Rita Dove’s use of contrasting diction, displays the positive and negative sides of Billie Holiday’s life. Holiday’s life consisted of many hard times, and in the darkest of times, she found music as a positive outlet. However, addiction eventually took her life. Dove describes her voice as having “as many shadows as lights” (2). The words light and dark are antonyms and symbolize how Holiday’s life contained everything, from happy times to the darkest of times. Both happy and dark times in her life influenced her work. Shadows comes before the word lights to demonstrate that Holiday’s troubles actually began early in her life, and occurred not just during her popular career, but prior to it as well. Dove describes Holiday’s physical qualities, “the gardenia her signature under that ruined face” (4). Holiday usually wore a gardenia behind her ear, which brings beauty to her appearance. Dove quickly removes the idea of beauty from the reader’s mind by describing her face as “ruined”. This allows the reader to visualize Holiday’s face and skin as rough and wrinkled. The rough appearance of her face sticks out when comparing it to the flower Holiday uses behind her ear. Similar to how Holiday’s career brought positive effects, but it was always overshadowed by her struggles with addiction and the law. Dove also describes the difference between her music and addiction when writing, “with your mirror and your bracelet of song” (8). Although there are no antonyms or opposing thoughts through the diction, the connotations that come with these objects are opposite. A mirror can generally be associated with the use of drugs. Here, Dove expresses that Holiday balanced both addiction and fame during her career, until the drugs and alcohol eventually grabbed control of her life.
I agree with your statement that Rita Dove uses contrasting diction to portray the different sides of Billie Holiday's life. I liked how you talked about not only how the contrasting ideas of the poem show different aspects of her life, but I also liked that you explained how Rita Dove’s diction and how she phrases certain things affect the reader’s perception of the poem. I also found Dove’s use of the word “under” in this passage curious, because usually a gardenia would be to the side or above her face. This is a supporting detail that I thought would have helped your argument that the drugs were overshadowing her career and holding her back. That may have been the reason that Dove chose to describe her signature Gardenia as “under” her face.
Rita Dove's use of the line “Billy Holiday’s Burned voice” is meant to talk about the many ways struggles that Holiday faced during her life, it also relates to one of her most famous songs, “Strange Fruit”. This song refers to the burning of blacks in america at the time. The song was meant to talk about America before the civil rights movement, and the oppression that African American people faced. Holiday used very powerful lyrics in this song to help convey her outlook on america at the time, and how it had “burned” her. She uses some disturbing lyrics such as “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze”, and “Then the sudden smell of burning flesh”. Dove references this song, because it shows yet another struggle that Holiday fought with throughout her life. She was not only affected by drugs and prostitution, but the discrimination that she faced on a daily basis in an America before the civil rights movement. At the time, Holiday had next to no rights, and used music as a way to express her ideas, hence the use of the phrase “burned voice” by Dove. Ironically, Holiday performed to mainly white audiences, with this song containing references to their terrible treatment of African Americans.
Something interesting I recognized when listening to the song “strange fruit” (1939) is the lyrics, along with an autotune of Nina Simone’s version (1965) make up the chorus of Kanye West’s famous song “Blood on the leaves” (2013).
I found your analysis quite interesting, particularly your connection to Kanye West’s song “Blood on the Leaves”. This is a connection I had not thought of after reading the poem or listening to the song. I also enjoyed your connection from the song to the poetry about the metaphorical “burning of African Americans at the time. This seems to be quite a theme throughout both. Another connection I made to this theme of burning was when Dove writes, “magic spoon, magic needle”. This references the burning and injecting of heroin, which Billie Holiday was addicted to for much of her life. This further “burns” her.
Through the use of allusion, Rita Dove uses the poem "Sonnet in Primary Colors" in order to illustrate the life full of pain and hardship of Frida Kahlo. Frida's self portraits are often the most recognisable, always including and highlighting her prominent unibrow, and this poem alludes to four of these. The painting "Self Portrait with Monkey and Parrot" is described with "lovely Frida, erect among parrots" (Dove 2-3). A symbol is also at play in this paragraph, as parrots are colourful and exotic, easily noticeable, which is easy to compare to Frida. Her painting was unique and surrealist, all while depicting her own reality as she "painted herself a present" (4). Her paintings were personal, even when receiving commissions, and suggest her feelings about the pain, suffering, and tribulations she went through in her life. Her present was illustrated with "wildflowers entwining the plaster corset her spine resides in the romance of mirrors" (5-6). This line is also an allusion to her life and her attempts to ameliorate it. The spine being in the romance of mirrors conveys the delicacy of her well-being, as she had polio as a child, and her spine was too weak to support her, prone to shatter with any effort, conveyed with her painting "The Broken Column". Due to this condition, she wore plaster corsets to uphold her stature, painting and decorating them with flowers and colour and other beautiful things, merging her life with her artwork. That could also be another connotation for these lines, as her art was her 'spine' metaphorically, supporting her through woes. Her political views also influenced many facets of her life, supporting the Marxist view of politics. Also in reference to another of her paintings, this time not a self-portait, the lines of "[rising] to her celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead, Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead" describe her feelings about these leaders, relayed in the painting "Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick" (7-9). Joining the Young Communist League and the Mexican Communist Party, Frida was very involved in her political standing, once hosting the Trotskys. She had an affair with Leon Trotsky, being hypocritical towards Diego. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo lived an unhappily married, and separated life. Diego had constant affairs with others, which caused pain and suffering in Frida; she thought "Diego's love a skull in the circular window of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow" (11-13). Frida suffered of an obsession with her husband, revealed through the many paintings that symbolised him on her mind, including "Diego y Yo" and "Diego on my Mind". Reminiscing the positioning of these, "Thinking About Death" is a painting that signifies these feelings, and though the love between them is 'dead', Frida still holds a place for Diego in her mind. This poem is harsh, grating, and negative, as Rita Dove projected all of Frida's feelings powerfully and effectively in this piece of poetry.
I agree that the line 9 displays her support for socialism, a topic commonly associated with the socialist leaders Lenin and Stalin. You also made a powerful connection between her painting "Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick" to support your claim. But I would also like to add that where Lenin, Marx and Stalin position could also imply that she believes that socialism is much more sympathetic to the well-being of its citizens than other forms of government. People who are at the "footstead" of a patient's bed usually care for the patient since they are watching over them while they are in a time of need. Kahlo may think that these supporters and leaders of socialism are care very much of its supporters and citizens, supported by the Dove’s description of where these men are standing.
In the poem, “Sonnet in Primary Colors”, Rita Dove outlines the life of Frida Kahlo, who was an early twentieth century painter from Mexico, through the use of visual imagery. Almost every line in this poem employs this device, which gives the poem much more interest and vibrance. In one example, Dove writes, “wildflowers entwining the plaster corset/ her spine resides in the romance of mirrors” (lines 5-6). Here, Dove uses powerful, specific verbs such as “entwining” and resides” to add a complexity to the poem. These verbs along with the nouns “wildflowers”, “spine”, “corset”, and “mirrors” paint a vivid picture in the readers mind of these flowers that are wrapped around Kahlo. At the end of line six, Dove uses the technique of personification in describing the mirrors as romantic beings. She could have used this to explain the sort of false romance or beauty associated with a corset when people look in a mirror, which makes them appear thinner. The corset also symbolizes restraint in this poem when Dove metaphorically describes it as “plaster”, which, when hardened, would be impossible to break out of. This idea of being held back relates strongly to Frida Kahlo’s very difficult life. Particularly, her bus accident when she was eighteen years old which left her severely injured and handicapped, and thus restrained her, for the remainder of her life.
Another example from the text you could use to enhance your analysis would be the use the phrase “one black wing” (1). Here, Dove could be conveying the story of the bus accident. She starts by saying the woman only had one wing, when there is supposed to be too. This implies the bird is handicapped and disadvantaged when it comes to trying to fly with other birds. This is similar to how Frida must have felt when sustaining injuries. Injuries would have greatly impacted her life, and made it hard for her to do norml action. The word black could have also been used in order to convey the idea that this was a dark time for her as well. Trying to carry on with life can be hard and even depressing.
In the poem “Canary”, Rita Dove installs enjambments and end-stops numerous times to emphasize certain elements of the poem to relay her message about the female experience. The message she attempts to tell in this poem is that since people will try to harm you or “invent” erroneous accusations about you, you should remain hidden from existence. She first describes the singer “Billie Holiday’s burned voice/” saying that it “had as many shadows as lights, /” (Dove 1-2). Conceptually, the lines describe her life which was full of negative and positive experiences, using the words “shadows” and “lights” to represent them respectively. Dove’s intention for those two lines is to form one whole idea instead of two. She tries to avoid the reader from focusing on the first line as one idea and this is supported by her use of an enjambment in the end of line one. She concludes her idea by using an end-stop at the end of line 2. For the first and second stanza she continues to describe the life of Billie Holiday. But at stanzas three and four she gives her implications on trying to be unique as a woman. Dove states that “the invention of women under siege has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.” (10-11) Here Dove uses an enjambment to connect lines ten and eleven indicating a single idea. Dove explains that women are invented only for sexual favors or “love” for anonymous customers or the “myth”. Dove uses the hardships Holiday faced to represent the consequences of trying to oppose this expectation. She finally concludes that “If you can’t be free, be a mystery.”(Dove 11) Dove utilizes a caesura and an end-stop on line 10 and here on line 11 to add extreme emphasis on her message. Using these devices, she isolates her message from the other stanzas so the reader takes away her message that women can’t be free from the expectations they are bound to and therefore should just remain hidden from existence to avoid consequences from society.
I mostly agree with your analysis about Rita Dove's use of stanza structure, Enjambments and endings. However, I noticed that you didn't show the example of enjambment in the third line of the second stanza which clearly showed Dove's ability to use these devices effectively. Rita Dove writes, "Take all day if you have to" and ends the line with an enjambment. This pause of flow further emphasizes the hyperbole she states and transitions cleanly onto the next line when she compares the "mirror" and the "song." Both the "mirror" and her "bracelet of song" are symbols of Holiday's life in terms of her struggles, and that thought in the line is neatly ended with an end stop.
In Rita Dove’s poem, “Catherine of Siena,” Dove signifies Saint Catherine of Siena’s leadership and faith in her religious beliefs with the use of anaphora, imagery, and unique diction to create a dominant effect of pride for Catherine of Siena. Dove also does this by continuingly referencing Siena’s great crusade and her religion. In the first four lines of the first stanza, Rita Dove introduces Siena’s courage and loyalty during her crusade she led against the Muslims with anaphora and symbolism. Anaphora is present when Rita Dove writes “You walked” and “You struck” to emphasize the actions she committed and their importance. This is then followed by two different concepts Dove writes about Siena’s longings. Rita Dove portrays Siena’s desires when she writes, “to find someone to talk to. You struck the boulder at the roadside” (2-3). These lines references to her crusade and signifies that she has a purpose of it. The “someone” she refers to is God and the “boulder” is a obstacle or fork in her road or “roadside.” The rest of the stanza creates an overall mood of hope. Dove uses a metaphor when she states that “fate has doors everywhere” as it compares fate with a room, meaning that there will always be a path for fate and will never have a dead end (4). The last two lines of the stanza creates visual imagery and contrasting imagery because it uses diction such as “heaven, warm and dark” (6). The description contrasts each other because heaven is mostly visualized as bright and tranquil, while dark is visualized as death and evil.
In the poem “Belinda’s Petition,” Rita Dove creates a dominant feeling of sadness through her use of simile and metaphor. Dove writes, “Lately your Countrymen have severed/ the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope/ you would consider the Same for me/” (Dove Lines 8-10). Here, the metaphor is on “binds”. Dove is comparing the state of America under British rule to a person who is bound against their will. She then refers this to the present state of Belinda, a slave who is also bound and oppressed in much the same way. The visual imagery of someone being bound is quite profound and invokes in the reader that feeling of sadness present throughout the poem. In this way, Dove uses the literary device pathos by inducing a sense of pity from the reader. Dove also writes, “How might/ I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon,/ who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?” (Lines 19-20). Dove uses both a simile and a metaphor in these last two lines of the poem. The simile comes in line 19 when she refers to white people’s faces as “like the moon” based on their similar color. The metaphor comes from the last line when Dove explains that these same men are riding towards Belinda for the first twelve years of her life. Belinda possibly thinks this because she was hunted down and captured by these very men in much the same way as one would round up animals. Like the last quote, Dove uses pathos with the downcast diction that is a theme of this work.
We both had the same observation about the metaphorical meaning behind "...Countrymen have severed/ the Binds of Tiranny" (Dove 8-9). I related these back to the Revolutionary Wars, and how the United States was rebelling against unjust rule from the British. However, regarding the line “How might/ I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon,/ who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?”, I thought it was more verbal irony than a metaphor (19-20). Since earlier in the poem she stated that throughout her childhood, she was perceived as ignorant, this line made the self-revelation that she was truly intelligent, as she would not be giving such an eloquent speech if she was truly unschooled and obtuse. Her only ignorance, however, was in being uninformed about the evils of slave trade, and her imminent capture of the white men, expecting her servitude.
Rita Dove's poem "The House Slave" creates a dominant feeling of pity through the use of similes and contrast. The title is a very important part of this poem, as when read, it gives you an insight towards the point of view the speaker had. In this instance, it was a house slave speaking about field slaves. There were only two similes in the entirety of this poem, one of them describing the slaves' mistress: "their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick" (Dove 6). Toothpicks are hard, stiff, unfeeling, and even able to inflict pain due to its sharp ends. Ivory is pale white, often seen as a luxury, even being illegal to obtain in many countries. Through these interpretations, we can harness a guess at what the feelings towards the mistress is. From the ivory, she is most likely self-indulgent, doing nothing but directing her slaves in constant lethargy. She could also treat them harshly, hence the toothpick that is always unbending. A comparison immediately follows, with the speaker stating that "...Massa dreams of asses, rum, and slave funk//" (7). This is the only crass text that the poem contains. This crude imagery reflects the disgust the house slave holds for the master and the actions he inflicts upon the slaves. The second simile occurs later in the poem, describing how the slaves "spill like bees among the fat flowers," (14). This is an ironic contrast, as it compares something beautiful while describing the horrors of field work. The beauty implied in bees flitting amongst flowers provides a playful image, one usually seen in the springtime during pollination season in order to aid the exposure of the incoming beauty of blossoming flowers. This is the complete opposite of the situation described, where the slaves are forced and tortured into the collection and harvest of cotton, primarily. This strict case is a harsh distinction between the colourful and playful nature of spring and the torturous state of field slaves' conditions. The last line is also significant to the overall feeling of the poem, although it is neither a simile nor a comparison. The last line, "I weep. It is not yet daylight", could be taken both figuratively or literally (15). The literal language could imply that the torture has just begun, and that what dawn brings to the field slaves, morning will bring to the house slaves. The field slaves could also undergo a lot more agony in the coming hours of the day, that what was seen at dawn was a prelude of the subsequent events. Figuratively, 'daylight' could be related to the morning, which is a time of new beginnings. Since the emancipation of slaves had not happened yet, the darkness permeates throughout, and the suffering will only end when the morning comes, bright and full of freedom for the captive.
You had a very competent analysis on this poem but I have to disagree with your interpretation of line 14. You said that they represented the slaves and it was ironic. This interpretation would actually contradict your thesis about creating an effect of pity on the reader. It would portray the slaves as being happy and free, like a bee. Bees are associated with freedom, because of their ability to fly, and also happiness because of their yellow color. I believe that the Dove is actually referring to the “whiteness” or the cotton which grew in the fields (12). By “they spill like bees”, Dove most likely wanted to show the abundance of cotton that grew, implying that the slaves will have more work because of the vast amount of cotton. And that is why the narrator is crying, because she feels pity for the work the field slaves must do which will also influence the reader to feel pity also. This interpretation of the bees would best support your thesis.
