads" which demonstrates how nervous they were and how the conditions of living under the fear of "El general" is so horrible that even children know and are scared of what may happen to them.
In stanza number six
in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. And we lie down. For every drop of blood there is a parrot imitating spring. Out of the swamp the cane appears.
Dove writes how the sugarcane is appearing even in their dreams, demonstrating that the labor work of being a worker is inescapable and they are forced to do this until they die.
While going this poem titled “Parsley” by Rita Dove I seem to notice there is repetition with the line “out of the swamp the cane appears.” This repetition of the line seems very interesting as I was able to infer that the either the use of this line was to describe the working conditions of the Haitians in the sugar cane fields or it could also to the cane that is buried with Trujillo’s mother. However I feel like that this line actually is used to refer to Trujillo’s mother because she uses the words “the cane” meaning the use of the word “the” is singular which we can infer that the cane would relate to one person thus meaning it would be his mother. Since Trujillo lost his mother and deeply cared about her we can infer that his continuous anger and cause of genocide could be from this issue. Also back in the day a cane would be used to punish and severely hurt someone, and from this it can be shown that whenever Haitians failed to please the General. Another way Dove could explain that the reason the General is in complete anger and slaughters many Haitians is by the phrase “in the fall,” and this is because the genocide of the Haitians took place in the fall and that was the exact time where his mother passed, so with that occurring I found that the death of his mother was a partial reasoning behind the entire genocide. Another example of repetition would be with the word “parsley” because after reading the excerpt given “The Farming of Bones” I found out parsley itself was a big part of a Haitian’s daily life which would range from meals to medicine. The issues behind the food and health care would be taken into consideration by a mother, and since he has no mother anymore he sets out to mock the Haitians by taking out their symbol of home and instead turn it into a symbol of fear and suffrage.
Persephone, Falling Persephone, is a daughter, and even though her mother is never mentioned, but her presence and influence is great. Her mother represents all over protective mothers around the world, who fear their daughters' independence. Rita Dove uses repetition to convey the theme of how stubborn a teenage girl who wants independence from her mother can be. The repetition of "one" in the first two lines of the poem demonstrates the daughter's deep desire to finding that one unique, beautiful flower. Chasing this one special and perfect flower is what has caused her to get far away from home and in a place where she is vulnerable to different dangers. The repetition of "pull" in the second and third line emphasizes once again on how strong her desire is to get that flower even though her mother told her not to travel too far. Another example of repetition that is used in this poem is the repetition of the word "the", in the last two sentences of the poem. Ending the poem with a strong tone that presses the reader to really focus on exactly how this event occurred. By saying " This is how easily the pit opens. This is how one foot sinks into the ground." Dove is trying to press the reader into focusing on how things went wrong and how "this" is how the mom and daughter are separated, forever. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
I thought your analysis was really cool- you looked at it in a way that I did not. I agree with what you said about Persephone being a stubborn teenage girl who wants independence from her mother. Previously, I had thought that she just saw a pretty flower and wanted to pick it, not as an act of defiance against Demeter. Do you think it's important that the flower is a narcissus? (Narcissus was another Greek myth- he fell in love with his own reflection and died of sadness that he couldn't marry himself, basically.) I also liked your analysis of the last two lines, saying that even though your mother can advise you and tell you not to do the wrong thing, sometimes you do it anyway.
Demeter is the mother of Persephone and the goddess of the harvest. When Persephone was taken to the Underworld by Hades Demeter missed her daughter dearly and did not care if the crops died, she did not care for anything except for finding her daughter. Because of this Zeus sent his son Hermes to make a deal with Hades, the deal was that Persephone would live as queen of the Underworld for six months each winter and in the spring she would return to earth and live there for six months. Each spring Demeter would bring everything back to life, she would make sure the flowers were blooming, the crops were growing, and the fields were green with welcome for Persephone’s return. However, every fall when Persephone would return to the Underworld, Demeter would ignore the crops leaving them to die resulting in the seasons. The poem “Breakfast of Champions” is told through the perspective of Demeter when her daughter leaves for the winter. In line 1 Dove writes, “Finally, overcast skies. I’ve crossed a hemisphere” the word “finally” is used to create a mood of relief. She is relieved that the winter has come so now she can “find a place fit for mourning” meaning that she can portray how she truly feels in these seasons. Dove writes “here’s weather to match my condition” again referring to the anger and sadness Demeter feels and showing how she chooses to display her feelings through the death of crops and the “overcast skies”. In stanza one dove writes, “I’ll dive into a grateful martini tonight” A person usually drinks alone when they are upset, also martinis are associated more with older people rather than a twenty one year old who is ready to party. This line also adds to the desperately sad mood that Demeter feels and displays through the winter seasons.
In the poem “The Bistro Styx”, Rita Dove puts the myth of Demeter and Persephone into a modern setting to make it more relatable to modern readers. In it, she describes a meeting between the two women after Persephone has been living in the Underworld for awhile. It is told in the first-person perspective of Demeter, and tells the reader more about how she would have felt. Her daughter has left her, albeit by accident, and she feels devastated. Dove describes this devastation more in the poem “Demeter, Waiting”. In “The Bistro Styx”, the mother and daughter meet for lunch in a cafe in Paris. In Greek mythology, the River Styx is the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, an allusion to the Demeter and Persephone myth, in which Persephone lives in the Underworld for three months out of the year, causing winter. In the poem, Persephone and Hades have opened an art gallery with a souvenir shop in Paris, and Persephone is talking with her mom about how business is going. Demeter worries if Persephone is happy; 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), and in line 67, Demeter asks, “‘But are you happy?’”. The first question is not spoken aloud, and this is not answered. However, the second question means basically the same as the first, and Persephone answers, “‘What? You know, Mother- / ... one really should try the fruit here.” (68-70) At first glance, this might seem like she is brushing the question off, but I saw it as an allusion to the myth. When Persephone first went to the Underworld, she ate a pomegranate, which tied her to that place forever. From then on, she would have to stay in the Underworld for three months out of the year, and then could come back to Earth for the remaining months. When she tells her mother that she “really should try the fruit here”, she is saying that Demeter should come join her in the Underworld to see what it’s like and why she likes it so much. After Demeter realizes this, she thinks, “I’ve lost her” (71). Throughout this poem, Dove also uses colors to represent Persephone’s change. When she first enters the cafe, she is wearing all gray, especially her “silvery cape” that was “tossed off in a shudder of brushed steel” (12). Then, when Dove describes her meal, she illustrates the Chateaubriand steak as looking like “the heart plucked from the chest of a worthy enemy” (31) and her drink as “Wine, a bloody / Pinot Noir” (33-34). If that doesn’t strike you as cannibalistic, I don’t know what will. Dove also contrasts this bloody imagery by describing the “bright tufted fields, weighted / vines and sun” (65-66) from her birthplace to further exemplify the change in Demeter’s daughter.
I really enjoyed reading your analysis! I understood the main point of this poem but I couldn't understand why Rita said certain things she did when I first read it. After reading your analysis all my questions have been answered! I especially like how you talked about the different colors showing her moods throughout the poem.
In the poem “Mother Love,” Rita Dove tells a story from the mythology of Demeter after she had learned of the disappearance of her daughter and is filled with despair. In the myth, she is disguised as an old woman by a well and is kindly taken in by a local woman and her daughters as alluded to in “this kind woman approached at the urging of her bouquet of daughters.” Demeter at this point in the poem might be comparing the daughters with her own daughter and is referencing how beautiful they are with the flower diction of “bouquet” and is saying that they will eventually disappear in “one for each of the winds to scatter!” The poem is about Demeter describing how the encounter with the woman and her daughters is a welcome distraction to her own loss as she “put aside the lavish trousseau of the mourner for the daintier comfort of pity.” This is about how Demeter decides to show pity on the infant son of the woman instead of wallowing in her own misery by making the young child immortal which she did in a very curious method. The method is described in the poem as she “laid him on the smoldering embers, sealing his juices in slowly so he might be cured to perfection.” The woman, who caught her, was justifiably horrified and screamed as she thought her child lost just as Demeter had lost her daughter, Persephone, and that scream reminded her of her own grief as shown in the line “Poor human – to scream like that, to make me remember.”
When I first read this poem I was really puzzled, however when I read through this analysis I was able to get the jest of it and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your analysis. I really liked how you used the quote to talk about the misery that Demeter feels. I felt that she actually is excited for the winter based on the word "finally," meaning that since winter had finally came she could find a place to mourn and portray how she really feels about the seasons. Nice detailed and thorough analysis Chris
The poem "Party Dress for a First Born" by Rita Dove is a sonnet that conveys the feelings of innocence through similes, personification, and symbols. The title, "Party Dress for a First Born" paired with the rest of the poem symbolizes the situation where someone is forced to mature quickly. The party dress is implied to serve the function to attend an adult party, while the one wearing it is not fully grown yet. This can be reflected with the first line, "Headless girl so ill at ease on the bed" (1). The headless girl could be a personified dress with whom she is speaking to, with both words being a significant way to personify it. Headless would not mean its literal term, instead meaning her absentmindedness, her aloof state, the carelessness that comes with being a child. 'Girl' supports the newborn stated in the poem. While the way this is talked about implies a mature young woman, the girl personified is young and is not of adult age, yet is being asked to act like it, as follows in the second stanza. She is also deeply uncomfortable by this situation, as the dress, representing something she is not, is ill at ease on her bed, distressed by the events she is forced to endure.
I really like your analysis of the poem, especially because you did not just use one literary term but three and provided great evidence for them! Rita Dove used lots of literary terms, which you mentioned, To convey the theme of the girl not being mature enough and being forced into growing up quickly. I also liked your analysis of the dress, what else do you think it represents besides what her personality is being forced to change into -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
In the poem “Heroes” by Rita Dove I realized that the relationship between the mother and daughters as seen as difficult and extremely complex as there’s a forceful battle between both the mother’s intentions and the actual end result that occurs. At the start of the poem Dove starts out with imagery with the use of the poppy flower. The reason why Dove chose to use the poppy flower instead of any other flower is that they represent dreams and remembrance. Using this as an example the poopy flower is used in the context of the poem to symbolize a mother’s child. Another why in why the poppy flower is represented as the child is that based on the poem you are trying to find a jar of water in order to keep the plucked poppy flower from wilting, so this relates to a mother trying to protect and preserve her child in order to keep them as loving, compassionate, youthful, and vibrant. However with the mother being too overprotective of the child, the child starts to seek independence and feels that the mother is getting in the way of this happening. By this the unintended and harmful disputes that result from innocent and good intentions between the mother and daughter can be seen in the lines the woman on the porch starts screaming “because” you’ve plucked the last poppy in her miserable garden, the one that gave her the strength every morning to rise! With this line you can clearly see that even a well-intended action can end up having a harmful effect. The problem however actually gets worse from the lines “you” strike the lady and “she hits her head on a white boulder.” This demonstrates how tension between the mother and daughter can go downhill in their relationship because of the violent actions or words used at the moment. Lastly I spotted Dove using diction with the word “fugitive,” and that means a person that runs away from something so this relates to the mother and how she is running away from the fact that she is stripping the child of independence and the experience of actually growing up.
In the poem “Cozy Apologia”, Rita Dove uses visual imagery, emotional diction, and second-person perspective to give the reader a feeling of a love letter. First of all, the word “apologia” means a “formal written defense of one’s opinions or conduct”- in this case, Dove is describing to her husband why she loves him. She uses visual imagery to describe different things that remind her of him: “This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue / My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page” (2-3) to show that even when he’s not physically there, he’s always in her thoughts. She also describes how she sees him as her fairytale hero “Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / as standing in silver stirrups will allow” (6-7) to impart to the reader the feeling of love and admiration she has for him. The emotional diction she uses throughout exhibit to the reader how, even in “this post-post-modern age” (11) that is “all business” (11), they’re “content, but short of the Divine” (24), and how their relationship is “embarrassing” because they’re so satisfied and happy with each other. The second person perspective used throughout the poem is to distinguish the audience. The poem is dedicated to Fred, her husband, and the way she refers to him as if he is reading it furthers the loving tone. Dove also uses rhyme to increase the reading pleasure- the poem flows smoothly and sounds nice.
I really enjoyed reading your analysis of this poem! When I read it I realized it was a poem about love but I didn't realize she dedicated it to her husband. I like how you talk about the idea that their love is embarrassing in the "modern world" that was really interesting to me. I also agree with your comment at the end stating that the poem flows smoothly and sounds nice. I also really like how you analyzed lines 2-3.
In the poem "Cozy Apologia" by Rita Dove allusions and metaphors are both used in order to present the theme of how powerful one's emotions can be while also giving the reader a feeling of hope for love in their own life. Dove start's this poem by writing about what seems to be her "trapped" situation. She writes "There you'll be, with furrowed brow/ And chain mail glinting, to set me free/ one eye smiling, the other firm upon the enemy"(Dove 8-10). In writing this she is signifying that her husband or whoever is meant by "he" is here to rescue her. The "chain mail glinting" is a reference to her husband being a "knight in shining armor". This is a metaphor because she is comparing her husband, indirectly, to her husband being a knight in shining armor. This comparison helps to convey how highly she thinks of her husband and how much he can do and does for her. She goes on to write " Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast,/ Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd who brings a host/ of daydreams"(13-15). In this instance Dove is alluding to Hurricane Floyd of 1999 which was one of the most deadly hurricanes of the 20th century in North America. In comparing her husband to hurricane Floyd Dove is showing that while he can be looking out for her best interest she is also showing that he can be very destructive, possibly emotionally, in contrast to what she had early described him as. This contrast help show the power of one’s emotions.
I really like your analysis of the poem, especially because you did not just use one literary term but two and provided great evidence for them! Rita Dove used different literary terms to convey the theme of emotions and the power of hope. I also really liked your analysis of how you connected the poem to a real life tragedy. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
The poem “Meditation at Fifty Yards, Moving Target” by Rita Dove is broken up into four different sections, Safety First, Open Air, Gender Politics, and The Bullet. Safety First is written in the point of view of someone who knows a lot about guns and is giving one to someone who has never touched a gun before. Gender Politics is talking about the differences of a girl holding a gun as opposed to a guy. The Bullet is literally the perspective of a bullet. Open Air caught my interest the most. Open Air is written in the perspective of someone ready to end their life. The poem starts with the sentence “Fear, of course.” This is talking about how one would feel with the possession of a gun. If they were trying to kill themself they might be content with the thought of doing so but there is always second thoughts and fear lurking in the midst of their mind. The next quintet reads:
Then the sudden pleasure or heft-as if the hand had always yearned for this solemn fit, this gravitas, and now had found its true repose.
This is talking about the pleasure one feels for holding such a powerful weapon in their hand, the pleasure one would feel if they were finally ready to end it all. The word “repose” means a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility. This is a metaphorical representation of death because death is often looked at as “eternal sleep” and when one is dead they are in a state of peace. The next line writes, “Don’t pull the trigger, squeeze it-” Squeeze is a passionate word, it gives off a sense of excitement but also a sense of fear and anger. When one is ready to end their life they are feeling all these emotions at once. The poem ends saying “Soft, now: squeeze.” There is nothing left to say once the gun has been fired because there are no thoughts left in the head of one who has just taken their own life.
Chocolate Have you ever wondered why people give chocolate to each other on valentines day? chocolate has scientifically been proven to cause people to get more romantic and help increase another person’s romantic feelings for someone. Rita Dove in her poem of chocolate tries to seductively convey the theme of love by using delicious chocolate. She first uses visual imagery to describe the chocolate and demonstrate how delicious the chocolate is. Even though the poem mostly talks about chocolate it is actually conveying the theme of how chocolate is used to seduce women by men and even if the women is glad to have the chocolate it still will be very bad for her. for this theme chocolate is perfect to use not just because it symbolizes how it is very seductive and can be used for the wrong reasons but also chocolate is very delicious and almost everyone loves chocolate but the problem is too much chocolate is bad for you and can cause health problems. Rita dove uses chocolate to convey the theme of how something that can be so seductive and look good and innocent can be lethal if used too much. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 7
In “All Souls,” Rita Dove is referencing the story of Adam and Eve, who are symbolic of humanity in the poem, and how they were banished from Eden, as well as the evolution of our culture to present day. “Of course the world has changed for good” is the beginning of the second stanza is about our constant justification in making progress synonymous with improvement and making something better. “Now that change was de rigueur” means that change was necessary to be fashionable, popular, or socially acceptable, which could be referencing racism throughout history as shown in the justification of Europeans as they considered those they enslaved and conquered to be “uncivilized” which they would, of course, change. In the third stanza, the two souls represent Adam and Eve, as well as the change from the idyllic world of Eden that they came from to the current world of sadness, suffering, and weariness. “In time they hunkered down to business, filling the world with sighs” is metaphorical of how the world is filled with human suffering, indifference, and sadness. “These anonymous, pompous creatures, heads tilted as if straining to make out the words to a song played long ago, in a foreign land” is metaphorical of humanity desperately trying to find happiness, yet failing. The “song played long ago, in a foreign land” is a metaphor for the happiness and contentedness found within the Garden of Eden.
The poem “Rhumba” by Rita Dove is a poem that is a dance that is executed by a partnership between a man and a woman. A rhumba itself is a rhythmic dance with Spanish and African elements, originating in Cuba. I realize from the start that the poem is split into two sides, left and the right (which is italicized) and the reasoning behind this is that I believe that the left side used to describe the smooth directions of the dance and the right side is used to show more of the effort involved to perfect the dance. Lines like “locking your knees, don’t close your eyes, back on your feet, and step forward” are all related to the smooth steps involved in the dance. On the right side lines like “dip down, spread your arms, keep your elbows straight, shoulders down, look for the stars, and let them see your face” are used to showcase additional details needed to create an overall powerful feeling in the dance. These italicized lines are intended after each regular line to show a partner communicating with the other and how they could improve their form to really show what the dance is trying to tell the audience. Also Dove uses metaphors of nature to also describe this style of dance by using words like “snake, rock, swan, clouds.” This is intended to describe the beauty, smoothness, and softness of the dance and to get the entire audience to fall in love with the dance. Also Dove towards the end describes the “locking of the eyes” and this describes the romantic style of the dance. With this the dance sets a mood of love and beauty across the entire audience.
I agree with your analysis, in fact I really liked it. I love how you said that the dance is intended to affect the audience in a certain way, because it was very different than what I had thought. I previously had thought that the dance was about the two people dancing it, but I now realize that the audience is important as well. I also thought that the left side was the woman speaking/thinking, and the italicized right side was the man speaking/thinking. I especially loved how you noticed the nature metaphors to exemplify the beauty and power in the dance. (Also thanks for telling us what a rhumba is)
In the poem “Fox Trot Fridays”, Rita Dove uses alliteration, allusions to music and dance and simple structure to give the feeling of a simple, happy rhythm. In the poem, she is describing the way it feels to set aside a day of the week to dance the foxtrot. The multiple alliterations in this poem are a connection to the music in the dance. They also affect the reading pleasure- when the reader says many of the same sound in a row, it flows better and feels more musical. For example, the title itself, “Fox Trot Fridays”, contains an alliteration in which the soft “f” sound is repeated. Then, in the first line of the poem, Dove repeats another soft sound, “th”, when she writes, “Thank the stars there’s a day” (1). These soft sounds are used to give the reader a feeling of comfort, the same feeling Dove has when she goes to dance the foxtrot. Then, in lines 7 and 8, there are two more alliterations: “as Nat King Cole’s / slow satin smile,” where she contrasts both the sharper “k” sound and the easier “s” sound to call attention the difference and make the reader pay attention. It also serves to transition from the previous lines, which have a quicker rhythm when read aloud, to the lines following these two, which are slower. Dove also references the dance itself with names of steps: “stride brush stride” (3), “quick-quick with a / heel-ball-toe” (5-6). This gives the reader a feeling of authenticity, a feeling that Dove really does know what she’s talking about. These hyphenated phrases and short words also set a fairly speedy pace for the reader, which in itself reference the quick pace of the dance. Dove’s use of short stanzas and short words create a feeling of simplicity in the poem, that impresses upon the reader the same feeling Dove gets when she is dancing: “no heartbreak in sight-” (14).
I really like your analysis of the poem "Fox Trot Fridays" especially the connection you made between the alliterations in the poem with the music in the dance. After you mentioned the repetition of the same sounds in a row, I understood the true writing style that Rita Dove uses in her poems. Do you think she used all these alliterations in her poem just to make it sound more pleasurable to the reader and make a connection to the music in the dance, or are there other reasons that may have inspired Rita Dove to use so many alliterations? -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
The Bistro Styx Rita Dove in the poem The Bistro Styx uses Greek mythology of Demeter and Persephone in order to depict the troubled relationship between mother and daughter. The poem begins with a narration of the mother who is waiting for her daughter. In the conversation between mother and daughter we can sense the trouble in the relationship which often results in communication gap. Daughter was dressed in gray skirt which is symbolic of the death of human emotion and sensibility. The pain of mother is losing her child in the chaotic world even if she wants to bring back her to home (earlier state) but she can’t do so as it has become too late, since her daughter has already eaten seeds of pomegranate, meaning she belongs to the dead; she has also drunk water from the styx which implies that she has forgotten her mom and her earlier life. On the other hand daughter’s view is that in the name of career, job, opportunity, modernity, fashion, she has to sacrifice her old attitude, old values, and tradition. She even wants to stay with mom, she can’t because she needs to compete in this modern world to sustain and keep her standards up-to-date. She is seduced by modern facilities and opportunities. -Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
I enjoyed reading your analysis on "The Bistro Styx" I found your idea of the gray skirt being symbolic to the death of human emotion and sensibility to be very interesting. You talk about how the conversation between mother and daughter shows the trouble in their relationship, I think it would be nice to give an example of their conversation and show how that example helps prove your statement.
I totally agree with your analysis of “The Bistro Styx” and how you commented on how the daughter wants to stay with the mother but is seduced by opportunity and is taken away. This is a good comparison with the mythology of Persephone as you could say that she too is torn between being happy with her mother and being trendy yet sad. It could be compared with the connotations of summer and winter, with summer being a happy, joyous time and winter having a dreary and dull connotation.