You make a very good point about the contrasting views in this poem. You could support your analysis by discussing Dove’s use of paradox. She writes, “Those days / I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat” (12). This paradox, is able to display how no matter what is going on in the surroundings, the slaves will never be anywhere near content. It is hot, yet they are shivering. I found shivering to symbolize the idea of shivering of fear instead of from coldness. Since it is warm outside, the slave is aware of the hard work day ahead of them that they are about to endure. It makes them cringe and shiver with fear on the inside, rather than on the outside. At first glance, this phrase seems to contradict itself and not make sense, but when taking into account the daily fears of slaves it allows you to further understand the daily hardships.
In the first stanza of The Transport of Slaves From Maryland to Mississippi, Dove uses a balance of negative and positive diction to portray the slave woman’s doubt about the man she helped on the horse to get help. In the first stanza the positive diction and negative diction acts as a symbol for the woman’s mind in conflict. The positive diction acting as justification for her action and the negative diction representing her doubts about the man. An example of this “conflict” is when Dove describes the condition of the slaves with “dust hovering around the body / like a screen of mosquitoes / shimmering in the hushed light” (4-6) Dove describes the slaves using negative words such as “dust” and “mosquitoes” to imply the woman’s doubts about her action. This negativity reflects the hopelessness of the “mosquitoes” or slaves and ultimate fear of death or turning into “dust” which she assessed about the situation (4-6). But using an enjambment to unite the idea of a person vs. self-conflict Dove also utilizes positive diction to describe the slaves stating they were “like a screen of mosquitoes / shimmering in the hushed light” (5-6). The transition from use of negative diction to positive diction symbolizes the conflict she has within herself. First she says that they were “Left for dead” but later creates a positive image using the words “shimmering”, “hushed” and “light”. The woman believes because of the reaction that they would die, but gains hope that the man may actually get help for them. Furthermore, she clearly states her conundrum when she “thought he was our salvation or not” in the beginning, solidifying the topic for the first stanza of the mental conflict she has with herself. She once again uses these contrasting dictions when Dove writes “Death and salvation- one accommodates the other” (11). Here Dove personifies these dictions which gives further details in the woman’s problem. The word “accommodates” explains that when one thought against her action begins to overpower her hope, her hope arises also to balance or “accommodate” her doubt (11). She uses the negative word “Death” and positive word “salvation” to represent her doubts and hopes respectively (11).
First of all, I found your analysis of this poem to be quite thorough and thought-provoking. Your dissection of the diction in the opening stanza was quite clever, and I agree with you that the woman's mind was quite conflicted (which makes sense given this situation). However, I am not sure if your comparison of mosquitoes to slaves is completely accurate. The mosquitoes seem to only be used as a simile in this context. Another example I found that would support your thesis is when Dove uses the words "brute" and then "feelings" (line 12). These contrasting words in the same line further support this motif of contrasting diction.
I really liked how you analyzed the different types of diction that Dove used in the poem the transport of slaves from Maryland to Mississippi. I liked how you analyzed the poem as split into two types of diction, that balance each other out. Something that I would use to help add to your point about Dove using certain diction to convey the condition of the slaves, is the quote “sixty slaves \ poured off the wagon, smelly, half-numb, free” (22-23). I feel like Dove uses this particular sentence in order to drive home the conditions that the slaves were in. This sentence serves only one purpose, which is to convey to the reader the conditions using different types of imagery. Although this use of negative dictions may not be counterbalanced with a set of positive diction, I feel that it is very important when talking about the diction used in this poem.
The Poem David Walker (1785-1830) is about an african-american abolitionist who publicized the struggles that slaves went through at the time. The poem speaks about a pamphlet that Walker created and distributed called “An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World”. The first thing Dove says in the poem is “free to travel, he still couldn’t be shows how lucky \ he was” (1-2). Dove is alluding to the fact that Walker was born a free person (his mother was a free african-american, his father was dead), yet he still couldn’t see that he was lucky to have this right. This seems to be said from a point of view of a more privileged person, who thinks that Walker being free, has enough rights already and shouldn't be fighting for more. Dove also talks about his distribution of his pamphlet in the poem, she says “pamphlets were stuffed \ into trouser pockets. Pamphlets transported in the coat linings of itinerant seamen...” (9-11). Dove is referring to the pamphlet that Walker made. This pamphlet was made by Walker to promote the unity of the black people and to help the fight for racial equality. Dove also talks about the people that read the pamphlets “pressed his dark hand between their gloves.” (19). The gloves are used here to symbolize the privileged people (whites). Dove means by saying that his hand was pressed between their gloves, that even the rich and privileged white people were reading the pamphlets themselves, or getting word of them.
In the poem “David Walker,” RIta Dove writes about a outspoken African-American abolitionist by the name of David Walker. Dove explores the dominant effect of pity on the reader in this poem with the usage of similes, caesurae, and references to Walker’s life. When introducing the poem, Dove writes in the first stanza, “Compass needles, / eloquent as tuning forks, shivered, pointing north. / Evenings, the ceiling fan sputtered like a second pulse” (5-7). Dove already referenced the ownership of a clothing store Walker had. In this quote, two similes are used. The first is used to describe the compass pointing north, as it signifies the process of freeing the slaves because north is the direction abolitionist lead the slaves to freedom. “Tuning forks” is used to symbolize how much the abolitionist had to be and precise when leading the slaves. The second is used to describe what Walker does when not being an abolitionist, but being the owner of the shop. He stays in the shop doing close to nothing because it being described as a “second pulse” represents how little things or sounds happen within the shop. One of David Walker’s achievements in his life was a pamphlet he wrote that urged African Americans to fight for freedom and equality, in which Dove referenced repeatedly to emphasize the effect and significance of David Walker’s life. In the second stanza where Dove describes the ways the pamphlets were used and conveyed, Dove writes, “in Carolinas, pamphlets ripped out, read aloud: / Men of colour, who are also of sense. / Outrage. Incredulity. Uproar in state legislatures” (13-15). Here, examples of caesurae is present. On the first line, it is used to individualize the actions of the pamphlets Dove describes. It creates a more dramatic mood on the reader as it separates the actions for the reader’s tempo while reading it. On the third line, it is used to emphasize the reactions of the legislatures. Dove writes it in a listing form as she only states the feelings and emotions of the higher or upper-class people who read the pamphlet.
In “The Abduction”, Rita Dove uses negative diction to convey the story of Solomon Northup, a free slave who is captured and forced to return. Negative diction is rarely found in the first half of the poem but greatly increases by the last two. The use of gloomy diction symbolizes how content Solomon was with life, and then his feeling about life when he is captured. When he was finally freed he spent time with friends, and was even able to make a profit even though at this time he faced discrimination against him when it came to surviving in the world. Rita Dove writes, “Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped./I was lifted-the sky swivelled, clicked into place” (11-12). Here, the word tipped illustrates that something is about to go wrong with the wine. When the sky, “clicked into place”, Dove is displaying that Solomon is back to the same surroundings as he was during his time as a slave. Then Dove writes, “I floated on water, I could not drink. Though the pillow/ was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep” (13-14). Here, Solomon is sitting so close to water, but unable to drink it. That demonstrates pathos, because here Dove is forcing the reader to feel sorrow towards Solomon’s situation. The word stone brings negative connotations, because it symbolizes how hard it was to sleep even before the work started. The last stanza states, “I woke and found myself alone, in the darkness and in chains” (15). This line is full of gloomy words, where Dove uses pathos. The words darkness, alone, and chains all describe the life slaves are forced to endure and how it was a terrible way to live. The structure of stanzas also demonstrates how unhappy Solomon becomes throughout the poem as he becomes freed but is returned to captivity. Each stanza decreases in size as the poem goes on.
After researching the poem “Claudette Calvin Goes to Work”, I found out that Rosa Parks was not the first African American to refuse to move on the bus. Claudette Calvin was. Calvin’s bravery wasn’t publicized in the way that Rosa Parks’ was because of the way society looked at her. At the time, she was unmarried and pregnant. This is the reason her act was overlooked, and she became known as nothing more than a trouble maker. Dove is trying to convey the feelings of to African American people at the time, through Calvin’s thoughts. She says things such as “Anyone home? / or I’m beat, bring me a beer”(6-7). Dove is showing the reader that Calvin wants to escape the world of segregation and racial injustice by using the words “bring me a beer”. It shows that Calvin is tired of the way things are, and that she feels that she cannot find an escape elsewhere. Dove also supports the idea that Calvin is tiring of the racism by using the line “mostly I say to myself Still here”(8). She also supports this by saying “Sometimes I wait until / it’s dark enough for my body to disappear” (13-14). This line supports the idea that the African American people are tiring of the injustice that they face, and that they may not be able to take it much longer. This is also supported later in the poem when Dove tells the reader what Calvin was thinking “So ugly,so fat, so dumb, so greasy - / What do we have to do to make god love us?” (24-25). This line is showing that the comments that the African Americans receive is getting to their heads, and they are starting to wonder if they really are that worthless.
Although I agree with your opinion of Colvin being tired of the segregation and way of life, I do not think she is as defeated and as much of a pacifist as I assume you are making her out to be. Her being tired of segregation does not mean she remains non-confrontational about her civil rights, as demonstrated with the third stanza: "...male integers light up their smokes and let loose / a stream of brave talk: 'Hey Mama' souring quickly to / 'Your Mama' when there is no answer" (Dove 18-20). By keeping her dignity in the face of harassment, she shows her lack of deference, and demonstrates the existence of the flame and courage that fueled her stand against injustice in the first place, taking a more active role in this argument than your analysis implies.
In the poem “Rosa”, Rita Dove alludes to the quiet and humble yet strong personality of Rosa Parks during her stand against the treatment of African Americans in 1955. Dove uses a paradox when writing, “so wrong it was ready” (3). Here, it seems the reader is able to determine that by saying so wrong, Dove is referring to how erroneous Parks’ action was at the time. However, when describing it was ready, she is referring to the readiness of the African Americans to fight against their treatment of the time. Dove writes, “that trim name with/ its dream of a bench” (4-5).This demonstrates the use of a synecdoche. The reader can infer that by saying name, Dove is referring to Rosa. The first two stanzas illustrate how Rosa Parks had a quiet and humble personality. Dove uses repetition when she writes “How she sat there” (1), then again when she writes “How she stood up” (10). Instead of using the word she to describe Rosa, Dove uses the word how to emphasize the the successful impact her stand against the bus driver had on society during that time. This also emphasizes the idea that it was not only her that started movement, but that many others were fighting for their rights at the time. Dove uses assonance when writing, “her purse. That courtesy” (12). Here, the assonance of the “ur” sound in purse and courtesy end the poem on a strong note. The strength here is hidden but also very visible, similar to the use of this assonance. Dove writes, “How she stood up”, to display the figurative stand Parks took at this time, and that it was very risky until proven to be successful. This could also be a paradox, because when you know Rosa’s story you know that she does not in fact stand up, but Dove says that she stands to emphasize the effect she had on society. The end of the poem demonstrates the strength that comes out of Rosa Parks and how it overcomes her quietness.
I found your analysis to be quite insightful. I too thought that Dove's use of paradox is quite intriguing. Another example of paradox in this poem is when Dove writes, "doing nothing was the doing" (line 7). This furthers this erroneous action that you wrote about. Your mention of the repetition of how she first sat down then stood up was something I had not noticed. It is quite profound and as you explained, the anaphora furthers the emphasis on these critical lines. Another thing piece I gathered from this poem is that the poem is so small and compact, but it has such a powerful effect on the reader. I thought this was quite similar to Park’s sitting in that bus. It was such a simple action, but it helped spark a revolution.
The poem "Lady Freedom Among Us" by Rita Dove uses visual imagery to convey the selectivity of freedom in the United States. Rita Dove was inspired to write this poem when the statue of Lady Freedom was taken down for remodeling after years of wear. Reading this on the occasion of the return of this statue to the dome of the Capitol after restoration, Rita Dove expresses her feelings by making a personified Lady Freedom the subject of this poem. This poem is sarcastic and full of irony, as I interpreted Lady Freedom personified as a vagrant, usually viewed as inferior, overlooked in society. This was my assumption as the visual images of her clothing, "oldfashioned sandals" (Dove 7), "leaden skirts" (8), "her stained cheeks and whiskers and heaped up trinkets" (9), "her hair under a hand-me-down-cap / and spruced it up with feathers and stars" (11-12), are reminiscent of a typical pauper. This is an allusion to the decrepit state of the statue before the refurbishment, muddy and cast-away as rusted and old. The avoidance of this personified statue, shown with the speaker's warnings, "don't cross to the other side of the square", are ironic, as freedom is being avoided due to the worn-down state of her being, which could also symbolize the corroding state of freedom in the United States, the blame and exclusion jumping from one race to the next, justified as protection of their own 'liberty' and well being (16). Freedom "has risen among us in blunt reproach", disapproving of the American way of life, full of xenophobia that changes with the eras, yet present nonetheless (10). This state of freedom is not ideal, as Lady Freedom "...bears / the rainbowed layers of charity and murmurs / all of you even the least of you//" (13-15). America was supposed to be a melting pot, a safe haven for a ll cultures, but the reality is that infringement on freedom is imminent, due to the prejudice the population holds against minorities, outsiders, and those that don't adhere to the norm. With the consideration of the vagabond personified, "don't think you can forget her / don't even try / don't even try / she's not going to budge // no choice but to grant her space / crown her with sky / for she is one of the many / and she is each of us//", these lines transmit the permanence of the perceived inferior beings, and that there is no choice but to accept them, as the last line could impart that we were all there at some point, subsidiary and unnoticed.
In the poem “The Situation is Intolerable,” by Rita Dove, there is a dominant theme of anger toward the civilization, which is portrayed through the use of metaphors and visual imagery. In the first stanza, Dove writes, “each dovegray pleated trouser leg/ a righteous sword advancing/ onto the field of battle” (lines 4-6). Dove uses a metaphor here when comparing a trouser leg to a sword on the battlefield. She writes this with a sort of defiance and sarcasm because these things, “pleated trouser legs”, are not actually necessary for being “civilized”. This is what Dove feels is “intolerable”: that what people care about, such as appearances, are not important. People need to focus on the more important things in life. In the last stanza of the poem, Dove writes, “Our situation is intolerable, but what’s worse/ is to sit here and do nothing./ O yes. O mercy on our souls” (lines 19-21). In this passage, Dove uses the visual imagery of “souls”. This spiritual imagery is repeated in each of the last few lines of each stanza, and is Rita Dove’s way of praying for things to get better in this poem. Another way she emphasizes this imagery is with the use of anaphora on the word “O”, which further calls attention to these vital, final lines. Like in the first passage, these last few lines have a very frustrated and angry tone. Dove is fed up with the apathetic nature of people who “do nothing”. Dove is calling attention to the fact that in life, there are so many problems, and yet people simply do not care to solve them. Since this is from Dove’s collection “On the Bus With Rosa Parks”, the problem that she is most likely referring to here is racism.
I found your analysis of this poem quite interesting, and you took some points of view that I hadn’t thought about when reading this poem for the first time. I also found that Dove used a tone that was very angry toward civilization, which made the flow of the poem completely different. One thing that I disagreed with from your analysis ws when you said that Dove was using the lines in the first stanza as sarcasm, because those things aren’t necessary for a person to be civilized. I interpreted this as Dove pointing out that the African-American people were just as civilized as the white people, if class is what they considered to be civilized. I think that she was making the point that no matter how the African American people really were, they would be treated as something lesser than human. I think that when Dove said that “Our situation is intolerable, but what’s worse / is to sit here and do nothing” (19-20) she meant that they cannot do anything because even if they act the same, dress the same, and do the same things as the white people they will still be treated as a lower class.
I found your analysis very interesting and your take on it allowed me to view it from a similar but different perspective. In “The Situation is Intolerable”, I believe in the second stanza that Dove was using visual imagery of the stars to symbolize the small hope they held in their hearts during these times. A star typically symbolizes hope or a wish. Here, while being surrounded by fire and their tough life, the African Americans are still able to look up and have a small piece of hope. Although they are described as tiny they are still there. When Dove writes, “but what’s worse / is to sit here and do nothing”, I believe she is alluding to the fact that African Americans act on the hope eventually, an fight their intolerable treatment.