The poem “The Seven Veils of Salomé” is a biblical allusion. Salomé is often identified with the dancing women from the new testament (Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11). The title refers to the dance performed by Salomé before Herod Antipas. These passages tell the story of a girl named Salomé who danced for King Herod’s birthday upon her mother's request. So pleased by Salomé’s dance Herod told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” He then promised her with an oath “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom”. Unsure of what to ask Salomé went to her mother, Herodias, for guidance. Pleased with her question, Herodias responded telling her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. Fulfilling Salomé’s request he presented John’s head to her on a silver platter. After, she gave her present to her mother. Salomé Awaits Her Entrance is told in the point of view of Salomé looking at an exchange her mother had with John the baptist. I assume when Salomé writes “he” she is referring to John because she writes, “holding out a slip of meat, skewered fruit-/ some delicacy he’d surely never seen” This gives the idea that whoever Herodias is talking to is poor and baptist tend to be people of the lower class at this time. This stanza also writes “He said nothing,/ merely turned away his large/ and beautifully arrogant head. Herodias thought of John as arrogant because he didn’t agree with her life choices. Also when Dove refers to his head this is foreshadowing to what later happens in the story. Herodias, in the doorway is read in the point of view of Herodias talking about Salomé. Herod, Watching is written through the perspective of Herod. The Fool, at Herod’s Feet talks about Salomé. Salomé Dancing is told in the perspective of Salomé
In “Evening Primrose,” Rita Dove uses metaphors and personification to allude to subtle beauty of the primrose and the fact that the evening primrose only blooms in the evening at dusk. “Neither rosy nor prim, nor cousin to the cowslip nor the extravagant fuchsia” describes how the primrose is neither dull nor flashy. “Sun blathers its baronial endorsement, but they refuse to join the ranks” alludes to primroses only blooming in the evening, unlike other flowers that will flourish and bloom under the rays of the sun. “When the day is large, you won’t see them fluttering” is a personification about how primroses won’t be in bloom during the daytime so they won’t be “fluttering.” Rita Dove also describes the flowers with fiery bright diction such as “blaze” to describe the flowers when they bloom. The fire diction such as “blaze” also has a bright and vibrant connotation to it and can describe the brilliance of a blooming primrose. “I doubt anyone has ever picked one for show” references the plain and overlooked beauty of the primrose and how no one pays much attention to it. The primrose could be a metaphor for unseen beauty and grace that is often overlooked in favor of something like “the extravagant fuchsia,” yet can be found everywhere. A commentary on how we tend to overlook the beauty that is not obvious yet abundant that “blooms” when nobody is watching.
"The Narcissus Flower" is an extremely dark poem that deals with a very important and relevant issue that even occurs today. The poem utilizes figurative language, rape imagery and structure to symbolize the transformation women go through when they experience traumatic experiences such as rape. For example visual imagery is used when Dove compares the women to "a frightened bird" to point out that she is scared of being vulnerable, however she is still in flight and therefore she is still free. In the next stanza, Dove writes that the "blossom incinerated," symbolizing the violent loss of innocence. Dove then adds the terms of simile and personification going with rape imagery in order to make a powerful impact on the reader and to paint a picture in their mind about the horrific scene. She then compares this man to be "adamant as a knife easing into the humblest crevice." Even when cutting through something as soft as butter, the humblest crevice, a knife shows no mercy, similar to how a man shows no mercy when taking away the innocence of even the most chaste of woman. Even though this particular women overcame this trauma by eating the fear before it ate her, she finds that she "can live beyond dying" proving that you still retain your life and soul after deathly experiences such as rape, although it would be extremely difficult to to continue life as it was before the incident took place. This woman's transformation into a "queen whom nothing surprises" represents how she has seen the worst the world has to offer so therefore nothing can phase her. She lives almost as a sort of ghost, without hope and without optimism. Finally, Dove utilizes short and to-the-point stanzas to emphasize the strong, bitter tone. The narrator talks as if she's restricted and destroyed by her past experiences.
In “Heart to Heart” Rita Dove describes the importance of the heart and what it truly means to give a heart. Dove begins the poem by describe what the heart isn't “It’s neither red/ nor sweet./ It doesn't melt/ or turn over,/ break or harden,/ so it can't feel/ pain,/ yearning,/ regret” (Dove, 1-9). Dove does this in order to address and denounce the cliches of the heart. The heart is unable to feel emotion of undergo a dramatic change. Dove later does this with with cliche actions that the heart is believed to feel “I can't wear it/ on my sleeve,/ or tell you from the bottom of it/ how I feel” (24-28). Dove uses this to again deconstruct stereotypes associated with the heart. Now the stereotypes deal with actions the heart is believed to take. The deconstruction puts emphasis on the heart's primary function and purpose, regulating blood flow and in turn keeping a person alive. Lastly Dove briefly describes an exchange of hearts “ Here,/ it all yours, now-/ but you'll have to take me, too” (28-32). Dove first uses figurative language here. She depicts herself giving her heart and in turn her very life to a trusted person. This trusted person must then also take Dove along with heart.
Please initiate your comments about the poetry in the section "Historical Figures"--due by 11:00 pm Thursday 10/29.
ReplyDeletePoem:
ReplyDelete“Canary” by Rita Dove
Billie Holiday’s burned voice
had as many shadows as lights,
a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano,
the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass,
magic spoon, magic needle.
Take all day if you have to
with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege
has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can’t be free, be a mystery.
Billie Holiday was one of the best jazz singers of all time, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but she also struggled with a drug addiction towards the end of her life. Rita Dove uses contrasting diction to give the impression of the differences in the public’s view of Holiday and Holiday’s view of herself. For example, in line two, Dove contrasts “shadows” and “lights” to describe Holiday’s “burned” voice. This gives the reader the feeling of depth- that Holiday’s voice had layers and dimension, as did her life. She had had a rough childhood; her father left her soon after she was born and she was raised by her aunt, and was a prostitute with her mom during her teenage years. This explains why she was described as “mournful” in line three. To the public, however, she was always on stage and always presented a polished image, hence the phrase, “sleek piano”. The piano is a metaphor for what audiences saw when Holiday was performing. Dove also alludes to Holiday’s love life in the last two stanzas, when describing “women under siege”. She uses contrasting diction in the phrase “sharpen love”, which the reader associates with Holiday’s complicated love life, during which she married twice and had an affair. The use of the word “sharpen” to describe love gives the reader the feeling that Holiday was somewhat jaded when it came to relationships. In the final line of the poem, Dove writes that if one can’t be free, one should become a mystery, which impresses upon the reader that Holiday was really a different person than the public thought her to be. She was a mystery.
“Canary” by Rita Dove
ReplyDeleteBillie Holiday’s burned voice
had as many shadows as lights,
a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano,
the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass,
magic spoon, magic needle.
Take all day if you have to
with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege
has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can’t be free, be a mystery.
Billie Holiday was an influential jazz singer who suffered from a hard life of abuse, prostitution, and excessive drug use. This is seen through the use of parenthesis in the second stanza of the poem which is a key component to the overall form of this poem. The parenthesis are put here to allude to what Billie’s life was like behind the curtains. The poem starts and ends with what outside people observed of Billie but then looking at the lines inside the parenthesis there are allusions to Billie's abusive drug use. Looking at lines 5 and 6 Rita alludes to Billie’s heroin addiction when she writes, “Now you’re cooking” and “magic spoon, magic needle”. Cooking and spoon are terms used when someone is preparing their heroin for injection and needles are usually what people use when injecting heroin. the use of the repetition of magic in line 6 alludes to how the drug makes Billie feel, the high makes her feel like magic. In line 4 Rita uses contrasting diction of a gardenia, Billie’s signature thing, to Billie’s “ruined” face. The gardenia is a symbol of beauty and she would wear them in her hair to hide the sorrow and mayhem in her life. Rita captures Holiday’s ascetics through the title of this poem being a metaphor. Like a canary, Billie sings through a cage, her personal truths stuck behind the fear of tabloids. Billie must hide most of her life due to the horrors she has faced however when she is on stage she is able to be free, like a bird in flight, for just a moment.
I really like your analysis of the poem, especially the part about the parenthesis and how it describes the life of Billie Holiday behind curtains. Rita Dove used lots of allusions, which you mentioned. To connect the imagery of “cooking” to the drug heroin was very interesting, as you continued to present more evidence like “magic spoon, magic needle”. Also, I would have mentioned the significance of the 4th stanza, and how Rita Dove uses this to express the “freeness” and feeling of heroin, as she refers to it as a “mystery”.
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, period 5
I found your analysis of "Canary" very insightful. I did not catch the use of contrasting diction when I first read the poem. I also realized that Billie Holiday is able to let go of her past and addiction for the short time she performs. One thing I would also add is the use of personification such as "burned voice" and "sharpen love" to describe Billie Holiday's characteristics. Also, I would add the use of musical diction such as “drummer to bass” and hints to the ups and downs of the famous jazz musicians life.
Delete-Al Atieh, period 5
This is for the woman with one black wing
ReplyDeleteperched over her eyes: lovely Frida, erect
among parrots, in the stern petticoats of the peasant,
who painted herself a present--
wildflowers entwining the plaster corset
her spine resides in the romance of mirrors.
Each night she lay down in pain and rose
to her celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead,
Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead.
And rose to her easel, the hundred dogs panting
like children along the graveled walks of the garden, Diego's
love a skull in the circular window
of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow.
The sonnet has the theme of adoration of Frida-the woman who has beautified herself with nice paintings that makes her stand out among other peasants. The poem has an appreciation for women’s looks. Those women are supposed to be appreciated for what they are. If they are painters like it seems to Frida the woman being described, they must be appreciated. Rita dove makes use of various stylistic devices as the ones described below to bring out the true picture of a woman who knows how take care of herself. The value is portrayed through the devices of style to express the theme of adoration and liking for women for what they are made of. Also Alliteration has been used in the poem by repetition of ‘L’ sound to give the poem some sense of musicality when reading the qualities portrayed of the woman. The woman is beautiful before the eyes of the persona. The poem has value to the society as to sensitize women about how they look and how they present themselves before the people. Though they may be poor or nobody in the society but its important how they put on and how they portray themselves to be.
-Hajir Hosseini, period 5
I really thought that your analysis of this sonnet was very spectacular. I felt while reading this post I kept thinking to myself "why I didn't think about that." I liked how you mentioned the alliteration of the L's in the poem and how they create a musical sound which I found ironic since music is a type of art and she is a painter. I also found lit terms like visual imagery and similes that contribute to your analysis of how it shows appreciation for women's looks. One example would be the imagery of the parrot as they are extremely loud so they are attention seekers which can relate to the woman as she is extremely beautiful so she gets the attention of others. Also a simile that I found that would relate to your analysis is where they talk about the "hundred dogs panting like children" which could also relate to their reaction of seeing the beautiful woman.
Delete“Canary” by Rita Dove
ReplyDeleteBillie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights,
a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano,
the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass,
magic spoon, magic needle.
Take all day if you have to
with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege
has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can’t be free, be a mystery.
Rita Dove uses a contrast of words with negative connotations alongside musical diction to elicit emotion from the reader in the contrast between Billie Holiday’s love of music and her miserable experiences in life. The author uses words such as “a mournful candelabra” and “that ruined face” alongside musical diction such as “drummer to bass” and hints to the ups and downs of the famous jazz musicians life with the line “Billie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights.” There is also a line “magic spoon, magic needle” which may be alluding to Billie Holiday’s heroin addiction and later mentions a mirror which could be a metaphor about taking a look at yourself. “Bracelet of song” is also mentioned after the part with the mirror as more comparison between her tragic heroin addiction and her love of music.
This is for the women with one black wing
ReplyDeleteperched over her eyes: lovely Frida, erect
among parrots, in the stern petticoats of the peasant,
who painted herself a present- -
wildflowers entwining the plaster corset
her spine resides in the romance of mirrors.