In Rita Dove’s poem “Climbing In,” Dove uses the stories from people’s childhood, such as fairy tale stories like Little Red Riding Hood, to compare the actions being done and feelings during the Civil Rights Movement. She does this with the usage of imagery, metaphors, and sentence structure, such as end-stops, to create a dominant effect of pity on the reader due to this poem describing the black people’s struggles in taking the bus. Firstly, on the first line of the poem, Dove only writes, “Teeth” ending with a period to create an insinuation, due to the word’s negative implication and sharp tone. This is also an example of an end-stop as it makes the word more presiding and effective. In the second stanza, Dove describes a black person on a bus as she writes, “like the dime / cutting my palm / as I clutch the silver pole / to step up, up” (4-7). Tactile imagery is present with the description of a “dime cutting my palm” to emphasize the false sense of security and danger a black person feels as they go on a bus. It shows the racism that was present during the time as Dove writes the word “clutch” to describe the intense feeling a black person has while on a bus due to all the discrimination. The “stepping up” on the last line of the stanza references the steps on a bus. Later on in the poem, Dove alludes to the story Little Red Riding Hood as she writes, “teeth of the wolf / under Grandmother’s cap” (10-11). Here, Little Red symbolizes the people on the bus, and the wolf signifies the bus itself. A metaphor here is present in “Grandmother’s cap” because the “cap” is a representation of the hood of the bus due to the wolf, as the Grandmother, being the bus. Overall, this poem’s significance is for the reader to experience and realize the troubles of black people during the civil rights movement while riding on a bus.
I agree with your interpretation of the poem despite my analysis focus more about the frustrations of women. A detail you could add to further support your claim about the struggles of African Americans was to also show the racism that people had on them. This racism is shown here in the poem when Dove writes “Pay him to keep smiling”. This shows that the bus driver had a hidden hatred for the woman riding the bus who is black. The only reason why the driver is treating the lady nicely is because she paid her fare. Also I believe that the meaning of her “Climbing In” the “gullet”, like a trap in your interpretation, could mean that the lady is actually supporting this racism, further showing the reader the sufferings African Americans faced during that time.
In the poem “Climbing In” Dove uses visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery to refer the fairytale story of “Little Red Riding Hood”. In the first stanza she describes “Teeth. / Metallic. Lie-gapped / Not a friendly shine” (1-3). This thorough description of teeth is used to create a devious image, saying it is “metallic” and “not friendly”. The description sets up the reader to anticipate an antagonist that will be present in the poem. Then Dove uses kinesthetic imagery to compare the sharpness of the teeth “like the dime cutting my hand” (5-6). At this point Dove directs the description of the teeth to be non-human using a simile of a dime cutting a hand. Dimes are not that sharp, but it is still cutting the hand which shows how deviously sharp the teeth are. And finally Dove writes that “these are big teeth, / teeth of the wolf / under Grandmother’s cap” (9-11). By slowly building up to the reveal of the character that have the teeth, Dove connects the poem where the little red riding hood was questioning the true identity of the figure hiding under “Grandmother’s cap” (11). Like the beginning of the scene in little red riding hood, the narrator notices abnormal features the wolf has, except in this poem they are more focused on teeth. Finally, the “bright lady tumbles / head over tail / down the clinking gullet” (16-18). The last stanza signifies when little red riding hood was eaten when she finally realizes that the figure she is witnessing is actually a wolf. Dove uses kinesthetic imagery or the word “tumbles” to show that it was an accident. This is similar to the little red riding hood who never meant to be eaten by the wolf. Dove relates this poem with this fairytale to show how weak and helpless women were portrayed in folktales. Throughout the entire poem and in the fairytale the narrator, who is a woman, is slow to react on the abnormal attributes the antagonist had before realizing it was a wolf. The reaction was so slow, it was as if this lady was “Climbing In” to the “gullet” of the wolf. Later on in the Little Red Riding Hood, a man will eventually save her, further lowering the strength and intelligence of women. She wrote this poem to show this gender bias that exists in the stories people tell.
I completely agree with your analysis as I mentioned some of it in my own, and I thoroughly understand your perception of the poem. One thing I'd like to add as a thought, maybe to both of ours, is how it could relate or reference to other fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland or Jack and the Beanstalk. "Climbing In" could reference when Alice was climbing in the hole and when Jack was climbing up the bean stalk. Also, During the last stanza, when Dove writes, "as the bright lady tumbles / head over tail" could be an allusion to when Alice falls back through the hole and wonderland, and when Jack falls back down to earth away from the giant. I don't if this is accurate or me making things up, but I noticed it as a pattern with this poem and other fairy tales.
In Rita Dove’s “Parsley”, she speaks about the treatment that slaves in the Dominican Republic had to endure. In particular, she talks about Rafael Trujillo, who made the workers pronounce the word “parsley”. The reason he did this was to distinguish between the natives and the Haitian workers. Trujillo was opposed to the influx of immigrants, and wanted to rid his country of all of the Haitian workers. The reason he made them say the word “parsley” is because workers from Haiti weren’t able to pronounce the r sound, while native Dominicans could. He used this method to separate and kill the Haitians. Dove uses “Él General” to refer to Trujillo. Dove also contrasts the use of the word “parsley’ alluding to death, by relating it to the joy that fathers feel when they have a child. This is supported when Dove says ““the general remembers the tiny green sprigs/ men of his village wore in their capes to honor the birth of a son” (68-70). I think that Dove uses this contrast to show that Trujillo ordered the killings because he was unhappy with his own life and didn’t want others to feel the same happiness.
I really enjoyed reading your analysis, and I partially used this for some background research for the massacre and poem, so thank you. I thoroughly agree with your post and learned multiple things from it, such as Trujillo's depression being the main cause of the massacre and using it as a way to cover up his mothers death. However, one thing that obfuscated me was when you mentioned that the word "parsley" alluded to death by relating it to joy. I feel like these two contrast each other and isn't represented by the parsley. Surely, there are multiple of examples in the poem that alludes to death and is referencing joy, but in my opinion, the word "parsley" itself is not one of them. I, however, might not be understanding or getting what you were trying to say, but while I was reading it, it was just confusing to me.
Rita Dove's poem "Parsley" uses structure in the first part of the poem to convey the feelings of oppression and obsession. The first part of the poem, "The Cane Fields", is structured in a quasi-villanelle. A traditional villanelle has two refrains and two repeating rhymes, while "Parsley" has no set rhyme scheme. Four tercets are also included, with the refrain being repeated alternately until the last stanza, where both are present. Part of the structure of this is the refrains, and "Out of the swamp the cane appears" had a very powerful implication (3). The poem's subject is Trujillo, with the speakers of the first part being the Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic, working for cane harvests. Sugar cane is a weed, quickly growing in swampy conditions. The never-ending work of cutting down this weed is enacted with the recurrent line mentioning the cane appearing. Work was torturous, conditions worse, and the discrimination experienced by the Haitians made their lives miserable. Another motif, although not a refrain, is El General's totalitarian appearance, implied by "El General / searches for a word; he is all the word / there is" (4-6). It is this, his total control over his country, his desire to purify it, that leads his obsession with perfection, especially in language, to take over his rational mind and annihilate anyone that doesn't fit the mold he created. An ironic facet to the structure of this poem is that almost every line contains 2 or more "R" sounds, as exemplified with "The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads", the sound present in children, their, and arrowheads (11). The Parsley Massacre occurred with the Haitians uttering their own death sentence, the pronunciation to the word 'perejil'. Due to their French Creole roots and linguistics, their "R" sounds were not rolled, and therefore sounded like "L"s. The reading aloud of this poem would result in multiple rough and soft Rs, some trilled and some not due to the language they are written in. The Rs may have been intentionally included by Rita Dove to indicate the oppression experienced by Haitians, their demise due to a differing accent, and the irony of the root of their suffering, a single, simple word: parsley.
You had an extremely insightful analysis of this part of the poem. I analyzed this part of the poem as well. Your analysis that the Trujillo was obsessed with perfection could also be supported by the second part of the poem, which describes why he chose the word perejil, to determine if someone lived or died. Like many people in society, Trujillo, according to the second part of the poem, adored their mother and considered them perfect. When he heard the Haitians singing their song about the mountain Katalina, they did not roll their R, instead they used an L sound. This reminded him of his dead mother because his mother had always rolled her R. This angered him, so he chose to kill them because they were not as perfect as his mother. Killing people because of such a small "imperfection" shows his true and extreme obsession for perfection.
The poem Parsley by Rita Dove is an allusion to the event called the Parsley Massacre in Haiti during the fall of 1937. In this poem, Rita Dove utilizes repetition of fraises to symbolize the two sides of the event; the Haitians being hunted down and the Dominican soldiers working for El General. In the first part of Parsley, The Cane Fields, there are two phrases that is repeated throughout the poem. They are “the cane appears” and parrot imitating spring. Parrots are birds that are well known for repeating words that they hear from a source. This trait of these birds is important to indicate which side of the conflict they represent. The general is portrayed in this poem as being evil and malicious. But because he is a political figure, he must justify his actions with a valiant reason, to bring support from the public. He has to act like a parrot, which is pretending to have good intentions, or imitating spring. The parrots in this poem, represent the General, who is imitating to be a just leader even though he is actually a tyrant. The phrase “The cane appears” symbolizes the Haitians. This is displayed, when Dove writes “the cane appears / to haunt us, and we cut it down” (4). During the Parsley massacre, the ones who were cut down were the Haitians. This relation shows that they represent the cane. Furthermore, the Haitians that were killed in the event farmed and grew cane. This relationship between the crop the Haitians is used by Dove to represent them in this poem. Both phrases are mention four times each, in the first part of the poem, but an alternating pattern between each stanza appears. This pattern could represent the conflict that the two sides during the massacre. The parrots would kill them then the cane would scream in agony. And the cycle continues for every “drop of blood” that was shed (17).
You had an extremely insightful analysis of this part of the poem! Although I analyzed this part myself, I had not noticed the symbolism between the parrot and Trujillo. I thought since at the beginning they say "There is a parrot imitating spring / in the palace, its feathers parsley green", the parrot was used the represent the value of the Haitian's lives (1-2). This is supported with "Even / a parrot can roll an R!" because of the luxuries the parrot has, the comparison of its plumage and parsley, and the lavish treatment it receives from General Trujillo (59-60). While my analysis is supported, I believe yours is valid and makes more sense in the historical context, as, like you said, Trujillo had to parrot all the goodness within him while veiling his true motives from the Haitian refugees working in the Dominican Republic.
In RIta Dove’s poem “Parsley,” Dove emphasizes the damage the parsley massacre did on the Haitians with the use of various lit terms and poetry structure. After reading and re-reading the poem multiple times, I immediately noticed the usage of repetition and anaphora being present throughout the whole poem. The first line that gets repeated multiple times is when Dove writes, “a parrot imitating spring” (1). This line is repeated three time after the first on lines 6, 12, and 18, and has a repeating pattern of being what Dove is describing at the time. Regularly, Dove writes a “there is” in front of the line, except the second time it is repeated because it is used as a simile. This line is crucial to the entire poem because it introduces the symbol of “The Parrot.” Through my perspective, I believe the parrot symbolizes the Haitians and their wealth due to a parrot being caged most of the time throughout its lifetime. Spring is an allusion to Spring Cleaning, which is a thorough cleaning of a house or room, and is related to the massacre because it is an analogy to Trujillo “cleaning” his metaphoric “house.” Another line that gets repeated multiple times is, “out of the swamp. The cane appears” (3). This line is present on lines 3, 9, 15, and 20, and is significant because it again references the Haitians, but this time with cane. In the country, the main way cane is retrieved is by cutting it down, and so, is why this is another analogy to the Haitians being murdered and seen as worthless cane.
I really liked your insight on this poem. I agree with you that Dove portrays the damage that Trujillo inflicted on the Haitians, as this is much like what I wrote about with the theme of devastation. One piece of your post I really enjoyed was your mention of the analogy of Trujillo "cleaning his house". This was something I had not thought of when I first read the poem, but I certainly agree with your explanation. It is interesting that you referred to this massacre as the cutting down of Haitians. The Dominicans actually call this massacre "El Corte" or "the cutting" in English. Because of this, it is probably not a coincidence that Dove wrote about the cane this way.
In her poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove creates a feeling of devastation with her use of personification and auditory imagery. The title of “Parsley” refers to the Parsley Massacre that was carried out by General Trujillo and his mass of soldiers in the Fall of 1937 in the Dominican Republic. During this time, Trujillo’s men executed all people they deemed to be Haitian by asking them how to pronounce the Spanish word for parsley. If they supposedly said it like a Haitian, they were killed. Dove writes, “Like a parrot imitating spring,/ we lie down screaming as rain punches through/ and we come up green. We cannot speak a R” (lines 6-8). Here, Dove refers to “speaking the R”. This alludes to the method Trujillo’s soldiers used when determining if someone was Haitian or Dominican. Haitians cannot pronounce the letter R with a trill as Dominicans can, so when the soldiers asked people how to say “parsley” or perejil in Spanish, if they said it the without the dominican trill, they knew they were Haitian. Dove invokes very depressed and devastated feelings in this passage with the use of negative auditory imagery and negative diction with words such as “screaming”, “punches”, and “cannot pronounce”. In addition, “as rain punches” is used to personify the rain driving, intense rain and further add to the negative feeling present throughout the work. Another example of negative auditory imagery in this poem is when Dove writes, “The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming” (lines 15-16). Again, Dove uses very powerful words, specifically verbs in this case, to allow the reader to hear the pain associated with this tragedy. The portrayal of the “lashing” wind further adds to the suspense of the moment.
I agree with your analysis, and think you could enhance it by adding the negative connotations that come with the phrase “every drop of blood” (17). Here, I think the word blood symbolizes the excessive amount of the demise occurring during this time. Also you could talk about the repetition of the phrase “lashed by rain and streaming”. This phrase occurs again in the second part, but has a different meaning that also gives a depressing feeling. Here, Dove is writing about the devastating loss of the General. The phrase dives off a depressing feeling when the General sees his mom, who passed away, in the cane fields. Both used in different contexts but both demonstrate the tone Dove conveyed.
In the poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove alludes to the massacre that Rafael Trujillo conducted, while also describing Trujillo's life as well, which brings a depressed feeling out of the reader. Dove displays this emotion and allusion through the use of repetition and structure. This massacre occurred in 1937 and consisted of the killing of Haitian workers for their inability to pronounce the word Parsley, perejil in Spanish. The Haitians had difficulty pronouncing the “r” sound and were quickly executed when unable to do so. Dove then alludes to Rafael Trujillo by writing, “El General/searches for a word” (4-5). This allows the reader to conclude that Dove is alluding to the 1937 massacre. The name of the poem also allows the reader to come to that conclusion. Dove then describes the haunted feeling this left on the workers by writing, “The cane appears/ in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. And we lie down. For every drop of blood”(15-17). Dove uses the term, “in our dreams”, to display that the workers dwell on the thought of demise all the time, whether unconsciously or consciously. Then she describes the cane as being lashed by wind, demonstrating how the idea of work brings about bad thoughts. The word lash here also alludes to their treatment during the time, because slaves were typically lashed when not working at a high enough standard. But Dove quickly contradicts that thought, when she describes the Haitian workers laying down in blood. The repetition of two different lines throughout the first part, conveys that this happens a lot and frequently. This is where Dove creates a depressing tone in her writing. Through the visual imagery and repetition, Dove is able to allude to the massacre of Haitian workers occurring in 1937.
I agree with most of your analysis, and found your analysis of the term “in our dreams” intriguing. One thing that I found differently when reading the poem was the mood. When I read the poem I thought that Dove was trying to evoke a feeling of fear to the reader, or a feeling similar to the haunting that you described the workers having. I think that in this poem, Dove was trying to convey to the reader the feelings that the victims of this massacre were having, rather than feelings such as depression. I think that Dove’s word choice is meant to convey this when she says things such as “out of the swamp the cane appears” (3).
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, while explaining the theme of the desire to not grow up. 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 new-born 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. A simile starts the second part of his sonnet, with "men stride like elegant scissors across the lawn" (9). Paired with the next line, "women arrayed there, petals waiting to loosen", this could be an extended metaphor representing this party as a body of women, waiting to be plucked away by a man(10). The flowers' petals loosening is a sign of when the flower has finished blooming, which is when it reaches its full maturity. The scissors in the lawn also allude to garden scissors, which are used to cut these blooms for an arrangement, a bouquet, display, or other uses. Flowers could also be a symbol for womanhood, and this stanza could symbolize the beginning of the end of innocence for the speaker and the other women, maybe by force because of the sharpness of the scissors and the hatred the speaker expresses towards them: "I will smile, all the while wishing them dead" (13).
In the poem, “Persephone, Falling” Rita Dove uses point of view and paradoxical statements to allude to the mother daughter relationship of Demeter and Persephone and their relation to Hades. Dove writes, “One narcissus among the ordinary beautiful” (1). A narcissus is not only a daffodil but a reference to Greek mythology when someone becomes obsessed with themselves. This is referring to Persephone, as she became distracted by the beauty of the flowers, and was unable to do what her mother told her. The term, “Ordinary beautiful” is used to help emphasize the great beauty of the real word, which Persephone has lost. Dove writes, “Sprung out of the earth/ on his glittering terrible/ carriage” (4-7). Dove is referring to Hades taking Persephone. The phrase “glittering terrible carriage” is a paradox that emphasizes the great difference between the beautiful Earth and the evilness of Hades and his actions. It also displays the idea that Persephone will never get to experience the world again. Dove wrote this poem from the view of Persephone’s mother Demeter. In the first stanza, Dove writes it from the view of Demeter to display the disappointment but also the depression she is feeling from her daughter disobeying her orders and becoming part of the underworld from doing so. When Dove writes, “It is finished. No one heard her. No one! She had strayed from the herd.” (7-8) she is emphasizing the sadness Demeter experiences due to the fact she has lost all contact with her daughter. Dove also makes reference to what Demeter told Persephone to do, “(Remember: go straight to school. / This is important, stop fooling around! / Don’t answer to strangers. Stick/ with your playmates. Keep your eyes down.)” (9-12). This illustrates the small amount of disappointment Demeter fees toward her daughter for completely disobeying her orders. Although, the sadness and depression from the loss overpowers the disappointment.
Great analysis! Your research into the story of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades was quite detailed. I also read about this story, but I did not know about the narcissus being a reference to obsession in Greek Mythology until I read your post. In addition, the paradox that you mentioned was another device I had not noticed at first glance, but now I think it is quite a profound part of the poem. One thing I found to be quite significant in this poem is the title: "Persephone, Falling". I thought that this could be referencing Persephone's fall into the underworld each winter.
In her poem, “Breakfast of Champions,” Rita Dove uses a number of literary devices, including visual imagery, metaphor, and homonyms to add greater stylistic interest to her piece. “”Breakfast of Champions” is written in a half Petrarchan Sonnet-half free verse form. It features the traditional fourteen lines with one octet stanza and one sestet stanza that every Petrarchan Sonnet contains. However, it lacks the common rhyme scheme. This speaks to Dove’s originality and She writes, “I’ve crossed a hemisphere,/ worked my way through petals and sunlight/ to find a place fit for mourning” (lines 1-3). There is a lot of visual imagery present in this passage, as she refers to petals and sunlight to to paint a very beautiful picture in the reader’s head. In the third line, she uses a sort of play on words with the homonyms: morning and mourning. Basically, this simultaneously refers to breakfast, which is in the morning, and the speaker’s sadness for the loss of a loved one. In the subsequent stanza, Dove writes, “I rummage the pantry’s/ stock for raisins and cereal as they pull/ honking out of the mist” (lines 9-11). Dove uses a sort of breakfast diction here that is a theme throughout the piece. Breakfast seems to be a metaphor for new starts in this poem. In the first stanza, the speaker talks about mourning a loss. However, in the second stanza, there is no mention of this loss, and there is a much cheerier mood. Also, Dove writes, “Arise, it’s a brand new morning!” (line 14). Since breakfast is one of the first activities everyone does each new day, it is sensible to think that breakfast is this symbol for fresh starts.
I agree with your analysis, and could talk about the negative connotations that come with some of the visual imagery and how they are used to display the idea of a fresh start, being better than the day before. Dove describes the atmosphere as having, “overcast skies” (1) and also describes a laurel brush as having minimal dust on it. Both overcast skies and dust have negative connotations that you can associate with, in this instance, having a bad day. Both are used in the first stanza, which then leads the reader to believe that the second stanza is about breakfast and a fresh start to each day.
This set of poems from “Mothers and Daughters” are mostly based on the story, in Greek mythology, about the Greek goddess, Persephone, captured by Hades, the god of the underworld, to be his wife. In the poem “Wiederkehr,” Rita Dove expresses the troubles Persephone faced when she was first with Hades. Dove writes this poem in the point of view of Persephone, and identifies the horrid description of Hades’ physical appearance with the usage of dense visual and tactile imagery. The poem begins with “he only wanted me for happiness” which immediately shows the selfishness of Hades and that he only wanted her for his needs (line 1). Later Dove writes, “and not think so much,” which is an identification that Hades didn’t want her to think about her unfortunate current situation which would have made her sad (3). Hades’ physical reaction to Persephone’s beauty is shown through, “to watch the smile begun in his eyes end on his lips his eyes caressed” (4-7). He longs for Persephone. There is an unsettling tone to this line because as Dove describes Hades’ eyes caressing her, due to his love for her, it disturbs the reader. The reader knows how much Persephone doesn’t want to be with him in the underworld and creates a perturbing mood. Lastly, as Persephone “reaches” for her “choice,” it shows her despair in her situation and her desperation in not being with Hades. (This was probably my worst blog post ever).
I found your analysis really interesting, and it opened my eyes towards some aspects of my poem that I did not notice until after reading yours! While I did notice that most of these poems were based off of the Persephone Hades myth, I did not think that mine was about this too until I read your analysis. Rita Dove contrasts many ideas throughout both our poems, because while in the poem I analyzed, "Party Dress for a First Born", Rita Dove talks about the speaker's hatred to man. Combined with your poem's analysis of Hades' physical want of Persephone, and the unsettling and uncomfortable feeling that is caused by this perpetration of personal boundaries, the uncomfortable situation that the speaker in my poem is found in could be this, a big party for her entrance into the underworld, and how Persephone feels out of place both because of Hades' disgusting lustful desires, or because she does not think she is old enough to undergo this torturous treatment.
That was very interesting analysis because you related all the poems to one story. I do have trouble though to how do a set of poems titles with “Mother Love” relate to a relationship between a man who seeks to wed a woman. A connection you could make is that the mother’s love does not only attach to the children but also to the husband. But that would counter your analysis because Persephone did not have much love for Hades. I believe that this poem actually references a situation where a pregnant mother chooses to marry a man who she does not actually love because she need the financial support. The rain she is holding inside of her represents the unborn child she still has. I agree that the first line shows malicious intent to the part of the man. The man only wants her for his own pleasure. But I believe that my interpretation would support the overall theme of a mother’s love of her children better.
Thank you Andrea for your relieving views of my terrible blog post, but I forgot to mention some specifics and made it pretty unclear. Felix, I understand where you're coming from and I totally agree, but in my blog post I made it very vague. I was supposed to mention how Persephone's capturing was detrimental to Demeter's life and how badly it affected her emotional status. The capturing happened during the end of fall, and thus, made Demeter very depressed and sad causing her to cry to make the season; winter. She was the goddess of fertility and harvest, thereby making sense because winter is the season where it is very difficult for plants to grow and causing them to die. This capturing greatly affected their mother and daughter status as it broke apart a goddess and her child.
In the poem “Exit” by Rita Dove, uses visual imagery symbolism to represent the numerous emotions associated when a daughter leaves their mother. To begin the poem, Rita Dove creates a setting of an airport terminal. Using the title as support, this poem is about a daughter leaving their mother and becoming independent for the first time. As Rita Dove is a mother, she pours all her feelings into what she had experienced when her own children left her into this poem. She uses visual imagery to help portray her feelings, as seen when she writes “The windows you have closed behind / you are turning pink doing what they do / every dawn” (6-8). Here Dove describes the color of the daughter’s face as pink, but more importantly like dawn. The dawn is often times used as a symbol for a new beginning because it is associated with a start of the day. Dove conveys her happiness about her child leaving because she knows that something new will begin and that she can have a successful life. But despite all her hopes she has for her daughter, a mother cannot help but to feel saddened. Dove’s sadness is shown when she writes “Here it’s gray” (8). Gray is a color often used for the emotion of sadness because they resemble the grey clouds of a rainy day. She put this dark visual imagery to represent her sadness that her daughter is separating away from her and becoming independent. To further show her sadness, Dove writes “This suitcase, / the saddest object in the world” (9-10). The suitcase here is used as a symbol for departing or separating. The fact that she stated that it is the saddest object in the world, shows her deep sadness of her separation with her daughter. From this poem, it is easy to see the deep and powerful attachment and love she has for her children. The sadness she writes on this poem are her attachments with her children being separated. The poem shows her maternal affection to her daughter, but also the hopes she has for her daughter or children to have a bright future.
In “Cozy Apologia” by Rita Dove, she uses metaphors, similes, and rhyme scheme to display her love for her husband, and the idea that no one should settle with being ordinary. Dove’s refers to Hurricane Floyd, “Big Bad Floyd, who brings a host/ Of daydreams: awkward reminisces/ Of teenage crushes on worthless boys” (14-16). Hurricane Floyd, which occurred in 1999, is used as a reference to her previous and failed crushes from her childhood. Similar to how hurricanes can bring bad weather and memories, she remembers her bad previous loves. She refers to previous crushes as, “worthless boys” to emphasizes the beauty of her current relationship with her husband. Dove writes, “Were as thin as licorice and as chewy, / Sweet with a dark and hollow center” (21-22). This continues the metaphor, because it compares an empty love to the calm hollow center of a hurricane. Dove is showing that these early loves started out sweet, but then there was always something missing, a “hollow part” of the love. This metaphor carries into the third stanza, when Dove writes “We’re content, but fall short of the Divine” (26). Here, Dove is talking about her time with her husband and how she is experiencing happiness now. The rhyme scheme through the first two stanzas makes the text have a more lyrical flow to it. The third stanza differs, demonstrating how Dove believes her love deviates from normal and that she finds happiness in that. Dove writes, “When has the ordinary ever been news?” (29). Here, Dove is telling the reader that her love is beyond the average love, and that she is content with having an interesting and non ordinary life.
In Rita Dove's poem "Cozy Apologia", she employs allusion in order to convey thoughts of her relationships with men. The poem states it's authored for Fred, who happens to be Rita Dove's husband,Fred Viebahn, therefore, this poem may be autobiographical due to the first person point of view and the dedication included. Starting the first stanza with an end rhyme scheme of AABBCC, a cliche is immediately drawn, with allusions to medieval-times and kids' storytelling: "Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / As standing in silver stirrups will allow— / There you'll be, with furrowed brow / And chain mail glinting, to set me free:" (6-10). This gives a typical damsel in distress, with Rita Dove being the one in chains here. This is probably used as irony, as knowing Dove's strong feminist themes and ideals would not allow her to live in a personified patriarchal relationship, with the female as a subordinate, or if it is, then this poem is a form of regret for living the life which she so condemned. Natural disasters are also alluded to in this poem, notably a hurricane in 1999; "...Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast, / Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd, who brings a host / Of daydreams..." (13-15). This particular hurricane was used due to its unusual naming; it is male when the norm is a female host of destruction. This entity has the power to destroy, yet in this moment it was used for its opposing meaning, making it an ironic allusion, for it did not cause destruction but rather summoned the memories of childhood, once buried deep in the speaker's head. The comparison between the relationship in the present and those reflected upon were "thin as licorice and as chewy, / Sweet with a dark and hollow center..." (20). This and the hurricane could be compared, because the tumultuous chaos caused by the hurricane stop in the centre, where there is nothing, the eye of the storm. Licorice, as described here, also has a centre unlike the rest of the substance, but unlike the calm brought on by the eye in the midst of terror, these are void of substance, worthless, in the speaker's eyes. The poem ends on a note of sweetness, "And yet, because nothing else will do / To keep me from melancholy (call it blues), / I fill this stolen time with you//" (27-30). Apart from providing a contrast to the meaningless relationships mentioned in the previous stanza, Dove ends the poem with no remorse, for although the male-led relationship in her life is not of accord with some of her writing, she feels comfortable within it, filling her thoughts with her husband, provoking her happiness.
Great job, your analysis is very thorough and detailed. I also thought the poem was autobiographical because, as you said, it is written entirely in first person and is dedicated to her husband. I also noticed the rhyme scheme present in the first stanza. Specifically, it is written in iambic pentameter much like a Shakespearean Sonnet. This gives a very flowing and lyric quality to the text, which fits along with the numerous instances of visual imagery Dove included in this stanza. One other thing I really enjoyed in your analysis was your mention of the poem ending "on a note of sweetness." I feel like this really sums up this quite happy and content ending that Dove uses to conclude the work.
I really enjoy your analysis, as it is very different from mine, but also has some similarities. We both mention the allusion to Hurricane Floyd, and both believe that Dove is describing love. Your analysis allowed me to look at the poem from another perspective, although it was similar to mine. To extend your analysis, you could talking elaborate on the happiness her husband brings her compared to her failed relationships as discussed in the second stanza, and how that is displayed through the altered rhyme scheme in each stanza. Overall, I find your analysis to be very strong!
In the poem “Eliza, Age 10, Harlem,” Rita Dove uses a child’s point of view and metaphors to display the young, innocent nature of Eliza. In the first stanza Dove writes, “I’m not small like they say/ those withered onions on the stoop/ clucking their sorrowful tongues” (lines 1-3). In these opening lines, Eliza is describing scornful adults from her point of view. She uses a metaphor when comparing them to “withered onions”, alluding to the wrinkles people get as they age. With this negative diction she uses when referring to them, she implies that there is a sort of mutual resentment between her and the adults, which is not all too uncommon a type of relationship between children and grown-ups. When Dove writes, “I’m not small like they say,” she is explaining the assumption of most adults that Eliza is just another ten-year-old kid. However, in Eliza mind, she is much more. In the final stanza, Dove writes, “Yes,/ I am my grandma’s sweet pea/ and someday I’m gonna pop/ right out” (lines 11-14). Here, Rita Dove, from Eliza’s point of view, is recapping a metaphor Eliza’s grandma used. Eliza’s grandma is comparing Eliza to a sweet pea, which gives an element of realism to the text. Many grandma’s have these sort of nicknames for their grandchildren, so this allows the reader to relate very easily to the text. The popping out of the sweet pea seems to be referencing Eliza’s eventual change from childhood to adulthood. When she becomes an adult, according to her grandma, she will “pop out” and make a splash in the world.
I really liked your analysis, it made me take some points of view that I hadn’t considered before. One thing that I did spot when I was thinking about the poem was Dove’s use of the term “withered onions”. I had a similar interpretation as yours, but I hadn’t made the connection between the term and Dove’s use of negative diction. Another thing that I found insightful in your analysis was when you talked about the narrator thinking that she was much more than just a ten year old. I hadn’t thought about this when I first read the poem.
In the poem “sic itur ad astra” or, thus is the way to the stars, Rita Dove uses lots of symbolism and some interesting diction choice to convey that the narrator of the poem seems to be lost and desperate. Dove says “Bed, where are you flying to?” (1). The bed isn’t actually flying away, but Dove is using it to show the narrator’s emotions. The narrator becomes upset when he/she is away from the bed, because they use sleep as their escape from reality. This further leads to the point that the narrator is feeling lost and seeking comfort. Dove says “I close my eyes / and sink back to / day’s tiny dismissals” (6-8). Dove uses this line to drive the point home that something is happening in the narrator’s life that is making them uneasy. She again shows that the narrator is seeking to escape the situation by telling the reader that the narrator’s eyes were closed. When Dove says “fluttering white as a sail” (11), she is showing the fragility of the narrator’s life, and using the nightgown fluttering to symbolize it.