Each night she lay down in pain and rose
to her celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead,
Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead.
and rose to her easel, the hundred dogs panting
like children along the graveled walks of the garden, Diego’s
love a skull in the circular window
Of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow
This sonnet happens to showcase a persona as being a man who is describing a woman who is known as Frida and describes her as lovely in “stern petticoats.” The persona also uses similes and visual imagery to describe the women who is apparently mourning the death of her beloved dead. In stanzas 3-4 where she is seen in the “stern petticoats of the peasant and painted herself a present” The persona uses visual imagery with the stern petticoats as well as the word present to clearly indicate that she had worn clothing that looked beautiful, and we can infer that the persona has highly adored the woman although she was in much pain of losing a beloved one as seen in stanza 7 with her laying down in “pain.” Another example of imagery would be in stanza 2-3 “erect among parrots” and this also showcases imagery as parrots are known as very noisy and talkative and you can clearly get their attention, so this imagery relates to the women as she was very stunning with her looks so you can get her attention very quickly as well. An example of a simile would be in stanza 10-11 “the hundred dogs panting like children” and throughout the ending of the poem he begins to admire the woman’s feet and hands and how they are painted in a unique manner and how the eyebrows as well form together to form the perfect ultimate woman. This simile is used to be comical as it shows how many things are attached to her and witness her beauty.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Catherine of Alexandria" by Rita Dove is an interesting poem, as its premise consists of how restricted the opportunities were for women in the era she existed. "Deprived of learning and the chance to travel" is a good example of how proper education and freedom to migrate were barred from the opposite gender, so many of the women at this time became devoted to religion. Catherine of Alexandria is known for her very strong belief in Christianity and her ability to convert others, even after death. She was depicted in many forms of artwork, primarily around the late medieval era. She is known as a "great martyr" in the orthodox church, and many depictions of religious sacrifice. The poem's structure is different from the other poems: there is an indent on each 2nd and 4th line on each stanza to put emphasis on pairing the couplets, indicating the significance and structure of how religion was meant to be: a structured set of rules that have to be followed with no other interpretations. The lines "...but Jesus. His breath of a lily. His spiraling pain" was interesting as it juxtaposes the passiveness of his speech and his suffering into two separate fragment sentences.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of Catherine's life is solid, and all the background information is really helpful in understanding the poem. I also liked how you related the poem's structure to a set of rules in a religion, since this was not something I had noticed previously. I also noticed that there were a lot of allusions to Catherine's virginity in this poem, and her "marriage with jesus" (Which isn't mentioned in the poem but I saw it in my background knowledge reading). How do you think this fits into your analysis of the poem?
Delete“The Abduction” by Rita Dove
ReplyDeleteSolomon Northrup was the son of a freed slave, a farmer who own land, and a violinist. He met Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton who offered him a job as a traveling musician in a circus, which is being alluded to in lines 6-9. Solomon, eagerly accepted their request. Pursuing the circus they urged Solomon to go farther into Washington D.C., which was slave territory. After a day of celebration Solomon was drugged and kidnapped, mentioned in line 11 “Then the wine, like a pink lake tipped”. When he woke he was “in darkness and in chains”. Lines 13 and 14 write, “Though the pillow was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep” this is a biblical reference to Jacob in Genesis 28:18. Jacob is fleeing from his brother Esau because Jacob cheated Esau of his inheritance. Jacob found rest in the city of Luz where he used a group of stones as a pillow to rest, he then had a dream of a ladder ascending to heaven where he saw God and there God promised Jacob land and blessed Jacob and his descendants. This contrasts to the life of Solomon Northrup because while Jacob set out with nothing and received everything, Solomon set out with having everything he needed and then had it all taken away from him. God promises Jacob these riches much like how Solomon had been promised by his friends Brown and Hamilton of riches and a secure working environment in a circus. Solomon in his innocence trusted his “loyal” companions and they betrayed him. Brown and Hamilton symbolize the moral corruption seen in people through the slave trade.
I found your analysis of “The Abduction” to be very insightful and I was particularly intrigued by the biblical reference and how it contrasted with Solomon’s life. Contrasting God’s interaction with Jacob in the Bible with Solomon’s interaction with his “friends” Brown and Hamilton really emphasizes the point you made about Brown and Hamilton symbolizing the moral corruption in people through the slave trade. In the last line “I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains” I think that the conflicting connotations of darkness and something that might represent light, such as god further adds to the contrast.
DeleteI really like your analysis of the poem, especially the part about how this poem is connected to the bible and how it is connected to the life of Jacob. Rita Dove used lots of reference, which you mentioned, To connect the life of the slave to the life of Jacob from the bible, as you continued to present more evidence like “loyal companions, moral corruption”.
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
“David Walker” by Rita Dove is about the story of a famous abolitionist writer who moved to Boston from the South to run a clothing shop which is alluded to in the visual imagery “white caps, ale-stained pea coats.” The phrase in David Walker, “Compass needles, eloquent as tuning forks, shivered, pointing north” is symbolic of the yearning for freedom in the North for slaves. By working in a clothing shop, David Walker could smuggle his pamphlets into the South by sewing them into the clothes of sailors as alluded to by the lines “Pamphlets transported in the coat linings of itinerant seamen” and those who despised Walker for his work in “jackets ringwormed with salt traded drunkenly to pursuers in the Carolinas, pamphlets ripped out.” “The jeweled canaries in the lecture halls tittered” is a metaphor for the more moderate abolitionists and politicians who would rather talk and debate rather than take action to immediately abolish slavery. “Jeweled canaries” carry a connotation of wealth and it is meant in a derisive way to mock the rich men who couldn’t understand the plight of the slave when living comfortable lives. “Every half-step was no step at all” also alludes to Walkers position on slavery that instead of using these measures to slowly achieve the abolition of slavery, action should be taken to abolish it immediately. At the end “a month-his person (is that all?) found face-down in the doorway at Brattle Street” tells of his death, possibly poisoned by those who despised him.
ReplyDeleteI was a little confused by this poem at first, but your analysis completely answered all of my questions. The first thing I liked that you pointed out was the symbol of the compass meaning freedom in the north. I had wondered what was up with all the jackets, so you clearly did more research than I. That makes a lot more sense now. I also liked the analysis of the "every half-step was no step at all", mostly because I agree, but also because I couldn't put into words exactly what that meant, or how it connected to the "jewelled canaries" part. I just looked up bird symbolism in literature and it said that canaries represent joy and freedom. I think this fits with your analysis well too.
Delete“Belinda’s Petition” by Rita Dove is a poem about a slave’s plea to the American government for her freedom. Dove uses formal diction and capitalizes important nouns to make Belinda’s point more clear and intellectual. Dove capitalizes words such as “Representatives”, “Country”, “Slave”, “Time”, “Life”, and “Nation” in the first stanza to call attention to such words, which are important because they are nouns that also relate to the American war for independence. America had just recently won its autonomy from Britain, and Belinda is pleading for independence for herself. Dove writes, “Lately your countrymen have severed / the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope / you would consider the Same for me” (8-10) to prove this point. Dove also uses formal diction to give the reader the feeling that Belinda is educated and intelligent and deserves to be free. In one example, Dove writes, “I will not take too much of your Time, / but to plead and place my pitiable Life / unto the Fathers of this Nation” (5-7). In this, Belinda refers to her own life as “pitiable” and unimportant, compared to the “honorable Senate and House” (1). Also, she refers to the government as the “Fathers of this Nation”, which is also capitalized, further calling attention to the respect given to the government, and the faith placed in them to authorize freedom for all. Since Belinda wants her freedom, she appeals to the government in a petition, which is lawful to do. In hindsight, the reader knows that the petition was probably for naught, because the idea of “freedom for all” and “all men are created equal” only applied to white, landowning men.
ReplyDeleteI felt that your interpretation of this poem was very similar with my interpretation of the poem regarding the overuse of capital letters. I really liked how you used many historical terms to relate her objectives to the American war for Independence. However I felt that her use of capital words were used for both anger and to demonstrate the most important words that characterize her life. Like for example she capitalizes the word "Banks" to establish that is where she was captured and that she is expressing her hate towards the action that Senate and House of Representatives are taking. Also I found it relatively ironic how when she addresses the Senate and House of Representative she praises them and pleads for them even though inside she felt complete dissatisfaction with them.
DeleteThe house slave
ReplyDeleteThe first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass
and in the slave quarters there is a rustling-
children are bundled into aprons, cornbread
and water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken.
I watch them driven into the vague before-dawn
while their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick
and Massa dreams of asses, rum and slave-funk.
I cannot fall asleep again. At the second horn,
the whip curls across the backs of the laggards-
sometimes my sister's voice, unmistaken, among them.
"Oh! pray," she cries. "Oh! pray!" Those days
I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat,
and as the fields unfold to whiteness,
and they spill like bees among the fat flowers,
I weep. It is not yet daylight.
Rita Dove discusses the horrors and inequality of slavery. In the opening stanza Dove is describing the way in which the slaves are woken up in the morning. In this five stanza poem the speaker, a house slave, conveys an immeasurable sense of loneliness and despair. Dove uses simple lines and common diction, like the slang "Massa" to convey the theme of how simple the life of a slave was. The poem is about a young slave awakening in the master’s house to the horn summoning less privileged field slaves to work. While the words make clear that Dove dislikes slavery, she never raises her voice. One strong ability which Rita Dove has that she uses often in her poems is how she connects the character to the reader emotionally, and the way she does conveys this so perfectly is by connecting the reader to the setting of the poem. Examples of this are found in the first stanza in which talks about "dew-lit grass" which indicates that they are in the south which means that slavery is legal and also in very bad conditions, another example of this is in the last stanza which talks about "and as the fields unfold to whiteness, and they spill like bees among the fat flowers," which indicates that they are in a cotton field which is the hardest job a slave had to do. overall this examples of setting helps Rita Dove convey the theme of how the slaves had very miserable lives and lived in horrible conditions.
-Hajir Hosseini, period 5
To the honorable Senate and House
ReplyDeleteof Representatives of this Country,
new born: I am Belinda, an African,
since the age of twelve a Slave.
I will not take too much of your Time,
but to plead and place my pitiable Life
unto the Fathers of this Nation.
Lately your Countrymen have severed
the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope
you would consider the Same for me,
pure Air being the sole Advantage
of which I can boast in my present Condition.
As to the Accusation that I am Ignorant:
I received Existence on the Banks
of the Rio de Valta. All my Childhood
I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance.
The only Travelers were the Dead who returned
from the Ridge each Evening. How might
I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon,
who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?
I felt that Dove used a very perceiving and demanding tone when writing this poem. This can be seen by the overuse of capitalization in unnecessary places to hopefully prove a point to the intended audience possibly being the Senate and the House of Representatives. I believe that she also uses the capitalization of many words to express her emotion of anger and how she believes that her being taken in as a slave as a child and how that is completely unfair. I have also realized that maybe the use of the capital words was to discuss the main words that were very important to her for example the word “Banks” in stanza 14 is capitalized because she is describing that place where she seemed to have been captured by the banks of the Rio de Valta by white men and taken through the Middle Passage. I found it quite sarcastic about how she used words like “honorable, hope, plead” towards the Senate and House of Representatives because I feel that she is trying to mock them and try to be friendly, but inside she really wants to fight for her own rights and end slavery. Another part of the poem I found interesting was when she said “I am Belinda, an African” in stanza 3 and this spoke out to me because many blacks were captured by whites and sold off to families as slaves and that causes people to wish that weren’t black, but this passage demonstrates that she is proud of being an African and that no matter how much a person would judge her she would be extremely brave and never change her opinion. Lastly I felt that Dove wrote this poem to also make a connection to Belinda because I found that during Dove’s life her house got completely burned down so she obviously would have felt many sorrows as how Belinda felt being a slave, so they both had found a way of stepping up and fighting to solve this problem and trying to develop a productive solution to this issue.