Your analysis is in a different perspective from mine, but is very interesting nonetheless! I thought this poem was being told from a child's point of view, the child being in a dream-like state. The personification of the flying bed,“Bed, where are you flying to?” served not for the purpose of conveying the speaker's anxieties but rather the wonder and amazement which awaited him (1). The stanzas, I don't know if you noticed, were symmetrical vertically, as they were five lines, six lines, six again, and then five, with the last line separated for emphasis. I think this was done for visual effect, as the title means "Thus the way to the stars", so I think Rita Dove was trying to visually convey a child's adventure in his dreams, with the poem serving as a staircase to the stars, or where his adventures reach an epitome.
I completely agree with your analysis and I found it very informative as I had very little clue of what the poem was about. I was about to post about this poem, but I realized how many different connotations and possibilities this poem could have. I thought your view and Andrea's comment had very good perspectives on the poem, but the way I first thought about the poem was that it might be about a dream or the desires for sleep. Rita Dove might have been spending late nights not being able to sleep due to her poems haunting her at night causing her to have dyslexia.
In the poem “Meditation at Fifty Yards, Moving Target,” Rita Dove uses a second person point of view to describe and discuss guns. She uses lit devices such as personification, and visual imagery to convey the dangers of gun usage and how they function. In the first stanza, Dove warns the reader about the dangers of guns with an informational structure as she writes, “Never point your weapon, keep your finger / off the trigger. Assume a loaded barrel, / even when it isn’t, especially when you know it isn’t” (1-3). Here, and in the rest of this stanza, she repeatedly signifies the true dangers of a gun whether it is loaded or not. Just the figure of a gun and what it can symbolize can mean a lot of negative things and connotations as Dove indicates it in this poem. She describes how it can drastically impact one’s life by later writing, “You could wound the burglar and kill your child / sleeping in the next room, all with one shot” (11-12). This is one of many examples of emotional imagery Dove uses in this poem as it connects the violence of guns directly to the reader. Her point of the dangers of guns is most effectively shown here because as she describes how the reader could kill a burglar, she also warns the reader that they could kill their own child. The second stanza is crucial to the poem because it is the one that is connected mostly with the title. She writes towards a person who is more passionate about guns, and portrays the concentration of a gunman with an analogy of how similar it is with meditating. In the third stanza, she differentiates the stereotypes of gender roles as she describes men to be more aggressive, loud, and strong, and women to be subtle, elegant, and reserved, similarly to their gun preferences. Lastly, the last stanza, and most interesting one, is written in the point of view of the bullet. Dove intentionally does not uses capitalization's and punctuation's to remind the reader that the bullet is still an object.
You had a very interesting analysis about this poem and great that you pointed out that the italicized words on the top shows what kind of topic or perspective it is. You stated that the first art pf the poem had an informational organization to it. I agree with your analysis but I think it could mean just more than a literal meaning. Dove probably wrote information about guns in this way to show how people view guns; as just objects. But to Dove, these guns are actually very harmful, supported by the sudden change in tone at the end part of the poem. She wants to change how people see guns as just mere machines that work by rules and instructions to weapons that are capable of ruining lives.
In the poem “Noble Sissle’s Horn, Rita Dove uses enjambments to show the persecution that African American soldiers faced during their time in the army. To begin with the analysis of this poem, a bit of history would help in understanding the topic of this poem. During World War I, thousands of African Americans joined the army hoping to serve their country and gain some respect from the Caucasian members of society. But all they received was ridicule and racism within their own ranks instead of the teamwork they expected. A majority of the black soldiers were assigned for cleaning or cooking; jobs that were undesirable. In this poem it is about a soldier who is being assigned as a cook and his thoughts and perceptions are written in this poem as well as the Caucasian soldiers’ thought. Dove uses these end stops in order to show the two different thoughts of soldiers of two different races. They provide emphasis to different parts of sentences in order to give a better understanding about their thoughts. Dove writes “The difference between a moan and a Hallelujah / ain’t much of a slide” (12-13). By adding an enjambment and an end stop, Dove creates one whole idea but in a much more organized manner. The two topics of the same idea are literally split by the enjambment to help the reader understand that the African soldiers were much more willing to get hurt and fight rather than become stuck on kitchen duty. According these lines, a moan and a Hallelujah are not very different. They are not different because if they were assigned to actually fight and get hurt, they would be very happy. Such a thought just proves how horribly repetitive and undesirable the tasks that were given to the black soldiers. When the words are italicized, this indicates that a white soldiers is thinking. Many of the lines contain an end stops. This creates a very abrupt and interrupted fluidity to the poem showing the hatred that the soldiers had for the black soldiers. The tone sounded as if they were trying to command them. This poem successfully shows the hatred the black soldiers received, even within their own ranks.
I found your analysis of “Noble Sissle’s Horn” very interesting. The background information that you gave really helped me to understand what the message and reasoning behind writing the poem was. Before I read your analysis I would have thought that the black soldiers would have preferred to work in the kitchen rather than putting themselves in danger. From the quote you used, it seemed to me that rather than the African American soldiers finding the kitchen tasks mundane, they felt more like they weren’t serving much of a purpose. I think that they wanted to fight because it would have given them a purpose and given them something to work for. I would also agree with you that the tone that Dove uses in the poem allows the reader to see how the African American soldiers were treated by the other soldiers.
In the poem, “The Narcissus Flower” Rita Dove alludes to the story of Hades kidnapping Persephone through her use of point of view, personification, and paradox. This poem is written in the first because “I” is used to refer to the narrator several times. That allows the reader to conclude that the poem is told from Persephone’s point of view during her kidnapping. Dove writes, “you can life beyond dying” (12). This paradox is used to make reference to the underworld, which is where Hades takes Persephone. The underworld occupies all the people who are dead on Earth, and therefore it may seem as though they never truly die. However, the underworld is a very unhappy place where no one wishes to be. Dove’s use of personification illustrates the kidnapping itself and describes the underworld. She writes, “not the way the earth unzipped/but the way I could see my own fingers and hear/ myself scream as the blossom incinerated” (2-4). The earth is personified to be unzipping, which emphasizes the destruction of order once Persephone is taken. Demeter, Persephone’s mother, requests Zeus to take action once Persephone is taken, leading to troubles among the Gods. The negative visual and auditory imagery is used to evoke fear in the reader when thinking about what has happened to Persephone. The pretty blossom blowing up into flames emphasizes the pure evil of Hades, and how he can ruin even the most beautiful of things. Persephone describes the only thing she can hear as her screaming, which is also used to elicit of a feeling a fear in the reader.
Rita Dove’s “Lullaby” is about a child’s thoughts and needs from it’s mother. The poem is a dialogue from a person that wants to return to the comfort that their mother had given them in their childhood. Dove helps the poem flow more like a dialogue by making each stanza no more than two lines, as well as formatting them on different sides of the page. This switching from left to right side formatting shows that a different character is speaking. When I read the last two stanzas of the poem, it made me think of the change from childhood to adulthood. Dove says “I can’t the school bus is coming” (20), and then the other character says “already? so soon!” (22). In these lines Dove is showing that everyone has to move on from childhood and away from the comfort of home, even if they aren’t ready for it.
I found your analysis to be very interesting. I also noticed the alternating formatting on both sides of page to display the dialogue between the mother and child. This formatting, although just a little thing, is very important for the clarity and aesthetics of the poem. I did not notice the metaphor in the last three lines until I read your post, but I absolutely agree with you now that the "so soon" refers to the growing up of a child, which seems so fast the parent. I feel that this line can also be taken literally in the context of the poem because it is very natural for the child to catch the bus anyway. In this way, "so soon" is also a sort of pun.
I found your analysis very interesting and rather similar to mine. As you pointed out, the structure creates a form of dialogue between mother and child. Also, the capitalization of each new stanza helps demonstrate that it’s dialogue. I think it helps symbolize the mother and child’s relationship. I think it displays the growing relationship, similar to what you said with the arrival of the school bus symbolizing adulthood. When the child talks about boredom the mother responds with, “Boredom is useful for embroidery,/ and a day of rest never hurt anyone” (14-15). Here, it seems as though the mother is trying to teach a lesson knowing they are growing up.
In her poem, “Second Juror,” Rita Dove uses anaphora and unique enjambment to add a poetic complexity that is surprising due its short nature. In this poem, each line, other than the last one, and each phrase starts with “A”. Dove writes, “A stone to throw/ A curse to hurl/ A silence to break, etc.” (lines 1-3). This anaphora adds a very distinct rhythm to the poem, and emphasizes the “A” as a sort of steady beat throughout. Another contributing factor to this rhythmic feel is Dove’s of exactly four words in each phrase (and almost every line as before). This repetition of words and thus syllables adds to the already steady pulse and makes the poem, when read aloud, almost song-like. The last two lines of this poem are unique because the constant four-word phrase is broken into two lines. Dove writes, “A blank/ To fill” (lines 6-7). Here, Dove uses a sort of play on words because by splitting this phrase into two, an extra blank space is literally filled. This double meaning of the word also fits the definition of a pun. This effect, of course, could not have achieved had she continued with the trend present in the rest of the poem. This uniquely enjambed phrase sticks out in the reader’s mind because of its subtle complexity. One other interesting piece in this poem is the very distinct turn in mood that occurs after the third line. The first three lines are quite dark and intense, while the last four are light and positive. This shows a drastic shift in feeling of the narrator.
I found your analysis very interesting and rather similar to mine. As you pointed out, the structure creates a form of distinct rhythm for the flow of the poem which makes the poem very unique. Also, the repetition of A, I found, was very interesting and didn't really catch my eye when I first read it. I think it helps the poem to allow each thing being described very discrete. The pun was also very suitable at the time of the poem as it fits very smoothly and flows very well with the poem. Overall, your analysis was well fitted with the poem and I very much enjoyed it.
In the poem “Fox Trot Fridays,” Rita Dove uses an unexpected poem structure of short couplets to describe how the foxtrot dance works. This poem is one of the two poems in the whole book in which Dove uses couplets throughout the entirety of the poem. The title of the poem is directly related to the poem because introduces that the poem is going to be about this specific type of dance. She adds “Friday” to identify the context because people typically connect friday as the day of the week when most people are most relaxed, thus, having that feeling of breaking into a foxtrot dance. This is proven when Dove writes, “Thank the stars there’s a day / each week to tuck in”(1-2). The day referenced here is friday, and the phrase “to tuck in” symbolizes relaxation and the state of being cozy as it symbolizes friday being the day of to relax and express yourself. Throughout the poem, Dove repeatedly uses enjambment to go with the flow and rhythm of the dance portrayed by the poem and they emphasize the constant movement and flow of the dance. The formation of the poem being in a couplet structure could also imply that each line represents one of the dancers so that the lines are constantly in pairs. This is supported when Dove writes, “one man and / one woman” as it separates both genders on two individual lines (11-12). She ends the poem with “to count all the wonders in it.” (17) to emphasize how relaxing it is to do this dance and how smooth the dance is again.
It's interesting that you pointed out that the couplet structure of the poem could represent two partners dancing.I agree with this analysis because of the quote you used for you support. To further support your claim, the rhythm of the couplet felt like a dance itself. To be able to dance, there must be a constant beat or tempo in the background. She executes this by the skillful use of enjambments and end-stops to create this tempo. She also uses rhyme to emphasize this rhythm like using the words toe and Cole. I believe that this whole poem was actually praising the day of Friday because she describes the fun things she can do on that day. Great analysis on the poem and you really helped me understand the poem better.
Through Dove’s use of positive diction in the poem “Desk Dreams”, she conveys her appreciation for nature. This topic for Dove is unusual because she is a poet who is not very fond with nature as other poets are. But she cannot deny the feelings she has when she is exposed to the beauty of Mother Nature. The title of this poem is called “Desk Dreams”. In this poem she describes her feelings while writing in different environments. The word Dream here represents nature and the word desk represents her working. The word Dream is an example of positive diction displaying her appreciation before the reader begins to read the poem. Naturally, writing needs inspiration or motivation in order for the author to share something meaningful to the world. One of those motivators for Dove is nature. She writes “I love this unconscious solitude” (3). Here she uses positive diction in the form of the words “love” and “solitude”. The purpose for such positive words is to show how much she enjoys the isolation that nature simulates. If Dove had used the word loneliness instead of solitude, then the statement would imply that there is an aspect of sadness when she is exposed to nature. Her use of positive diction to show her appreciation for nature is further shown when she writes “the heavens / scrubbed and shining.” (61-62). She describes the stars as the heavens, creating a hopeful effect on the reader. The joyous images associated with the word heaven allows the reader to understand the beauty she saw in the midnight sky. By harnessing the power that that word contained, she accurately conveys her emotions. She further polishes this image by adding the words “scrubbed” and “shining” to add a feeling of wonder on the reader. Comparing the stars to something that is shiny makes them think of valuable materials. This shows how much she valued the image she saw in the sky. By using positive diction, Dove is able to connect her feelings about nature to the reader. This allows her to share her thoughts when she writes about the environment effectively.
Please initiate your comments about the poetry in the section "Historical Figures"--due by 11:00 pm Thursday 10/29.
ReplyDeleteRita Dove’s use of contrasting diction, displays the positive and negative sides of Billie Holiday’s life. Holiday’s life consisted of many hard times, and in the darkest of times, she found music as a positive outlet. However, addiction eventually took her life. Dove describes her voice as having “as many shadows as lights” (2). The words light and dark are antonyms and symbolize how Holiday’s life contained everything, from happy times to the darkest of times. Both happy and dark times in her life influenced her work. Shadows comes before the word lights to demonstrate that Holiday’s troubles actually began early in her life, and occurred not just during her popular career, but prior to it as well. Dove describes Holiday’s physical qualities, “the gardenia her signature under that ruined face” (4). Holiday usually wore a gardenia behind her ear, which brings beauty to her appearance. Dove quickly removes the idea of beauty from the reader’s mind by describing her face as “ruined”. This allows the reader to visualize Holiday’s face and skin as rough and wrinkled. The rough appearance of her face sticks out when comparing it to the flower Holiday uses behind her ear. Similar to how Holiday’s career brought positive effects, but it was always overshadowed by her struggles with addiction and the law. Dove also describes the difference between her music and addiction when writing, “with your mirror and your bracelet of song” (8). Although there are no antonyms or opposing thoughts through the diction, the connotations that come with these objects are opposite. A mirror can generally be associated with the use of drugs. Here, Dove expresses that Holiday balanced both addiction and fame during her career, until the drugs and alcohol eventually grabbed control of her life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that Rita Dove uses contrasting diction to portray the different sides of Billie Holiday's life. I liked how you talked about not only how the contrasting ideas of the poem show different aspects of her life, but I also liked that you explained how Rita Dove’s diction and how she phrases certain things affect the reader’s perception of the poem. I also found Dove’s use of the word “under” in this passage curious, because usually a gardenia would be to the side or above her face. This is a supporting detail that I thought would have helped your argument that the drugs were overshadowing her career and holding her back. That may have been the reason that Dove chose to describe her signature Gardenia as “under” her face.
DeleteRita Dove's use of the line “Billy Holiday’s Burned voice” is meant to talk about the many ways struggles that Holiday faced during her life, it also relates to one of her most famous songs, “Strange Fruit”. This song refers to the burning of blacks in america at the time. The song was meant to talk about America before the civil rights movement, and the oppression that African American people faced. Holiday used very powerful lyrics in this song to help convey her outlook on america at the time, and how it had “burned” her. She uses some disturbing lyrics such as “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze”, and “Then the sudden smell of burning flesh”. Dove references this song, because it shows yet another struggle that Holiday fought with throughout her life. She was not only affected by drugs and prostitution, but the discrimination that she faced on a daily basis in an America before the civil rights movement. At the time, Holiday had next to no rights, and used music as a way to express her ideas, hence the use of the phrase “burned voice” by Dove. Ironically, Holiday performed to mainly white audiences, with this song containing references to their terrible treatment of African Americans.
ReplyDeleteSomething interesting I recognized when listening to the song “strange fruit” (1939) is the lyrics, along with an autotune of Nina Simone’s version (1965) make up the chorus of Kanye West’s famous song “Blood on the leaves” (2013).
I found your analysis quite interesting, particularly your connection to Kanye West’s song “Blood on the Leaves”. This is a connection I had not thought of after reading the poem or listening to the song. I also enjoyed your connection from the song to the poetry about the metaphorical “burning of African Americans at the time. This seems to be quite a theme throughout both. Another connection I made to this theme of burning was when Dove writes, “magic spoon, magic needle”. This references the burning and injecting of heroin, which Billie Holiday was addicted to for much of her life. This further “burns” her.
DeleteThrough the use of allusion, Rita Dove uses the poem "Sonnet in Primary Colors" in order to illustrate the life full of pain and hardship of Frida Kahlo.
ReplyDeleteFrida's self portraits are often the most recognisable, always including and highlighting her prominent unibrow, and this poem alludes to four of these. The painting "Self Portrait with Monkey and Parrot" is described with "lovely Frida, erect among parrots" (Dove 2-3). A symbol is also at play in this paragraph, as parrots are colourful and exotic, easily noticeable, which is easy to compare to Frida. Her painting was unique and surrealist, all while depicting her own reality as she "painted herself a present" (4). Her paintings were personal, even when receiving commissions, and suggest her feelings about the pain, suffering, and tribulations she went through in her life. Her present was illustrated with "wildflowers entwining the plaster corset her spine resides in the romance of mirrors" (5-6). This line is also an allusion to her life and her attempts to ameliorate it. The spine being in the romance of mirrors conveys the delicacy of her well-being, as she had polio as a child, and her spine was too weak to support her, prone to shatter with any effort, conveyed with her painting "The Broken Column". Due to this condition, she wore plaster corsets to uphold her stature, painting and decorating them with flowers and colour and other beautiful things, merging her life with her artwork. That could also be another connotation for these lines, as her art was her 'spine' metaphorically, supporting her through woes.
Her political views also influenced many facets of her life, supporting the Marxist view of politics. Also in reference to another of her paintings, this time not a self-portait, the lines of "[rising] to her celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead, Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead" describe her feelings about these leaders, relayed in the painting "Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick" (7-9). Joining the Young Communist League and the Mexican Communist Party, Frida was very involved in her political standing, once hosting the Trotskys. She had an affair with Leon Trotsky, being hypocritical towards Diego.
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo lived an unhappily married, and separated life. Diego had constant affairs with others, which caused pain and suffering in Frida; she thought "Diego's love a skull in the circular window of the thumbprint searing her immutable brow" (11-13). Frida suffered of an obsession with her husband, revealed through the many paintings that symbolised him on her mind, including "Diego y Yo" and "Diego on my Mind". Reminiscing the positioning of these, "Thinking About Death" is a painting that signifies these feelings, and though the love between them is 'dead', Frida still holds a place for Diego in her mind.
This poem is harsh, grating, and negative, as Rita Dove projected all of Frida's feelings powerfully and effectively in this piece of poetry.
I agree that the line 9 displays her support for socialism, a topic commonly associated with the socialist leaders Lenin and Stalin. You also made a powerful connection between her painting "Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick" to support your claim. But I would also like to add that where Lenin, Marx and Stalin position could also imply that she believes that socialism is much more sympathetic to the well-being of its citizens than other forms of government. People who are at the "footstead" of a patient's bed usually care for the patient since they are watching over them while they are in a time of need. Kahlo may think that these supporters and leaders of socialism are care very much of its supporters and citizens, supported by the Dove’s description of where these men are standing.
DeleteIn the poem, “Sonnet in Primary Colors”, Rita Dove outlines the life of Frida Kahlo, who was an early twentieth century painter from Mexico, through the use of visual imagery. Almost every line in this poem employs this device, which gives the poem much more interest and vibrance. In one example, Dove writes, “wildflowers entwining the plaster corset/ her spine resides in the romance of mirrors” (lines 5-6). Here, Dove uses powerful, specific verbs such as “entwining” and resides” to add a complexity to the poem. These verbs along with the nouns “wildflowers”, “spine”, “corset”, and “mirrors” paint a vivid picture in the readers mind of these flowers that are wrapped around Kahlo. At the end of line six, Dove uses the technique of personification in describing the mirrors as romantic beings. She could have used this to explain the sort of false romance or beauty associated with a corset when people look in a mirror, which makes them appear thinner. The corset also symbolizes restraint in this poem when Dove metaphorically describes it as “plaster”, which, when hardened, would be impossible to break out of. This idea of being held back relates strongly to Frida Kahlo’s very difficult life. Particularly, her bus accident when she was eighteen years old which left her severely injured and handicapped, and thus restrained her, for the remainder of her life.
ReplyDeleteAnother example from the text you could use to enhance your analysis would be the use the phrase “one black wing” (1). Here, Dove could be conveying the story of the bus accident. She starts by saying the woman only had one wing, when there is supposed to be too. This implies the bird is handicapped and disadvantaged when it comes to trying to fly with other birds. This is similar to how Frida must have felt when sustaining injuries. Injuries would have greatly impacted her life, and made it hard for her to do norml action. The word black could have also been used in order to convey the idea that this was a dark time for her as well. Trying to carry on with life can be hard and even depressing.
DeleteIn the poem “Canary”, Rita Dove installs enjambments and end-stops numerous times to emphasize certain elements of the poem to relay her message about the female experience. The message she attempts to tell in this poem is that since people will try to harm you or “invent” erroneous accusations about you, you should remain hidden from existence. She first describes the singer “Billie Holiday’s burned voice/” saying that it “had as many shadows as lights, /” (Dove 1-2). Conceptually, the lines describe her life which was full of negative and positive experiences, using the words “shadows” and “lights” to represent them respectively. Dove’s intention for those two lines is to form one whole idea instead of two. She tries to avoid the reader from focusing on the first line as one idea and this is supported by her use of an enjambment in the end of line one. She concludes her idea by using an end-stop at the end of line 2. For the first and second stanza she continues to describe the life of Billie Holiday. But at stanzas three and four she gives her implications on trying to be unique as a woman. Dove states that “the invention of women under siege has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.” (10-11) Here Dove uses an enjambment to connect lines ten and eleven indicating a single idea. Dove explains that women are invented only for sexual favors or “love” for anonymous customers or the “myth”. Dove uses the hardships Holiday faced to represent the consequences of trying to oppose this expectation. She finally concludes that “If you can’t be free, be a mystery.”(Dove 11) Dove utilizes a caesura and an end-stop on line 10 and here on line 11 to add extreme emphasis on her message. Using these devices, she isolates her message from the other stanzas so the reader takes away her message that women can’t be free from the expectations they are bound to and therefore should just remain hidden from existence to avoid consequences from society.
ReplyDeleteI mostly agree with your analysis about Rita Dove's use of stanza structure, Enjambments and endings. However, I noticed that you didn't show the example of enjambment in the third line of the second stanza which clearly showed Dove's ability to use these devices effectively. Rita Dove writes, "Take all day if you have to" and ends the line with an enjambment. This pause of flow further emphasizes the hyperbole she states and transitions cleanly onto the next line when she compares the "mirror" and the "song." Both the "mirror" and her "bracelet of song" are symbols of Holiday's life in terms of her struggles, and that thought in the line is neatly ended with an end stop.
DeleteIn Rita Dove’s poem, “Catherine of Siena,” Dove signifies Saint Catherine of Siena’s leadership and faith in her religious beliefs with the use of anaphora, imagery, and unique diction to create a dominant effect of pride for Catherine of Siena. Dove also does this by continuingly referencing Siena’s great crusade and her religion. In the first four lines of the first stanza, Rita Dove introduces Siena’s courage and loyalty during her crusade she led against the Muslims with anaphora and symbolism. Anaphora is present when Rita Dove writes “You walked” and “You struck” to emphasize the actions she committed and their importance. This is then followed by two different concepts Dove writes about Siena’s longings. Rita Dove portrays Siena’s desires when she writes, “to find someone to talk to. You struck the boulder at the roadside” (2-3). These lines references to her crusade and signifies that she has a purpose of it. The “someone” she refers to is God and the “boulder” is a obstacle or fork in her road or “roadside.” The rest of the stanza creates an overall mood of hope. Dove uses a metaphor when she states that “fate has doors everywhere” as it compares fate with a room, meaning that there will always be a path for fate and will never have a dead end (4). The last two lines of the stanza creates visual imagery and contrasting imagery because it uses diction such as “heaven, warm and dark” (6). The description contrasts each other because heaven is mostly visualized as bright and tranquil, while dark is visualized as death and evil.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Belinda’s Petition,” Rita Dove creates a dominant feeling of sadness through her use of simile and metaphor. Dove writes, “Lately your Countrymen have severed/ the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope/ you would consider the Same for me/” (Dove Lines 8-10). Here, the metaphor is on “binds”. Dove is comparing the state of America under British rule to a person who is bound against their will. She then refers this to the present state of Belinda, a slave who is also bound and oppressed in much the same way. The visual imagery of someone being bound is quite profound and invokes in the reader that feeling of sadness present throughout the poem. In this way, Dove uses the literary device pathos by inducing a sense of pity from the reader. Dove also writes, “How might/ I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon,/ who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?” (Lines 19-20). Dove uses both a simile and a metaphor in these last two lines of the poem. The simile comes in line 19 when she refers to white people’s faces as “like the moon” based on their similar color. The metaphor comes from the last line when Dove explains that these same men are riding towards Belinda for the first twelve years of her life. Belinda possibly thinks this because she was hunted down and captured by these very men in much the same way as one would round up animals. Like the last quote, Dove uses pathos with the downcast diction that is a theme of this work.
ReplyDeleteWe both had the same observation about the metaphorical meaning behind "...Countrymen have severed/ the Binds of Tiranny" (Dove 8-9). I related these back to the Revolutionary Wars, and how the United States was rebelling against unjust rule from the British. However, regarding the line “How might/ I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon,/ who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?”, I thought it was more verbal irony than a metaphor (19-20). Since earlier in the poem she stated that throughout her childhood, she was perceived as ignorant, this line made the self-revelation that she was truly intelligent, as she would not be giving such an eloquent speech if she was truly unschooled and obtuse. Her only ignorance, however, was in being uninformed about the evils of slave trade, and her imminent capture of the white men, expecting her servitude.
DeleteRita Dove's poem "The House Slave" creates a dominant feeling of pity through the use of similes and contrast.
ReplyDeleteThe title is a very important part of this poem, as when read, it gives you an insight towards the point of view the speaker had. In this instance, it was a house slave speaking about field slaves.
There were only two similes in the entirety of this poem, one of them describing the slaves' mistress: "their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick" (Dove 6). Toothpicks are hard, stiff, unfeeling, and even able to inflict pain due to its sharp ends. Ivory is pale white, often seen as a luxury, even being illegal to obtain in many countries. Through these interpretations, we can harness a guess at what the feelings towards the mistress is. From the ivory, she is most likely self-indulgent, doing nothing but directing her slaves in constant lethargy. She could also treat them harshly, hence the toothpick that is always unbending.
A comparison immediately follows, with the speaker stating that "...Massa dreams of asses, rum, and slave funk//" (7). This is the only crass text that the poem contains. This crude imagery reflects the disgust the house slave holds for the master and the actions he inflicts upon the slaves.
The second simile occurs later in the poem, describing how the slaves "spill like bees among the fat flowers," (14). This is an ironic contrast, as it compares something beautiful while describing the horrors of field work. The beauty implied in bees flitting amongst flowers provides a playful image, one usually seen in the springtime during pollination season in order to aid the exposure of the incoming beauty of blossoming flowers. This is the complete opposite of the situation described, where the slaves are forced and tortured into the collection and harvest of cotton, primarily. This strict case is a harsh distinction between the colourful and playful nature of spring and the torturous state of field slaves' conditions.
The last line is also significant to the overall feeling of the poem, although it is neither a simile nor a comparison. The last line, "I weep. It is not yet daylight", could be taken both figuratively or literally (15). The literal language could imply that the torture has just begun, and that what dawn brings to the field slaves, morning will bring to the house slaves. The field slaves could also undergo a lot more agony in the coming hours of the day, that what was seen at dawn was a prelude of the subsequent events.
Figuratively, 'daylight' could be related to the morning, which is a time of new beginnings. Since the emancipation of slaves had not happened yet, the darkness permeates throughout, and the suffering will only end when the morning comes, bright and full of freedom for the captive.
You had a very competent analysis on this poem but I have to disagree with your interpretation of line 14. You said that they represented the slaves and it was ironic. This interpretation would actually contradict your thesis about creating an effect of pity on the reader. It would portray the slaves as being happy and free, like a bee. Bees are associated with freedom, because of their ability to fly, and also happiness because of their yellow color. I believe that the Dove is actually referring to the “whiteness” or the cotton which grew in the fields (12). By “they spill like bees”, Dove most likely wanted to show the abundance of cotton that grew, implying that the slaves will have more work because of the vast amount of cotton. And that is why the narrator is crying, because she feels pity for the work the field slaves must do which will also influence the reader to feel pity also. This interpretation of the bees would best support your thesis.
DeleteYou make a very good point about the contrasting views in this poem. You could support your analysis by discussing Dove’s use of paradox. She writes, “Those days / I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat” (12). This paradox, is able to display how no matter what is going on in the surroundings, the slaves will never be anywhere near content. It is hot, yet they are shivering. I found shivering to symbolize the idea of shivering of fear instead of from coldness. Since it is warm outside, the slave is aware of the hard work day ahead of them that they are about to endure. It makes them cringe and shiver with fear on the inside, rather than on the outside. At first glance, this phrase seems to contradict itself and not make sense, but when taking into account the daily fears of slaves it allows you to further understand the daily hardships.
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ReplyDeleteIn the first stanza of The Transport of Slaves From Maryland to Mississippi, Dove uses a balance of negative and positive diction to portray the slave woman’s doubt about the man she helped on the horse to get help. In the first stanza the positive diction and negative diction acts as a symbol for the woman’s mind in conflict. The positive diction acting as justification for her action and the negative diction representing her doubts about the man. An example of this “conflict” is when Dove describes the condition of the slaves with “dust hovering around the body / like a screen of mosquitoes / shimmering in the hushed light” (4-6) Dove describes the slaves using negative words such as “dust” and “mosquitoes” to imply the woman’s doubts about her action. This negativity reflects the hopelessness of the “mosquitoes” or slaves and ultimate fear of death or turning into “dust” which she assessed about the situation (4-6). But using an enjambment to unite the idea of a person vs. self-conflict Dove also utilizes positive diction to describe the slaves stating they were “like a screen of mosquitoes / shimmering in the hushed light” (5-6). The transition from use of negative diction to positive diction symbolizes the conflict she has within herself. First she says that they were “Left for dead” but later creates a positive image using the words “shimmering”, “hushed” and “light”. The woman believes because of the reaction that they would die, but gains hope that the man may actually get help for them. Furthermore, she clearly states her conundrum when she “thought he was our salvation or not” in the beginning, solidifying the topic for the first stanza of the mental conflict she has with herself. She once again uses these contrasting dictions when Dove writes “Death and salvation- one accommodates the other” (11). Here Dove personifies these dictions which gives further details in the woman’s problem. The word “accommodates” explains that when one thought against her action begins to overpower her hope, her hope arises also to balance or “accommodate” her doubt (11). She uses the negative word “Death” and positive word “salvation” to represent her doubts and hopes respectively (11).
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I found your analysis of this poem to be quite thorough and thought-provoking. Your dissection of the diction in the opening stanza was quite clever, and I agree with you that the woman's mind was quite conflicted (which makes sense given this situation). However, I am not sure if your comparison of mosquitoes to slaves is completely accurate. The mosquitoes seem to only be used as a simile in this context. Another example I found that would support your thesis is when Dove uses the words "brute" and then "feelings" (line 12). These contrasting words in the same line further support this motif of contrasting diction.