In the poem, The Abduction, Rita Dove portrays the story of Solomon Northrup through his own point of view. The poem starts with the positive things in Solomon’s life. He is a free black male in Washington, “violin under arm” (3-4). The poem starts with the use of positive diction to give the reader an understanding of Solomon’s life. He then meets his “new friends” Brown and Hamilton, whom display a fake interest in his skills. Then later kidnap him and sell him to slave owners. The poem starts transitioning from positive to negative diction. Negative words such as: “alone,” “darkness,” and “chains.” The use of visual imagery to portray Solomon’s situation helps the reader feel like they are experiencing this with him. The use of visual imagery and similes in the second stanza: “...the wine, like a pink lake” (11) help the reader feel as if he/she is watching the chaos unfold right before his/her eyes. Rita Dove uses these devices to describe the unjustness that occurred at the time.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “The situation is intolerable” Dove writes through the persona of a black person in the time of the civil rights movement. Portraying the anger and the confusion of the blacks at this time Dove begins the poem with, “Intolerable: that civilized word. // Aren’t we civilized, too?” This was the question of the civil rights, other than their skin color, what was different? This question was not being answered which frustrated many. In the next lines Dove speaks of battle, “a righteous sword advancing// onto the field of battle// in the name of the Lord. . .” This can be looked at in two ways, the field of battle is symbolizing what it felt like to be a black walking among the whites, it portrays the tense and divided environment one would feel just walking out on the streets at that time. However, these lines also relate to the argument that blacks fought for America, therefore they deserve the same respect as every other white person who fought in battle. In the second stanza Dove writes, “All around us dark// and the perimeter in flames” the darkness symbolizes the little hope people had at this time, the normal black person. While the fire symbolizes the people who stood up for what they believed in, the people who stood out, the few people that gave the black people hope for the future. Stanza three, lines 15 through 18 Dove writes about what the blacks look liked through the whites eyes; uncivilized and inhumane. At the end of the poem Dove talks about the only thing worse than the problem they face daily, the fact that most people are doing nothing to fix it. Dove uses slang such as piss and trouser to portray the persona of a black person in this time period
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, and I especially loved your interpretation of the battle part. Also, I loved your analysis of the slang terms, which I hadn't noticed before. I noticed, however, that while you discussed the "All around us dark// and the perimeter in flames” line, you didn't mention the line right after it referencing the stars. I thought the stars represented hope for the future, however small or faint it may be... your thoughts? Also, what did you think about the final line, "O yes. O mercy on our souls."? I think it might have some connection to the battle "in the name of the Lord" because it sounds kind of religious. Anyway, I love your analysis!
DeleteIn the poem “Claudette Colvin Goes to Work”, Rita Dove uses contrasting light and dark imagery, small details, and personification to help the reader visualize Colvin’s life. Since Colvin worked the night shift at a nursing home in Manhattan, this poem describes the journey she probably took every evening to get there. Dove describes the onset of evening as “menial twilight sweeps the storefronts..” and “shadows arrive”, somewhat personifying the darkness to give it movement in the reader’s mental picture. She then goes on to describe the bits of light from the houses as a “fickle brilliance” and a “golden wattage”. The words “brilliance” and “golden” show that the light is warm and inviting, as opposed to the “menial” and “scourge”-ly shadows. This contrast in light and dark also might reflect the racial prejudices of the time period- the idea that white people were better just because they were white. Dove also includes small details, such as describing what Colvin does when she gets home: “Lay / my keys on the table, pack the perishables away / before flipping the switch.” (8-10) These kinds of seemingly-insignificant things are what make the poem feel personal. The reader connects with Colvin because they, too, set down their keys and put the groceries away when they get home. It makes her life seem more normal and down-to-earth, which one couldn’t get by reading a biography of her. Dove also personifies elements of light and dark in order to further this effect. She writes, “...bleak interiors announcing Anyone home? / or I’m beat, bring me a beer.” (6-7) The “bleak interiors” of the houses are personified, which gives them a feeling of depth. We all know the feeling of seeing a dark alleyway and feeling like there’s something there, and I think that’s what Dove is getting at here. Also, on Colvin’s way to work, Dove writes that “neon stutters into ecstasy” (17) to give the reader a vivid visual. Neon signs (especially old ones) don’t light up instantly- instead, they “stutter” until they come on all the way. Neon signs turning on is a sign of the situation being dark, even though it’s been previously established.
ReplyDelete“Freedom Ride” by Rita Dove is about the Freedom Rides that civil rights activists used in the 1960s to denounce the Jim Crow segregation laws regarding the segregation of people riding the bus. Rita Dove uses a lot of scary or violent diction such as “their fearful patches of yard rushing into the flames,” the diction being “fearful” and “flames.” In the poem the words “at every corner the same scorched brick, darkened windows” which could allude to how most people, including the police, tended to turn the blind eye towards the violent way that the Freedom Riders were treated. In the South, the Ku Klux Klan, the NSRP, and other white supremacists acted with impunity as there was little chance of prosecution for attacking the Freedom Riders for them with their police allies, even if they were to use fire bombs. “Fire” also has a connotation for passion and can be about the bravery and passion that many of the Freedom Riders exhibited in the face of such adversity, or it could reference the heated debates and publicity that the Freedom Rides sparked for the Civil Rights Movement. “Pick any stop: You can ride into the afternoon singing with strangers, or rush home to the scotch you’ve been pouring all day-
ReplyDeleteBut where you sit is where you’ll be when the fire hits” means that this affects all people whether you actively support the Civil Rights Movement or not, you will be affected by the results of this.
I really like your analysis of "Freedom Ride". I especially liked your analysis on the line "at every corner the same scorched brick, darkened windows". I did not think of that. Curacao was mentioned in line 4, did you think that held any significance? Also did the names Bobby, Malcolm, and Memphis hold any significance to the poem?
DeleteI found Dove’s poem "Climbing In" very intriguing. Dove uses animalistic imagery to evoke an intimidating, anxious mood, and the poem itself is about buses and their significance in the Civil Rights movement. Buses were segregated, so Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders used them as forms of protest and political statements. The first stanza says, “Teeth. Metallic. Lie-gapped. Not a friendly shine” (Dove). This describes the bus itself from a black person’s point of view. The segregated nature of the buses made them very unfriendly and even scary, since African Americans knew that they would be judged and humiliated when riding them. These traits are the “teeth,” a natural weapon the oppressors had to trap and harm the oppressed. Segregation made it so they could never forget that they were deemed inferior, lesser humans. The punctuation in this first stanza is very abrupt, ending after one or two words to draw emphasis to each of the items in the list. The abruptness also adds to the unfriendly atmosphere, and reflects the thoughts of people trying to stay determined and calm in such a setting. The final stanza says “the bright lady tumbles head over tail down the clinking gullet” (Dove). “Head over tail” illustrates the woman as an animal, the prey in this situation, and “tumbling” represents her lack of control in this position. The poem compares the bus to a gullet, or esophagus, since the woman is being swallowed up by the bus to trap and devour her. The animal metaphors are meant to illustrate the relationship between white and colored people at the time, one predator and superior, one prey and inferior.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of the poem, mostly because the poem I decided to analyze also had some of the same points you pointed out in your analysis. I especially liked the part about the analysis of the bus and segregation that existed. one other analysis that you could use for the first stanza is that Rita Dove uses paradox to convey the theme of "so wrong it was ready."
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
You and I had the same point in deciding that the poem was based on Rosa Parks and I when reading your analysis of the poem I found a lot of things I missed when reading the poem for myself. One thing I feel you should add is how she uses metallic imagery to capture the mood as being cold and how it relates to Rosa Parks and other blacks.
Delete"Rosa"
ReplyDeleteHow she sat there
the time right inside a place
so wrong it was ready
That trim name with
its dream of a bench
to rest on. Her sensible coat.
Doing nothing was the doing:
the clean flame of her gaze
carved by a camera flash
how she stood up
when they bent down to retrieve
her purse. That courtesy
Because most people know the famous story of Rosa Parks, Rita Dove decides to approach it from another angle. Rosa parks entire protest is all about she sitting in a bus peacefully for 15 minutes. In the first stanza she uses the word "how" by asking "How she sat there" wanting the reader to take a moment and think about the courage and strength needed for someone to do what seems like such a simple task but has such a huge impact on humanity. This simple, but powerful act is exactly what dove is able to capture in this simple, but powerful, opening line. In the second line she writes about how the time and place were both right for what Rosa Park did, because of the high racial tension that was happening In Alabama in 1955; and the fact is that Dove knows what she is talking about because she wrote this poem 50 years after the event so from an outside perspective of that time she knows the effect of the timing and placement of Rosa Park's actions, this poem is more about reflecting on what happened that day instead of retelling it. In the third line she uses paradox "so wrong it was right." She is trying to convey the message that what Rosa Park was doing was considered wrong but it was fair and right because of all the wrongness that was happening at the public bus stations because of racial inequalities.
-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
Teeth.
ReplyDeleteMetallic. Lie-gapped.
Not a friendly shine
like the dime
cutting my palm
as I clutch the silver pole
to step up, up
(sweat gliding the dear lady’s
cheek) – these are big teeth,
teeth of the wolf
under Grandmother’s cap.
Not quite a grin.
Pay him to keep smiling
as the bright lady tumbles
head over tail
down the clinking gullet
This poem really interested me because I felt that this poem was written from the view of Rosa Parks and this poem is describing the famous bus scene and how poorly she was treated because they blacks were severely discriminated whenever they were surrounded in segregated areas like the bus scene. I noticed right away that Dove uses a lot of metallic imagery like in stanzas 4, 6, and 16 with the words “dime, silver, and “clinking.” I feel that the use of this type of imagery contributes to the mood the blacks feel with discrimination because the metals create a cold type of feeling. Also Dove uses an incredible metaphor in stanza 10 with the “wolf.” I thought that this metaphor was interesting because I felt that the “smiling” in stanza 13 is used as a fake to show that actually segregation in public system actually wasn’t true, and that the “smiling” reference was because the government wanted them to be seen as welcoming, but inside they actually aren’t really okay with this at all. In the last 3 stanzas I noticed the title “Climbing In” come into play because the man who is smiling isn’t going to make any attempts in order to stop this lady from falling down the hole and into the racist and discriminatory times and no one will take a stand at all to stop this madness, and continue to watch it happen again and again.
I agree with your point about the story being told about the point of Rosa Parks and your analysis of the multitude of metallic diction used by Rita Dove since I’d missed that. I also agree with how you found the metaphor of “wolf” and the “smiling” reference interesting. Would you say that it could possibly be referencing the old fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood? A story where a defenseless, innocent girl is beset upon by her grandmother who, unbeknownst to her, is the wolf in disguise with the similarity being that an authority that should be protecting her is instead planning to turn against her.
DeleteThe poem “Parsley”, by Rita Dove and the excerpt from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat both portray the parsley massacre of 1937 on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. General Trujillo was Dominican, and wanted to get rid of all the Haitians because he believed they weren’t properly Spanish. To find out if people were Haitian or not, his soldiers would hold up parsley and ask what it was called. If they said “perejil” and rolled the R, they were declared Dominican and allowed to live. If they could not pronounce “perejil” with a rolled R, they were declared Haitian and killed. The two pieces of literature describe the event differently. The excerpt from The Farming of Bones describes a small, personal experience. Written in first person, Danticat tells the story of Amabelle, Yves, and Odette encountering Trujillo’s soldiers and asked to tell what the parsley was. They can’t pronounce “perejil” with the rolled R, so the soldiers force-fed them handfuls and handfuls of parsley and threw rocks at them. When Odette died, her final word was “pesi”, the Creole word for “parsley”. This account of the massacre has a smaller scope. It’s showing what happened within the space of a day or two. Dove’s poem, “Parsley”, has a slightly larger scope- telling the point of view of the victims as well as the general himself. She divides the poem into two sections: The Cane Fields and The Palace. The first is told in first person, similar to Danticat’s telling, and describes the Hatians working in the sugarcane fields. The words “parsley”, “General”, and “parrot” are repeated throughout this to give the reader a sense of the omnipresent-ness of the General. In the second part of the poem, which is considerably longer, Dove describes the General’s point of view. When the general was younger, his mother died, and he had looked up to her very much. She could pronounce “perejil” perfectly, rolling the R “like a queen” (61). Details about his mother’s death. such as “how she died in the fall / and he planted her walking cane at the grave / and it flowered, each spring stolidly forming / four-star blossoms” (25-28), and how she died: “collapsed in the kitchen / while baking skull-shaped candies / for the Day of the Dead” (39). According to the poem, General owned a green parrot to keep him company after his mother’s death. Dove implies this through the use of seasons. His mother “died in the fall” (24), and she repeats the phrase “parrot imitating spring” (2, 7, 13, 19), often at the ends of stanzas. Since spring is a time associated with growth and rebirth, the parrot is “imitating” it by supplying false hope. Dove writes that “Even / a parrot can roll an R!” (62), and that “Someone / calls out his name in a voice / so like his mother’s” (66-67), to demonstrate the likeness between his dead mother and the parrot. The parrot is also green, like parsley is, to further connect the symbolism to actual events.