DeleteI really liked how you analyzed the different types of diction that Dove used in the poem the transport of slaves from Maryland to Mississippi. I liked how you analyzed the poem as split into two types of diction, that balance each other out. Something that I would use to help add to your point about Dove using certain diction to convey the condition of the slaves, is the quote “sixty slaves \ poured off the wagon, smelly, half-numb, free” (22-23). I feel like Dove uses this particular sentence in order to drive home the conditions that the slaves were in. This sentence serves only one purpose, which is to convey to the reader the conditions using different types of imagery. Although this use of negative dictions may not be counterbalanced with a set of positive diction, I feel that it is very important when talking about the diction used in this poem.
DeleteThe Poem David Walker (1785-1830) is about an african-american abolitionist who publicized the struggles that slaves went through at the time. The poem speaks about a pamphlet that Walker created and distributed called “An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World”. The first thing Dove says in the poem is “free to travel, he still couldn’t be shows how lucky \ he was” (1-2). Dove is alluding to the fact that Walker was born a free person (his mother was a free african-american, his father was dead), yet he still couldn’t see that he was lucky to have this right. This seems to be said from a point of view of a more privileged person, who thinks that Walker being free, has enough rights already and shouldn't be fighting for more. Dove also talks about his distribution of his pamphlet in the poem, she says “pamphlets were stuffed \ into trouser pockets. Pamphlets transported in the coat linings of itinerant seamen...” (9-11). Dove is referring to the pamphlet that Walker made. This pamphlet was made by Walker to promote the unity of the black people and to help the fight for racial equality. Dove also talks about the people that read the pamphlets “pressed his dark hand between their gloves.” (19). The gloves are used here to symbolize the privileged people (whites). Dove means by saying that his hand was pressed between their gloves, that even the rich and privileged white people were reading the pamphlets themselves, or getting word of them.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “David Walker,” RIta Dove writes about a outspoken African-American abolitionist by the name of David Walker. Dove explores the dominant effect of pity on the reader in this poem with the usage of similes, caesurae, and references to Walker’s life. When introducing the poem, Dove writes in the first stanza, “Compass needles, / eloquent as tuning forks, shivered, pointing north. / Evenings, the ceiling fan sputtered like a second pulse” (5-7). Dove already referenced the ownership of a clothing store Walker had. In this quote, two similes are used. The first is used to describe the compass pointing north, as it signifies the process of freeing the slaves because north is the direction abolitionist lead the slaves to freedom. “Tuning forks” is used to symbolize how much the abolitionist had to be and precise when leading the slaves. The second is used to describe what Walker does when not being an abolitionist, but being the owner of the shop. He stays in the shop doing close to nothing because it being described as a “second pulse” represents how little things or sounds happen within the shop. One of David Walker’s achievements in his life was a pamphlet he wrote that urged African Americans to fight for freedom and equality, in which Dove referenced repeatedly to emphasize the effect and significance of David Walker’s life. In the second stanza where Dove describes the ways the pamphlets were used and conveyed, Dove writes, “in Carolinas, pamphlets ripped out, read aloud: / Men of colour, who are also of sense. / Outrage. Incredulity. Uproar in state legislatures” (13-15). Here, examples of caesurae is present. On the first line, it is used to individualize the actions of the pamphlets Dove describes. It creates a more dramatic mood on the reader as it separates the actions for the reader’s tempo while reading it. On the third line, it is used to emphasize the reactions of the legislatures. Dove writes it in a listing form as she only states the feelings and emotions of the higher or upper-class people who read the pamphlet.
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ReplyDeleteIn “The Abduction”, Rita Dove uses negative diction to convey the story of Solomon Northup, a free slave who is captured and forced to return. Negative diction is rarely found in the first half of the poem but greatly increases by the last two. The use of gloomy diction symbolizes how content Solomon was with life, and then his feeling about life when he is captured. When he was finally freed he spent time with friends, and was even able to make a profit even though at this time he faced discrimination against him when it came to surviving in the world. Rita Dove writes, “Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped./I was lifted-the sky swivelled, clicked into place” (11-12). Here, the word tipped illustrates that something is about to go wrong with the wine. When the sky, “clicked into place”, Dove is displaying that Solomon is back to the same surroundings as he was during his time as a slave. Then Dove writes, “I floated on water, I could not drink. Though the pillow/ was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep” (13-14). Here, Solomon is sitting so close to water, but unable to drink it. That demonstrates pathos, because here Dove is forcing the reader to feel sorrow towards Solomon’s situation. The word stone brings negative connotations, because it symbolizes how hard it was to sleep even before the work started. The last stanza states, “I woke and found myself alone, in the darkness and in chains” (15). This line is full of gloomy words, where Dove uses pathos. The words darkness, alone, and chains all describe the life slaves are forced to endure and how it was a terrible way to live. The structure of stanzas also demonstrates how unhappy Solomon becomes throughout the poem as he becomes freed but is returned to captivity. Each stanza decreases in size as the poem goes on.
ReplyDeleteAfter researching the poem “Claudette Calvin Goes to Work”, I found out that Rosa Parks was not the first African American to refuse to move on the bus. Claudette Calvin was. Calvin’s bravery wasn’t publicized in the way that Rosa Parks’ was because of the way society looked at her. At the time, she was unmarried and pregnant. This is the reason her act was overlooked, and she became known as nothing more than a trouble maker. Dove is trying to convey the feelings of to African American people at the time, through Calvin’s thoughts. She says things such as “Anyone home? / or I’m beat, bring me a beer”(6-7). Dove is showing the reader that Calvin wants to escape the world of segregation and racial injustice by using the words “bring me a beer”. It shows that Calvin is tired of the way things are, and that she feels that she cannot find an escape elsewhere. Dove also supports the idea that Calvin is tiring of the racism by using the line “mostly I say to myself Still here”(8). She also supports this by saying “Sometimes I wait until / it’s dark enough for my body to disappear” (13-14). This line supports the idea that the African American people are tiring of the injustice that they face, and that they may not be able to take it much longer. This is also supported later in the poem when Dove tells the reader what Calvin was thinking “So ugly,so fat, so dumb, so greasy - / What do we have to do to make god love us?” (24-25). This line is showing that the comments that the African Americans receive is getting to their heads, and they are starting to wonder if they really are that worthless.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with your opinion of Colvin being tired of the segregation and way of life, I do not think she is as defeated and as much of a pacifist as I assume you are making her out to be. Her being tired of segregation does not mean she remains non-confrontational about her civil rights, as demonstrated with the third stanza: "...male integers light up their smokes and let loose / a stream of brave talk: 'Hey Mama' souring quickly to / 'Your Mama' when there is no answer" (Dove 18-20). By keeping her dignity in the face of harassment, she shows her lack of deference, and demonstrates the existence of the flame and courage that fueled her stand against injustice in the first place, taking a more active role in this argument than your analysis implies.
DeleteIn the poem “Rosa”, Rita Dove alludes to the quiet and humble yet strong personality of Rosa Parks during her stand against the treatment of African Americans in 1955. Dove uses a paradox when writing, “so wrong it was ready” (3). Here, it seems the reader is able to determine that by saying so wrong, Dove is referring to how erroneous Parks’ action was at the time. However, when describing it was ready, she is referring to the readiness of the African Americans to fight against their treatment of the time. Dove writes, “that trim name with/ its dream of a bench” (4-5).This demonstrates the use of a synecdoche. The reader can infer that by saying name, Dove is referring to Rosa. The first two stanzas illustrate how Rosa Parks had a quiet and humble personality. Dove uses repetition when she writes “How she sat there” (1), then again when she writes “How she stood up” (10). Instead of using the word she to describe Rosa, Dove uses the word how to emphasize the the successful impact her stand against the bus driver had on society during that time. This also emphasizes the idea that it was not only her that started movement, but that many others were fighting for their rights at the time. Dove uses assonance when writing, “her purse. That courtesy” (12). Here, the assonance of the “ur” sound in purse and courtesy end the poem on a strong note. The strength here is hidden but also very visible, similar to the use of this assonance. Dove writes, “How she stood up”, to display the figurative stand Parks took at this time, and that it was very risky until proven to be successful. This could also be a paradox, because when you know Rosa’s story you know that she does not in fact stand up, but Dove says that she stands to emphasize the effect she had on society. The end of the poem demonstrates the strength that comes out of Rosa Parks and how it overcomes her quietness.
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis to be quite insightful. I too thought that Dove's use of paradox is quite intriguing. Another example of paradox in this poem is when Dove writes, "doing nothing was the doing" (line 7). This furthers this erroneous action that you wrote about. Your mention of the repetition of how she first sat down then stood up was something I had not noticed. It is quite profound and as you explained, the anaphora furthers the emphasis on these critical lines. Another thing piece I gathered from this poem is that the poem is so small and compact, but it has such a powerful effect on the reader. I thought this was quite similar to Park’s sitting in that bus. It was such a simple action, but it helped spark a revolution.
DeleteThe poem "Lady Freedom Among Us" by Rita Dove uses visual imagery to convey the selectivity of freedom in the United States.
ReplyDeleteRita Dove was inspired to write this poem when the statue of Lady Freedom was taken down for remodeling after years of wear. Reading this on the occasion of the return of this statue to the dome of the Capitol after restoration, Rita Dove expresses her feelings by making a personified Lady Freedom the subject of this poem.
This poem is sarcastic and full of irony, as I interpreted Lady Freedom personified as a vagrant, usually viewed as inferior, overlooked in society. This was my assumption as the visual images of her clothing, "oldfashioned sandals" (Dove 7), "leaden skirts" (8), "her stained cheeks and whiskers and heaped up trinkets" (9), "her hair under a hand-me-down-cap / and spruced it up with feathers and stars" (11-12), are reminiscent of a typical pauper. This is an allusion to the decrepit state of the statue before the refurbishment, muddy and cast-away as rusted and old. The avoidance of this personified statue, shown with the speaker's warnings, "don't cross to the other side of the square", are ironic, as freedom is being avoided due to the worn-down state of her being, which could also symbolize the corroding state of freedom in the United States, the blame and exclusion jumping from one race to the next, justified as protection of their own 'liberty' and well being (16).
Freedom "has risen among us in blunt reproach", disapproving of the American way of life, full of xenophobia that changes with the eras, yet present nonetheless (10). This state of freedom is not ideal, as Lady Freedom "...bears / the rainbowed layers of charity and murmurs / all of you even the least of you//" (13-15). America was supposed to be a melting pot, a safe haven for a ll cultures, but the reality is that infringement on freedom is imminent, due to the prejudice the population holds against minorities, outsiders, and those that don't adhere to the norm.
With the consideration of the vagabond personified, "don't think you can forget her / don't even try / don't even try / she's not going to budge // no choice but to grant her space / crown her with sky / for she is one of the many / and she is each of us//", these lines transmit the permanence of the perceived inferior beings, and that there is no choice but to accept them, as the last line could impart that we were all there at some point, subsidiary and unnoticed.
*the repetition of the "don't even try" line was unintentional, and I forgot to quote it as lines (25-31)
DeleteIn the poem “The Situation is Intolerable,” by Rita Dove, there is a dominant theme of anger toward the civilization, which is portrayed through the use of metaphors and visual imagery. In the first stanza, Dove writes, “each dovegray pleated trouser leg/ a righteous sword advancing/ onto the field of battle” (lines 4-6). Dove uses a metaphor here when comparing a trouser leg to a sword on the battlefield. She writes this with a sort of defiance and sarcasm because these things, “pleated trouser legs”, are not actually necessary for being “civilized”. This is what Dove feels is “intolerable”: that what people care about, such as appearances, are not important. People need to focus on the more important things in life. In the last stanza of the poem, Dove writes, “Our situation is intolerable, but what’s worse/ is to sit here and do nothing./ O yes. O mercy on our souls” (lines 19-21). In this passage, Dove uses the visual imagery of “souls”. This spiritual imagery is repeated in each of the last few lines of each stanza, and is Rita Dove’s way of praying for things to get better in this poem. Another way she emphasizes this imagery is with the use of anaphora on the word “O”, which further calls attention to these vital, final lines. Like in the first passage, these last few lines have a very frustrated and angry tone. Dove is fed up with the apathetic nature of people who “do nothing”. Dove is calling attention to the fact that in life, there are so many problems, and yet people simply do not care to solve them. Since this is from Dove’s collection “On the Bus With Rosa Parks”, the problem that she is most likely referring to here is racism.
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis of this poem quite interesting, and you took some points of view that I hadn’t thought about when reading this poem for the first time. I also found that Dove used a tone that was very angry toward civilization, which made the flow of the poem completely different. One thing that I disagreed with from your analysis ws when you said that Dove was using the lines in the first stanza as sarcasm, because those things aren’t necessary for a person to be civilized. I interpreted this as Dove pointing out that the African-American people were just as civilized as the white people, if class is what they considered to be civilized. I think that she was making the point that no matter how the African American people really were, they would be treated as something lesser than human. I think that when Dove said that “Our situation is intolerable, but what’s worse / is to sit here and do nothing” (19-20) she meant that they cannot do anything because even if they act the same, dress the same, and do the same things as the white people they will still be treated as a lower class.
DeleteI found your analysis very interesting and your take on it allowed me to view it from a similar but different perspective. In “The Situation is Intolerable”, I believe in the second stanza that Dove was using visual imagery of the stars to symbolize the small hope they held in their hearts during these times. A star typically symbolizes hope or a wish. Here, while being surrounded by fire and their tough life, the African Americans are still able to look up and have a small piece of hope. Although they are described as tiny they are still there. When Dove writes, “but what’s worse / is to sit here and do nothing”, I believe she is alluding to the fact that African Americans act on the hope eventually, an fight their intolerable treatment.
DeleteIn Rita Dove’s poem “Climbing In,” Dove uses the stories from people’s childhood, such as fairy tale stories like Little Red Riding Hood, to compare the actions being done and feelings during the Civil Rights Movement. She does this with the usage of imagery, metaphors, and sentence structure, such as end-stops, to create a dominant effect of pity on the reader due to this poem describing the black people’s struggles in taking the bus. Firstly, on the first line of the poem, Dove only writes, “Teeth” ending with a period to create an insinuation, due to the word’s negative implication and sharp tone. This is also an example of an end-stop as it makes the word more presiding and effective. In the second stanza, Dove describes a black person on a bus as she writes, “like the dime / cutting my palm / as I clutch the silver pole / to step up, up” (4-7). Tactile imagery is present with the description of a “dime cutting my palm” to emphasize the false sense of security and danger a black person feels as they go on a bus. It shows the racism that was present during the time as Dove writes the word “clutch” to describe the intense feeling a black person has while on a bus due to all the discrimination. The “stepping up” on the last line of the stanza references the steps on a bus. Later on in the poem, Dove alludes to the story Little Red Riding Hood as she writes, “teeth of the wolf / under Grandmother’s cap” (10-11). Here, Little Red symbolizes the people on the bus, and the wolf signifies the bus itself. A metaphor here is present in “Grandmother’s cap” because the “cap” is a representation of the hood of the bus due to the wolf, as the Grandmother, being the bus. Overall, this poem’s significance is for the reader to experience and realize the troubles of black people during the civil rights movement while riding on a bus.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of the poem despite my analysis focus more about the frustrations of women. A detail you could add to further support your claim about the struggles of African Americans was to also show the racism that people had on them. This racism is shown here in the poem when Dove writes “Pay him to keep smiling”. This shows that the bus driver had a hidden hatred for the woman riding the bus who is black. The only reason why the driver is treating the lady nicely is because she paid her fare. Also I believe that the meaning of her “Climbing In” the “gullet”, like a trap in your interpretation, could mean that the lady is actually supporting this racism, further showing the reader the sufferings African Americans faced during that time.