ReplyDeleteEllie, I really enjoyed reading your analysis. I, also noticed the use of repetition of the words parsley", "General", and "parrot" but could not interpret it. The way you contrasted between the poem and the excerpt also helped me understand the differences between the sources. One thing you could add to your analysis is the use of violent/morbid diction to describe the harsh and daunting lifestyle of the migrant workers.
DeleteThe Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat and “Parsley” by Rita Dove are both about the reign of General Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and his genocide against any Haitian immigrants. In the poem by Rita Dove, the part “we cannot speak an R” is alluding to the way that Trujillo’s soldiers would tell is someone was a Haitian as shown in the excerpt of The Faming of Bones. Also in the first part of “Parsley,” there is a repeating motif of ending the stanzas with “out of the swamp the cane appears” and “a parrot imitating spring” which are both important as the first motif is about the sugar canes that are cut and the second motif is referring to the metaphor in the second part of “Parsley.” The Parrot in the second part of “Parsley” is a metaphor for Trujillo’s refusal to let the death of his mother, who he loved greatly, go. The parrot is imitating spring because Trujillo’s mother “collapsed in the kitchen while baking skull-shaped candies for the Day of the Dead” in the fall so the use of seasons if to show how Trujillo refuses to accept her death. The seasons spring and fall also have their own connotations as spring is usually when flowers and plants grow and bloom, while fall is the season when the plants wither and die.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. You basically said everything I did, except much more concisely. However, I do want to know what you think about the repetition of the phrase, "out of the swamp the cane appears". Why is it repeated so many times? Why that particular phrasing? Also, what is the significance of the line, "we lie down screaming as rain punches through / and we come up green"? Does it have to do with being whipped, maybe? I think the “and we come up green” means they died and their bodies later nourished growing grass and other plants. Also, how would you compare “Parsley” with The Farming of Bones in their storytelling styles? I thought that together they gave a close-up, personal view of the massacre. What about the use of the parrot in both the first and second part of the poem?
ReplyDeleteThe poem “Parsley” by Rita Dove is describing the horrors of the Parsley Massacre of 1937. Dominican Republic dictator, Rafael Trujillo ordered anyone who could not pronounce “perejil” (“parsley” in English) were to be executed. The people who could not pronounce this word were Haitians; therefore Trujillo’s goal was to eliminate a mass amount of Haitian migrant workers from the Dominican Republic. Dove uses violent diction to portray the harsh reality of being a Haitian migrant worker in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo’s rule. In “Parsley” Dove writes: “We lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green” (7-8). Dove uses the words “screaming” and “punches” instead of less harsh verbs to give a morbid mood and to also display the intensity of the situation. Rain does not literally “punch” so this personification intensifies the tone. Later in the poem, Dove uses morbid diction when she writes: “The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming” (15-16). The words “lashed” and “streaming” are both very strong, aggressive words that are describing the wind and its effect on the sugar cane. This reflects how the Haitian migrant workers were treated and how they experienced everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of Parsley and I agree with everything you said. However I didn't see any references to the excerpt. I'm guessing, like me, you couldn't write down everything you wanted due to the word limit we have on these post. If you could write more, would you have talked about the repetition in The Cane Fields?
DeleteI agree with Sophia in how you could have talked about the repetition of the cane fields. Matter of fact that was what my analysis was about. I found out the "cane" relates to his mother and how it was buried with her when she passed. Since he was completely heartbroken with the loss of his mother he took out his anger on the Haitians and wanted them to suffer as well. Also the Dove uses the phrase "in fall" to showcase the time in which the Haitian genocide occurred which was actually the exact time in which his mother passed away. I really enjoyed reading your analysis Al and thought you give a thorough description of how the different types of diction is being portrayed throughout the entire poem.
DeleteThe poem “Parsley” by Rita Dove and the excerpt of The Farming Bones by Edwidge Danticat are both pieces of literature focusing on the the parsley massacre of 1937. Both focus on the horrendous situation and help show it in detail through visual imagery and yet both also give off the slightest sense of hope from the Haitians. In the excerpt Odette says, “I told myself that eating the parsley would keep me alive.” In stanza 3 of Parsley, Dove writes “we lie down screaming as rain punches through/ and we come up green”. “we come up green” is referring to reincarnation. You die, and then you decompose into dirt and then come back as a plant, a new form of life. This is hopeful because it portrays the idea that once they die they will come back again full of life and strong like the roots of a tree. The poem Parsley is broken up into two different passages, The Cane Fields and The Palace. Like the excerpt from the book, The Cane fields is told in the point of view of Haitian workers. The Palace is told by the point of view of Trujillo. Dove immediately shows the vast contrast of these workers and Trujillo in stanza 1 “There is a parrot imitating spring/ in the palace, its feathers parsley green./ Out of the swamp the cane appears”. Right away these two sentences set up great tension in the poem, since a palace and a pet parrot give off wealth while typically poor, migrant workers work in sugarcane fields. In the next stanza Trujillo is referred to as “El General” and then he is referred to as “all the world”. The title El General, the general, shows that Trujillo is of higher power than the Haitian workers. However when he is then referred to as “all the world” we realize that he is more than just a respected power, Trujillo is a dictator. When living in great fear like that it is easy for one to be known with such importance like Trujillo was known by these workers.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything that you said in your analysis, matter of fact my analysis of the poem was so similar to yours that I had to delete my comment and change and add a few extra analysis so it looks different from the points that you pointed out! Another point you could use is how at the end of the stanzas there are s sentences that are similar to each other and look mostly the same with a small difference of one or two words which demonstrates that Rita Dove is comparing the sentences together.
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "Parsley" by Rita Dove describes the horrors of the parsley massacre of 1937 on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo was Dominican, and wanted to get rid of all the Haitians because he believed they weren’t properly Spanish. He ordered anyone who could not pronounce “perejil” (“parsley” in English) were to be executed. The people who could not pronounce this word were Haitians. Dove uses visual imagery to describe the horrible situation.
ReplyDeleteIn the first stanza
There is a parrot imitating spring
in the palace, its feathers parsley green.
Out of the swamp the cane appears
she uses the words "palace" and "parrot" which both symbolize extreme wealth, she also uses the words "cane" and "swamp" which both refer to sugarcanes which take a lot of hard work and most people who work on sugarcane farms are poor and have to work very hard to maintain their fields. Already in the beginning of the poem there is tension, between how different classes of people are living.
In the second stanza
to haunt us, and we cut it down. El General
searches for a word; he is all the world
there is. Like a parrot imitating spring,
she writes about how the workers view "El General" as "he is all the world" which demonstrates that even though he isn't the king of the world, to the eyes of sugarcane workers who live in the fear of getting killed, he is everything. This demonstrates the horrible way of life that the Haitian workers had, not only they were extremely poor but they also feared for their life all the time.
In stanza number four
and then the mountains we call in whispers Katalina.
The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads.
There is a parrot imitating spring.
Dove writes about how "the children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads" which demonstrates how nervous they were and how the conditions of living under the fear of "El general" is so horrible that even children know and are scared of what may happen to them.
In stanza number six
in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming.
And we lie down. For every drop of blood
there is a parrot imitating spring.
Out of the swamp the cane appears.
Dove writes how the sugarcane is appearing even in their dreams, demonstrating that the labor work of being a worker is inescapable and they are forced to do this until they die.
-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
While going this poem titled “Parsley” by Rita Dove I seem to notice there is repetition with the line “out of the swamp the cane appears.” This repetition of the line seems very interesting as I was able to infer that the either the use of this line was to describe the working conditions of the Haitians in the sugar cane fields or it could also to the cane that is buried with Trujillo’s mother. However I feel like that this line actually is used to refer to Trujillo’s mother because she uses the words “the cane” meaning the use of the word “the” is singular which we can infer that the cane would relate to one person thus meaning it would be his mother. Since Trujillo lost his mother and deeply cared about her we can infer that his continuous anger and cause of genocide could be from this issue. Also back in the day a cane would be used to punish and severely hurt someone, and from this it can be shown that whenever Haitians failed to please the General. Another way Dove could explain that the reason the General is in complete anger and slaughters many Haitians is by the phrase “in the fall,” and this is because the genocide of the Haitians took place in the fall and that was the exact time where his mother passed, so with that occurring I found that the death of his mother was a partial reasoning behind the entire genocide. Another example of repetition would be with the word “parsley” because after reading the excerpt given “The Farming of Bones” I found out parsley itself was a big part of a Haitian’s daily life which would range from meals to medicine. The issues behind the food and health care would be taken into consideration by a mother, and since he has no mother anymore he sets out to mock the Haitians by taking out their symbol of home and instead turn it into a symbol of fear and suffrage.
ReplyDeletePersephone, Falling
ReplyDeletePersephone, is a daughter, and even though her mother is never mentioned, but her presence and influence is great. Her mother represents all over protective mothers around the world, who fear their daughters' independence. Rita Dove uses repetition to convey the theme of how stubborn a teenage girl who wants independence from her mother can be. The repetition of "one" in the first two lines of the poem demonstrates the daughter's deep desire to finding that one unique, beautiful flower. Chasing this one special and perfect flower is what has caused her to get far away from home and in a place where she is vulnerable to different dangers. The repetition of "pull" in the second and third line emphasizes once again on how strong her desire is to get that flower even though her mother told her not to travel too far. Another example of repetition that is used in this poem is the repetition of the word "the", in the last two sentences of the poem. Ending the poem with a strong tone that presses the reader to really focus on exactly how this event occurred. By saying " This is how easily the pit opens. This is how one foot sinks into the ground." Dove is trying to press the reader into focusing on how things went wrong and how "this" is how the mom and daughter are separated, forever.
-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
I thought your analysis was really cool- you looked at it in a way that I did not. I agree with what you said about Persephone being a stubborn teenage girl who wants independence from her mother. Previously, I had thought that she just saw a pretty flower and wanted to pick it, not as an act of defiance against Demeter. Do you think it's important that the flower is a narcissus? (Narcissus was another Greek myth- he fell in love with his own reflection and died of sadness that he couldn't marry himself, basically.) I also liked your analysis of the last two lines, saying that even though your mother can advise you and tell you not to do the wrong thing, sometimes you do it anyway.
DeleteDemeter is the mother of Persephone and the goddess of the harvest. When Persephone was taken to the Underworld by Hades Demeter missed her daughter dearly and did not care if the crops died, she did not care for anything except for finding her daughter. Because of this Zeus sent his son Hermes to make a deal with Hades, the deal was that Persephone would live as queen of the Underworld for six months each winter and in the spring she would return to earth and live there for six months. Each spring Demeter would bring everything back to life, she would make sure the flowers were blooming, the crops were growing, and the fields were green with welcome for Persephone’s return. However, every fall when Persephone would return to the Underworld, Demeter would ignore the crops leaving them to die resulting in the seasons. The poem “Breakfast of Champions” is told through the perspective of Demeter when her daughter leaves for the winter. In line 1 Dove writes, “Finally, overcast skies. I’ve crossed a hemisphere” the word “finally” is used to create a mood of relief. She is relieved that the winter has come so now she can “find a place fit for mourning” meaning that she can portray how she truly feels in these seasons. Dove writes “here’s weather to match my condition” again referring to the anger and sadness Demeter feels and showing how she chooses to display her feelings through the death of crops and the “overcast skies”. In stanza one dove writes, “I’ll dive into a grateful martini tonight” A person usually drinks alone when they are upset, also martinis are associated more with older people rather than a twenty one year old who is ready to party. This line also adds to the desperately sad mood that Demeter feels and displays through the winter seasons.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “The Bistro Styx”, Rita Dove puts the myth of Demeter and Persephone into a modern setting to make it more relatable to modern readers. In it, she describes a meeting between the two women after Persephone has been living in the Underworld for awhile. It is told in the first-person perspective of Demeter, and tells the reader more about how she would have felt. Her daughter has left her, albeit by accident, and she feels devastated. Dove describes this devastation more in the poem “Demeter, Waiting”. In “The Bistro Styx”, the mother and daughter meet for lunch in a cafe in Paris. In Greek mythology, the River Styx is the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, an allusion to the Demeter and Persephone myth, in which Persephone lives in the Underworld for three months out of the year, causing winter. In the poem, Persephone and Hades have opened an art gallery with a souvenir shop in Paris, and Persephone is talking with her mom about how business is going. Demeter worries if Persephone is happy; 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), and in line 67, Demeter asks, “‘But are you happy?’”. The first question is not spoken aloud, and this is not answered. However, the second question means basically the same as the first, and Persephone answers, “‘What? You know, Mother- / ... one really should try the fruit here.” (68-70) At first glance, this might seem like she is brushing the question off, but I saw it as an allusion to the myth. When Persephone first went to the Underworld, she ate a pomegranate, which tied her to that place forever. From then on, she would have to stay in the Underworld for three months out of the year, and then could come back to Earth for the remaining months. When she tells her mother that she “really should try the fruit here”, she is saying that Demeter should come join her in the Underworld to see what it’s like and why she likes it so much. After Demeter realizes this, she thinks, “I’ve lost her” (71). Throughout this poem, Dove also uses colors to represent Persephone’s change. When she first enters the cafe, she is wearing all gray, especially her “silvery cape” that was “tossed off in a shudder of brushed steel” (12). Then, when Dove describes her meal, she illustrates the Chateaubriand steak as looking like “the heart plucked from the chest of a worthy enemy” (31) and her drink as “Wine, a bloody / Pinot Noir” (33-34). If that doesn’t strike you as cannibalistic, I don’t know what will. Dove also contrasts this bloody imagery by describing the “bright tufted fields, weighted / vines and sun” (65-66) from her birthplace to further exemplify the change in Demeter’s daughter.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis! I understood the main point of this poem but I couldn't understand why Rita said certain things she did when I first read it. After reading your analysis all my questions have been answered! I especially like how you talked about the different colors showing her moods throughout the poem.
DeleteIn the poem “Mother Love,” Rita Dove tells a story from the mythology of Demeter after she had learned of the disappearance of her daughter and is filled with despair. In the myth, she is disguised as an old woman by a well and is kindly taken in by a local woman and her daughters as alluded to in “this kind woman approached at the urging of her bouquet of daughters.” Demeter at this point in the poem might be comparing the daughters with her own daughter and is referencing how beautiful they are with the flower diction of “bouquet” and is saying that they will eventually disappear in “one for each of the winds to scatter!” The poem is about Demeter describing how the encounter with the woman and her daughters is a welcome distraction to her own loss as she “put aside the lavish trousseau of the mourner for the daintier comfort of pity.” This is about how Demeter decides to show pity on the infant son of the woman instead of wallowing in her own misery by making the young child immortal which she did in a very curious method. The method is described in the poem as she “laid him on the smoldering embers, sealing his juices in slowly so he might be cured to perfection.” The woman, who caught her, was justifiably horrified and screamed as she thought her child lost just as Demeter had lost her daughter, Persephone, and that scream reminded her of her own grief as shown in the line “Poor human – to scream like that, to make me remember.”
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this poem I was really puzzled, however when I read through this analysis I was able to get the jest of it and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your analysis. I really liked how you used the quote to talk about the misery that Demeter feels. I felt that she actually is excited for the winter based on the word "finally," meaning that since winter had finally came she could find a place to mourn and portray how she really feels about the seasons. Nice detailed and thorough analysis Chris
DeleteThe poem "Party Dress for a First Born" by Rita Dove is a sonnet that conveys the feelings of innocence through similes, personification, and symbols. The title, "Party Dress for a First Born" paired with the rest of the poem symbolizes the situation where someone is forced to mature quickly. The party dress is implied to serve the function to attend an adult party, while the one wearing it is not fully grown yet. This can be reflected with the first line, "Headless girl so ill at ease on the bed" (1). The headless girl could be a personified dress with whom she is speaking to, with both words being a significant way to personify it. Headless would not mean its literal term, instead meaning her absentmindedness, her aloof state, the carelessness that comes with being a child. 'Girl' supports the newborn stated in the poem. While the way this is talked about implies a mature young woman, the girl personified is young and is not of adult age, yet is being asked to act like it, as follows in the second stanza. She is also deeply uncomfortable by this situation, as the dress, representing something she is not, is ill at ease on her bed, distressed by the events she is forced to endure.
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of the poem, especially because you did not just use one literary term but three and provided great evidence for them! Rita Dove used lots of literary terms, which you mentioned, To convey the theme of the girl not being mature enough and being forced into growing up quickly. I also liked your analysis of the dress, what else do you think it represents besides what her personality is being forced to change into
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
In the poem “Heroes” by Rita Dove I realized that the relationship between the mother and daughters as seen as difficult and extremely complex as there’s a forceful battle between both the mother’s intentions and the actual end result that occurs. At the start of the poem Dove starts out with imagery with the use of the poppy flower. The reason why Dove chose to use the poppy flower instead of any other flower is that they represent dreams and remembrance. Using this as an example the poopy flower is used in the context of the poem to symbolize a mother’s child. Another why in why the poppy flower is represented as the child is that based on the poem you are trying to find a jar of water in order to keep the plucked poppy flower from wilting, so this relates to a mother trying to protect and preserve her child in order to keep them as loving, compassionate, youthful, and vibrant. However with the mother being too overprotective of the child, the child starts to seek independence and feels that the mother is getting in the way of this happening. By this the unintended and harmful disputes that result from innocent and good intentions between the mother and daughter can be seen in the lines the woman on the porch starts screaming “because” you’ve plucked the last poppy in her miserable garden, the one that gave her the strength every morning to rise! With this line you can clearly see that even a well-intended action can end up having a harmful effect. The problem however actually gets worse from the lines “you” strike the lady and “she hits her head on a white boulder.” This demonstrates how tension between the mother and daughter can go downhill in their relationship because of the violent actions or words used at the moment. Lastly I spotted Dove using diction with the word “fugitive,” and that means a person that runs away from something so this relates to the mother and how she is running away from the fact that she is stripping the child of independence and the experience of actually growing up.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Cozy Apologia”, Rita Dove uses visual imagery, emotional diction, and second-person perspective to give the reader a feeling of a love letter. First of all, the word “apologia” means a “formal written defense of one’s opinions or conduct”- in this case, Dove is describing to her husband why she loves him. She uses visual imagery to describe different things that remind her of him: “This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue / My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page” (2-3) to show that even when he’s not physically there, he’s always in her thoughts. She also describes how she sees him as her fairytale hero “Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / as standing in silver stirrups will allow” (6-7) to impart to the reader the feeling of love and admiration she has for him. The emotional diction she uses throughout exhibit to the reader how, even in “this post-post-modern age” (11) that is “all business” (11), they’re “content, but short of the Divine” (24), and how their relationship is “embarrassing” because they’re so satisfied and happy with each other. The second person perspective used throughout the poem is to distinguish the audience. The poem is dedicated to Fred, her husband, and the way she refers to him as if he is reading it furthers the loving tone. Dove also uses rhyme to increase the reading pleasure- the poem flows smoothly and sounds nice.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis of this poem! When I read it I realized it was a poem about love but I didn't realize she dedicated it to her husband. I like how you talk about the idea that their love is embarrassing in the "modern world" that was really interesting to me. I also agree with your comment at the end stating that the poem flows smoothly and sounds nice. I also really like how you analyzed lines 2-3.
DeleteIn the poem "Cozy Apologia" by Rita Dove allusions and metaphors are both used in order to present the theme of how powerful one's emotions can be while also giving the reader a feeling of hope for love in their own life. Dove start's this poem by writing about what seems to be her "trapped" situation. She writes "There you'll be, with furrowed brow/ And chain mail glinting, to set me free/ one eye smiling, the other firm upon the enemy"(Dove 8-10). In writing this she is signifying that her husband or whoever is meant by "he" is here to rescue her. The "chain mail glinting" is a reference to her husband being a "knight in shining armor". This is a metaphor because she is comparing her husband, indirectly, to her husband being a knight in shining armor. This comparison helps to convey how highly she thinks of her husband and how much he can do and does for her. She goes on to write " Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast,/ Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd who brings a host/ of daydreams"(13-15). In this instance Dove is alluding to Hurricane Floyd of 1999 which was one of the most deadly hurricanes of the 20th century in North America. In comparing her husband to hurricane Floyd Dove is showing that while he can be looking out for her best interest she is also showing that he can be very destructive, possibly emotionally, in contrast to what she had early described him as. This contrast help show the power of one’s emotions.
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of the poem, especially because you did not just use one literary term but two and provided great evidence for them! Rita Dove used different literary terms to convey the theme of emotions and the power of hope. I also really liked your analysis of how you connected the poem to a real life tragedy.
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
The poem “Meditation at Fifty Yards, Moving Target” by Rita Dove is broken up into four different sections, Safety First, Open Air, Gender Politics, and The Bullet. Safety First is written in the point of view of someone who knows a lot about guns and is giving one to someone who has never touched a gun before. Gender Politics is talking about the differences of a girl holding a gun as opposed to a guy. The Bullet is literally the perspective of a bullet. Open Air caught my interest the most. Open Air is written in the perspective of someone ready to end their life. The poem starts with the sentence “Fear, of course.” This is talking about how one would feel with the possession of a gun. If they were trying to kill themself they might be content with the thought of doing so but there is always second thoughts and fear lurking in the midst of their mind. The next quintet reads:
ReplyDeleteThen the sudden
pleasure or heft-as if the hand
had always yearned for this solemn
fit, this gravitas, and now had found
its true repose.
This is talking about the pleasure one feels for holding such a powerful weapon in their hand, the pleasure one would feel if they were finally ready to end it all. The word “repose” means a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility. This is a metaphorical representation of death because death is often looked at as “eternal sleep” and when one is dead they are in a state of peace. The next line writes, “Don’t pull the trigger, squeeze it-” Squeeze is a passionate word, it gives off a sense of excitement but also a sense of fear and anger. When one is ready to end their life they are feeling all these emotions at once. The poem ends saying “Soft, now: squeeze.” There is nothing left to say once the gun has been fired because there are no thoughts left in the head of one who has just taken their own life.
Chocolate
ReplyDeleteHave you ever wondered why people give chocolate to each other on valentines day?
chocolate has scientifically been proven to cause people to get more romantic and help increase another person’s romantic feelings for someone. Rita Dove in her poem of chocolate tries to seductively convey the theme of love by using delicious chocolate. She first uses visual imagery to describe the chocolate and demonstrate how delicious the chocolate is. Even though the poem mostly talks about chocolate it is actually conveying the theme of how chocolate is used to seduce women by men and even if the women is glad to have the chocolate it still will be very bad for her. for this theme chocolate is perfect to use not just because it symbolizes how it is very seductive and can be used for the wrong reasons but also chocolate is very delicious and almost everyone loves chocolate but the problem is too much chocolate is bad for you and can cause health problems. Rita dove uses chocolate to convey the theme of how something that can be so seductive and look good and innocent can be lethal if used too much.
-Hajir Hosseini, Period 7
In “All Souls,” Rita Dove is referencing the story of Adam and Eve, who are symbolic of humanity in the poem, and how they were banished from Eden, as well as the evolution of our culture to present day. “Of course the world has changed for good” is the beginning of the second stanza is about our constant justification in making progress synonymous with improvement and making something better. “Now that change was de rigueur” means that change was necessary to be fashionable, popular, or socially acceptable, which could be referencing racism throughout history as shown in the justification of Europeans as they considered those they enslaved and conquered to be “uncivilized” which they would, of course, change. In the third stanza, the two souls represent Adam and Eve, as well as the change from the idyllic world of Eden that they came from to the current world of sadness, suffering, and weariness. “In time they hunkered down to business, filling the world with sighs” is metaphorical of how the world is filled with human suffering, indifference, and sadness. “These anonymous, pompous creatures, heads tilted as if straining to make out the words to a song played long ago, in a foreign land” is metaphorical of humanity desperately trying to find happiness, yet failing. The “song played long ago, in a foreign land” is a metaphor for the happiness and contentedness found within the Garden of Eden.
ReplyDeleteThe poem “Rhumba” by Rita Dove is a poem that is a dance that is executed by a partnership between a man and a woman. A rhumba itself is a rhythmic dance with Spanish and African elements, originating in Cuba. I realize from the start that the poem is split into two sides, left and the right (which is italicized) and the reasoning behind this is that I believe that the left side used to describe the smooth directions of the dance and the right side is used to show more of the effort involved to perfect the dance. Lines like “locking your knees, don’t close your eyes, back on your feet, and step forward” are all related to the smooth steps involved in the dance. On the right side lines like “dip down, spread your arms, keep your elbows straight, shoulders down, look for the stars, and let them see your face” are used to showcase additional details needed to create an overall powerful feeling in the dance. These italicized lines are intended after each regular line to show a partner communicating with the other and how they could improve their form to really show what the dance is trying to tell the audience. Also Dove uses metaphors of nature to also describe this style of dance by using words like “snake, rock, swan, clouds.” This is intended to describe the beauty, smoothness, and softness of the dance and to get the entire audience to fall in love with the dance. Also Dove towards the end describes the “locking of the eyes” and this describes the romantic style of the dance. With this the dance sets a mood of love and beauty across the entire audience.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis, in fact I really liked it. I love how you said that the dance is intended to affect the audience in a certain way, because it was very different than what I had thought. I previously had thought that the dance was about the two people dancing it, but I now realize that the audience is important as well. I also thought that the left side was the woman speaking/thinking, and the italicized right side was the man speaking/thinking. I especially loved how you noticed the nature metaphors to exemplify the beauty and power in the dance. (Also thanks for telling us what a rhumba is)
DeleteIn the poem “Fox Trot Fridays”, Rita Dove uses alliteration, allusions to music and dance and simple structure to give the feeling of a simple, happy rhythm. In the poem, she is describing the way it feels to set aside a day of the week to dance the foxtrot. The multiple alliterations in this poem are a connection to the music in the dance. They also affect the reading pleasure- when the reader says many of the same sound in a row, it flows better and feels more musical. For example, the title itself, “Fox Trot Fridays”, contains an alliteration in which the soft “f” sound is repeated. Then, in the first line of the poem, Dove repeats another soft sound, “th”, when she writes, “Thank the stars there’s a day” (1). These soft sounds are used to give the reader a feeling of comfort, the same feeling Dove has when she goes to dance the foxtrot. Then, in lines 7 and 8, there are two more alliterations: “as Nat King Cole’s / slow satin smile,” where she contrasts both the sharper “k” sound and the easier “s” sound to call attention the difference and make the reader pay attention. It also serves to transition from the previous lines, which have a quicker rhythm when read aloud, to the lines following these two, which are slower. Dove also references the dance itself with names of steps: “stride brush stride” (3), “quick-quick with a / heel-ball-toe” (5-6). This gives the reader a feeling of authenticity, a feeling that Dove really does know what she’s talking about. These hyphenated phrases and short words also set a fairly speedy pace for the reader, which in itself reference the quick pace of the dance. Dove’s use of short stanzas and short words create a feeling of simplicity in the poem, that impresses upon the reader the same feeling Dove gets when she is dancing: “no heartbreak in sight-” (14).
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of the poem "Fox Trot Fridays" especially the connection you made between the alliterations in the poem with the music in the dance. After you mentioned the repetition of the same sounds in a row, I understood the true writing style that Rita Dove uses in her poems. Do you think she used all these alliterations in her poem just to make it sound more pleasurable to the reader and make a connection to the music in the dance, or are there other reasons that may have inspired Rita Dove to use so many alliterations?
Delete-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
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ReplyDeleteThe Bistro Styx
ReplyDeleteRita Dove in the poem The Bistro Styx uses Greek mythology of Demeter and Persephone in order to depict the troubled relationship between mother and daughter. The poem begins with a narration of the mother who is waiting for her daughter. In the conversation between mother and daughter we can sense the trouble in the relationship which often results in communication gap. Daughter was dressed in gray skirt which is symbolic of the death of human emotion and sensibility. The pain of mother is losing her child in the chaotic world even if she wants to bring back her to home (earlier state) but she can’t do so as it has become too late, since her daughter has already eaten seeds of pomegranate, meaning she belongs to the dead; she has also drunk water from the styx which implies that she has forgotten her mom and her earlier life. On the other hand daughter’s view is that in the name of career, job, opportunity, modernity, fashion, she has to sacrifice her old attitude, old values, and tradition. She even wants to stay with mom, she can’t because she needs to compete in this modern world to sustain and keep her standards up-to-date. She is seduced by modern facilities and opportunities.
-Hajir Hosseini, Period 5
I enjoyed reading your analysis on "The Bistro Styx" I found your idea of the gray skirt being symbolic to the death of human emotion and sensibility to be very interesting. You talk about how the conversation between mother and daughter shows the trouble in their relationship, I think it would be nice to give an example of their conversation and show how that example helps prove your statement.
DeleteI totally agree with your analysis of “The Bistro Styx” and how you commented on how the daughter wants to stay with the mother but is seduced by opportunity and is taken away. This is a good comparison with the mythology of Persephone as you could say that she too is torn between being happy with her mother and being trendy yet sad. It could be compared with the connotations of summer and winter, with summer being a happy, joyous time and winter having a dreary and dull connotation.
DeleteThe poem “The Seven Veils of Salomé” is a biblical allusion. Salomé is often identified with the dancing women from the new testament (Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11). The title refers to the dance performed by Salomé before Herod Antipas. These passages tell the story of a girl named Salomé who danced for King Herod’s birthday upon her mother's request. So pleased by Salomé’s dance Herod told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” He then promised her with an oath “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom”. Unsure of what to ask Salomé went to her mother, Herodias, for guidance. Pleased with her question, Herodias responded telling her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. Fulfilling Salomé’s request he presented John’s head to her on a silver platter. After, she gave her present to her mother. Salomé Awaits Her Entrance is told in the point of view of Salomé looking at an exchange her mother had with John the baptist. I assume when Salomé writes “he” she is referring to John because she writes, “holding out a slip of meat, skewered fruit-/ some delicacy he’d surely never seen” This gives the idea that whoever Herodias is talking to is poor and baptist tend to be people of the lower class at this time. This stanza also writes “He said nothing,/ merely turned away his large/ and beautifully arrogant head. Herodias thought of John as arrogant because he didn’t agree with her life choices. Also when Dove refers to his head this is foreshadowing to what later happens in the story. Herodias, in the doorway is read in the point of view of Herodias talking about Salomé. Herod, Watching is written through the perspective of Herod. The Fool, at Herod’s Feet talks about Salomé. Salomé Dancing is told in the perspective of Salomé
ReplyDeleteIn “Evening Primrose,” Rita Dove uses metaphors and personification to allude to subtle beauty of the primrose and the fact that the evening primrose only blooms in the evening at dusk. “Neither rosy nor prim, nor cousin to the cowslip nor the extravagant fuchsia” describes how the primrose is neither dull nor flashy. “Sun blathers its baronial endorsement, but they refuse to join the ranks” alludes to primroses only blooming in the evening, unlike other flowers that will flourish and bloom under the rays of the sun. “When the day is large, you won’t see them fluttering” is a personification about how primroses won’t be in bloom during the daytime so they won’t be “fluttering.” Rita Dove also describes the flowers with fiery bright diction such as “blaze” to describe the flowers when they bloom. The fire diction such as “blaze” also has a bright and vibrant connotation to it and can describe the brilliance of a blooming primrose. “I doubt anyone has ever picked one for show” references the plain and overlooked beauty of the primrose and how no one pays much attention to it. The primrose could be a metaphor for unseen beauty and grace that is often overlooked in favor of something like “the extravagant fuchsia,” yet can be found everywhere. A commentary on how we tend to overlook the beauty that is not obvious yet abundant that “blooms” when nobody is watching.
ReplyDelete"The Narcissus Flower" is an extremely dark poem that deals with a very important and relevant issue that even occurs today. The poem utilizes figurative language, rape imagery and structure to symbolize the transformation women go through when they experience traumatic experiences such as rape. For example visual imagery is used when Dove compares the women to "a frightened bird" to point out that she is scared of being vulnerable, however she is still in flight and therefore she is still free. In the next stanza, Dove writes that the "blossom incinerated," symbolizing the violent loss of innocence. Dove then adds the terms of simile and personification going with rape imagery in order to make a powerful impact on the reader and to paint a picture in their mind about the horrific scene. She then compares this man to be "adamant as a knife easing into the humblest crevice." Even when cutting through something as soft as butter, the humblest crevice, a knife shows no mercy, similar to how a man shows no mercy when taking away the innocence of even the most chaste of woman. Even though this particular women overcame this trauma by eating the fear before it ate her, she finds that she "can live beyond dying" proving that you still retain your life and soul after deathly experiences such as rape, although it would be extremely difficult to to continue life as it was before the incident took place. This woman's transformation into a "queen whom nothing surprises" represents how she has seen the worst the world has to offer so therefore nothing can phase her. She lives almost as a sort of ghost, without hope and without optimism. Finally, Dove utilizes short and to-the-point stanzas to emphasize the strong, bitter tone. The narrator talks as if she's restricted and destroyed by her past experiences.
ReplyDeleteIn “Heart to Heart” Rita Dove describes the importance of the heart and what it truly means to give a heart. Dove begins the poem by describe what the heart isn't “It’s neither red/ nor sweet./ It doesn't melt/ or turn over,/ break or harden,/ so it can't feel/ pain,/ yearning,/ regret” (Dove, 1-9). Dove does this in order to address and denounce the cliches of the heart. The heart is unable to feel emotion of undergo a dramatic change. Dove later does this with with cliche actions that the heart is believed to feel “I can't wear it/ on my sleeve,/ or tell you from the bottom of it/ how I feel” (24-28). Dove uses this to again deconstruct stereotypes associated with the heart. Now the stereotypes deal with actions the heart is believed to take. The deconstruction puts emphasis on the heart's primary function and purpose, regulating blood flow and in turn keeping a person alive. Lastly Dove briefly describes an exchange of hearts “ Here,/ it all yours, now-/ but you'll have to take me, too” (28-32). Dove first uses figurative language here. She depicts herself giving her heart and in turn her very life to a trusted person. This trusted person must then also take Dove along with heart.
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