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ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Climbing In” Dove uses visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery to refer the fairytale story of “Little Red Riding Hood”. In the first stanza she describes “Teeth. / Metallic. Lie-gapped / Not a friendly shine” (1-3). This thorough description of teeth is used to create a devious image, saying it is “metallic” and “not friendly”. The description sets up the reader to anticipate an antagonist that will be present in the poem. Then Dove uses kinesthetic imagery to compare the sharpness of the teeth “like the dime cutting my hand” (5-6). At this point Dove directs the description of the teeth to be non-human using a simile of a dime cutting a hand. Dimes are not that sharp, but it is still cutting the hand which shows how deviously sharp the teeth are. And finally Dove writes that “these are big teeth, / teeth of the wolf / under Grandmother’s cap” (9-11). By slowly building up to the reveal of the character that have the teeth, Dove connects the poem where the little red riding hood was questioning the true identity of the figure hiding under “Grandmother’s cap” (11). Like the beginning of the scene in little red riding hood, the narrator notices abnormal features the wolf has, except in this poem they are more focused on teeth. Finally, the “bright lady tumbles / head over tail / down the clinking gullet” (16-18). The last stanza signifies when little red riding hood was eaten when she finally realizes that the figure she is witnessing is actually a wolf. Dove uses kinesthetic imagery or the word “tumbles” to show that it was an accident. This is similar to the little red riding hood who never meant to be eaten by the wolf.
ReplyDeleteDove relates this poem with this fairytale to show how weak and helpless women were portrayed in folktales. Throughout the entire poem and in the fairytale the narrator, who is a woman, is slow to react on the abnormal attributes the antagonist had before realizing it was a wolf. The reaction was so slow, it was as if this lady was “Climbing In” to the “gullet” of the wolf. Later on in the Little Red Riding Hood, a man will eventually save her, further lowering the strength and intelligence of women. She wrote this poem to show this gender bias that exists in the stories people tell.
I completely agree with your analysis as I mentioned some of it in my own, and I thoroughly understand your perception of the poem. One thing I'd like to add as a thought, maybe to both of ours, is how it could relate or reference to other fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland or Jack and the Beanstalk. "Climbing In" could reference when Alice was climbing in the hole and when Jack was climbing up the bean stalk. Also, During the last stanza, when Dove writes, "as the bright lady tumbles / head over tail" could be an allusion to when Alice falls back through the hole and wonderland, and when Jack falls back down to earth away from the giant. I don't if this is accurate or me making things up, but I noticed it as a pattern with this poem and other fairy tales.
DeleteIn Rita Dove’s “Parsley”, she speaks about the treatment that slaves in the Dominican Republic had to endure. In particular, she talks about Rafael Trujillo, who made the workers pronounce the word “parsley”. The reason he did this was to distinguish between the natives and the Haitian workers. Trujillo was opposed to the influx of immigrants, and wanted to rid his country of all of the Haitian workers. The reason he made them say the word “parsley” is because workers from Haiti weren’t able to pronounce the r sound, while native Dominicans could. He used this method to separate and kill the Haitians. Dove uses “Él General” to refer to Trujillo. Dove also contrasts the use of the word “parsley’ alluding to death, by relating it to the joy that fathers feel when they have a child. This is supported when Dove says ““the general remembers the tiny green sprigs/ men of his village wore in their capes to honor the birth of a son” (68-70). I think that Dove uses this contrast to show that Trujillo ordered the killings because he was unhappy with his own life and didn’t want others to feel the same happiness.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis, and I partially used this for some background research for the massacre and poem, so thank you. I thoroughly agree with your post and learned multiple things from it, such as Trujillo's depression being the main cause of the massacre and using it as a way to cover up his mothers death. However, one thing that obfuscated me was when you mentioned that the word "parsley" alluded to death by relating it to joy. I feel like these two contrast each other and isn't represented by the parsley. Surely, there are multiple of examples in the poem that alludes to death and is referencing joy, but in my opinion, the word "parsley" itself is not one of them. I, however, might not be understanding or getting what you were trying to say, but while I was reading it, it was just confusing to me.
DeleteRita Dove's poem "Parsley" uses structure in the first part of the poem to convey the feelings of oppression and obsession.
ReplyDeleteThe first part of the poem, "The Cane Fields", is structured in a quasi-villanelle. A traditional villanelle has two refrains and two repeating rhymes, while "Parsley" has no set rhyme scheme. Four tercets are also included, with the refrain being repeated alternately until the last stanza, where both are present. Part of the structure of this is the refrains, and "Out of the swamp the cane appears" had a very powerful implication (3). The poem's subject is Trujillo, with the speakers of the first part being the Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic, working for cane harvests. Sugar cane is a weed, quickly growing in swampy conditions. The never-ending work of cutting down this weed is enacted with the recurrent line mentioning the cane appearing. Work was torturous, conditions worse, and the discrimination experienced by the Haitians made their lives miserable. Another motif, although not a refrain, is El General's totalitarian appearance, implied by "El General / searches for a word; he is all the word / there is" (4-6). It is this, his total control over his country, his desire to purify it, that leads his obsession with perfection, especially in language, to take over his rational mind and annihilate anyone that doesn't fit the mold he created.
An ironic facet to the structure of this poem is that almost every line contains 2 or more "R" sounds, as exemplified with "The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads", the sound present in children, their, and arrowheads (11). The Parsley Massacre occurred with the Haitians uttering their own death sentence, the pronunciation to the word 'perejil'. Due to their French Creole roots and linguistics, their "R" sounds were not rolled, and therefore sounded like "L"s. The reading aloud of this poem would result in multiple rough and soft Rs, some trilled and some not due to the language they are written in. The Rs may have been intentionally included by Rita Dove to indicate the oppression experienced by Haitians, their demise due to a differing accent, and the irony of the root of their suffering, a single, simple word: parsley.
You had an extremely insightful analysis of this part of the poem. I analyzed this part of the poem as well. Your analysis that the Trujillo was obsessed with perfection could also be supported by the second part of the poem, which describes why he chose the word perejil, to determine if someone lived or died. Like many people in society, Trujillo, according to the second part of the poem, adored their mother and considered them perfect. When he heard the Haitians singing their song about the mountain Katalina, they did not roll their R, instead they used an L sound. This reminded him of his dead mother because his mother had always rolled her R. This angered him, so he chose to kill them because they were not as perfect as his mother. Killing people because of such a small "imperfection" shows his true and extreme obsession for perfection.
DeleteThe poem Parsley by Rita Dove is an allusion to the event called the Parsley Massacre in Haiti during the fall of 1937. In this poem, Rita Dove utilizes repetition of fraises to symbolize the two sides of the event; the Haitians being hunted down and the Dominican soldiers working for El General. In the first part of Parsley, The Cane Fields, there are two phrases that is repeated throughout the poem. They are “the cane appears” and parrot imitating spring. Parrots are birds that are well known for repeating words that they hear from a source. This trait of these birds is important to indicate which side of the conflict they represent. The general is portrayed in this poem as being evil and malicious. But because he is a political figure, he must justify his actions with a valiant reason, to bring support from the public. He has to act like a parrot, which is pretending to have good intentions, or imitating spring. The parrots in this poem, represent the General, who is imitating to be a just leader even though he is actually a tyrant. The phrase “The cane appears” symbolizes the Haitians. This is displayed, when Dove writes “the cane appears / to haunt us, and we cut it down” (4). During the Parsley massacre, the ones who were cut down were the Haitians. This relation shows that they represent the cane. Furthermore, the Haitians that were killed in the event farmed and grew cane. This relationship between the crop the Haitians is used by Dove to represent them in this poem. Both phrases are mention four times each, in the first part of the poem, but an alternating pattern between each stanza appears. This pattern could represent the conflict that the two sides during the massacre. The parrots would kill them then the cane would scream in agony. And the cycle continues for every “drop of blood” that was shed (17).
ReplyDeleteYou had an extremely insightful analysis of this part of the poem! Although I analyzed this part myself, I had not noticed the symbolism between the parrot and Trujillo. I thought since at the beginning they say "There is a parrot imitating spring / in the palace, its feathers parsley green", the parrot was used the represent the value of the Haitian's lives (1-2). This is supported with "Even / a parrot can roll an R!" because of the luxuries the parrot has, the comparison of its plumage and parsley, and the lavish treatment it receives from General Trujillo (59-60). While my analysis is supported, I believe yours is valid and makes more sense in the historical context, as, like you said, Trujillo had to parrot all the goodness within him while veiling his true motives from the Haitian refugees working in the Dominican Republic.
DeleteIn RIta Dove’s poem “Parsley,” Dove emphasizes the damage the parsley massacre did on the Haitians with the use of various lit terms and poetry structure. After reading and re-reading the poem multiple times, I immediately noticed the usage of repetition and anaphora being present throughout the whole poem. The first line that gets repeated multiple times is when Dove writes, “a parrot imitating spring” (1). This line is repeated three time after the first on lines 6, 12, and 18, and has a repeating pattern of being what Dove is describing at the time. Regularly, Dove writes a “there is” in front of the line, except the second time it is repeated because it is used as a simile. This line is crucial to the entire poem because it introduces the symbol of “The Parrot.” Through my perspective, I believe the parrot symbolizes the Haitians and their wealth due to a parrot being caged most of the time throughout its lifetime. Spring is an allusion to Spring Cleaning, which is a thorough cleaning of a house or room, and is related to the massacre because it is an analogy to Trujillo “cleaning” his metaphoric “house.” Another line that gets repeated multiple times is, “out of the swamp. The cane appears” (3). This line is present on lines 3, 9, 15, and 20, and is significant because it again references the Haitians, but this time with cane. In the country, the main way cane is retrieved is by cutting it down, and so, is why this is another analogy to the Haitians being murdered and seen as worthless cane.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your insight on this poem. I agree with you that Dove portrays the damage that Trujillo inflicted on the Haitians, as this is much like what I wrote about with the theme of devastation. One piece of your post I really enjoyed was your mention of the analogy of Trujillo "cleaning his house". This was something I had not thought of when I first read the poem, but I certainly agree with your explanation. It is interesting that you referred to this massacre as the cutting down of Haitians. The Dominicans actually call this massacre "El Corte" or "the cutting" in English. Because of this, it is probably not a coincidence that Dove wrote about the cane this way.
DeleteIn her poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove creates a feeling of devastation with her use of personification and auditory imagery. The title of “Parsley” refers to the Parsley Massacre that was carried out by General Trujillo and his mass of soldiers in the Fall of 1937 in the Dominican Republic. During this time, Trujillo’s men executed all people they deemed to be Haitian by asking them how to pronounce the Spanish word for parsley. If they supposedly said it like a Haitian, they were killed. Dove writes, “Like a parrot imitating spring,/ we lie down screaming as rain punches through/ and we come up green. We cannot speak a R” (lines 6-8). Here, Dove refers to “speaking the R”. This alludes to the method Trujillo’s soldiers used when determining if someone was Haitian or Dominican. Haitians cannot pronounce the letter R with a trill as Dominicans can, so when the soldiers asked people how to say “parsley” or perejil in Spanish, if they said it the without the dominican trill, they knew they were Haitian. Dove invokes very depressed and devastated feelings in this passage with the use of negative auditory imagery and negative diction with words such as “screaming”, “punches”, and “cannot pronounce”. In addition, “as rain punches” is used to personify the rain driving, intense rain and further add to the negative feeling present throughout the work. Another example of negative auditory imagery in this poem is when Dove writes, “The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming” (lines 15-16). Again, Dove uses very powerful words, specifically verbs in this case, to allow the reader to hear the pain associated with this tragedy. The portrayal of the “lashing” wind further adds to the suspense of the moment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis, and think you could enhance it by adding the negative connotations that come with the phrase “every drop of blood” (17). Here, I think the word blood symbolizes the excessive amount of the demise occurring during this time. Also you could talk about the repetition of the phrase “lashed by rain and streaming”. This phrase occurs again in the second part, but has a different meaning that also gives a depressing feeling. Here, Dove is writing about the devastating loss of the General. The phrase dives off a depressing feeling when the General sees his mom, who passed away, in the cane fields. Both used in different contexts but both demonstrate the tone Dove conveyed.
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ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove alludes to the massacre that Rafael Trujillo conducted, while also describing Trujillo's life as well, which brings a depressed feeling out of the reader. Dove displays this emotion and allusion through the use of repetition and structure. This massacre occurred in 1937 and consisted of the killing of Haitian workers for their inability to pronounce the word Parsley, perejil in Spanish. The Haitians had difficulty pronouncing the “r” sound and were quickly executed when unable to do so. Dove then alludes to Rafael Trujillo by writing, “El General/searches for a word” (4-5). This allows the reader to conclude that Dove is alluding to the 1937 massacre. The name of the poem also allows the reader to come to that conclusion. Dove then describes the haunted feeling this left on the workers by writing, “The cane appears/ in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. And we lie down. For every drop of blood”(15-17). Dove uses the term, “in our dreams”, to display that the workers dwell on the thought of demise all the time, whether unconsciously or consciously. Then she describes the cane as being lashed by wind, demonstrating how the idea of work brings about bad thoughts. The word lash here also alludes to their treatment during the time, because slaves were typically lashed when not working at a high enough standard. But Dove quickly contradicts that thought, when she describes the Haitian workers laying down in blood. The repetition of two different lines throughout the first part, conveys that this happens a lot and frequently. This is where Dove creates a depressing tone in her writing. Through the visual imagery and repetition, Dove is able to allude to the massacre of Haitian workers occurring in 1937.
I agree with most of your analysis, and found your analysis of the term “in our dreams” intriguing. One thing that I found differently when reading the poem was the mood. When I read the poem I thought that Dove was trying to evoke a feeling of fear to the reader, or a feeling similar to the haunting that you described the workers having. I think that in this poem, Dove was trying to convey to the reader the feelings that the victims of this massacre were having, rather than feelings such as depression. I think that Dove’s word choice is meant to convey this when she says things such as “out of the swamp the cane appears” (3).
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, while explaining the theme of the desire to not grow up.
ReplyDeleteThe 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 new-born 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.
A simile starts the second part of his sonnet, with "men stride like elegant scissors across the lawn" (9). Paired with the next line, "women arrayed there, petals waiting to loosen", this could be an extended metaphor representing this party as a body of women, waiting to be plucked away by a man(10). The flowers' petals loosening is a sign of when the flower has finished blooming, which is when it reaches its full maturity. The scissors in the lawn also allude to garden scissors, which are used to cut these blooms for an arrangement, a bouquet, display, or other uses. Flowers could also be a symbol for womanhood, and this stanza could symbolize the beginning of the end of innocence for the speaker and the other women, maybe by force because of the sharpness of the scissors and the hatred the speaker expresses towards them: "I will smile, all the while wishing them dead" (13).
In the poem, “Persephone, Falling” Rita Dove uses point of view and paradoxical statements to allude to the mother daughter relationship of Demeter and Persephone and their relation to Hades. Dove writes, “One narcissus among the ordinary beautiful” (1). A narcissus is not only a daffodil but a reference to Greek mythology when someone becomes obsessed with themselves. This is referring to Persephone, as she became distracted by the beauty of the flowers, and was unable to do what her mother told her. The term, “Ordinary beautiful” is used to help emphasize the great beauty of the real word, which Persephone has lost. Dove writes, “Sprung out of the earth/ on his glittering terrible/ carriage” (4-7). Dove is referring to Hades taking Persephone. The phrase “glittering terrible carriage” is a paradox that emphasizes the great difference between the beautiful Earth and the evilness of Hades and his actions. It also displays the idea that Persephone will never get to experience the world again. Dove wrote this poem from the view of Persephone’s mother Demeter. In the first stanza, Dove writes it from the view of Demeter to display the disappointment but also the depression she is feeling from her daughter disobeying her orders and becoming part of the underworld from doing so. When Dove writes, “It is finished. No one heard her. No one! She had strayed from the herd.” (7-8) she is emphasizing the sadness Demeter experiences due to the fact she has lost all contact with her daughter. Dove also makes reference to what Demeter told Persephone to do, “(Remember: go straight to school. / This is important, stop fooling around! / Don’t answer to strangers. Stick/ with your playmates. Keep your eyes down.)” (9-12). This illustrates the small amount of disappointment Demeter fees toward her daughter for completely disobeying her orders. Although, the sadness and depression from the loss overpowers the disappointment.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! Your research into the story of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades was quite detailed. I also read about this story, but I did not know about the narcissus being a reference to obsession in Greek Mythology until I read your post. In addition, the paradox that you mentioned was another device I had not noticed at first glance, but now I think it is quite a profound part of the poem. One thing I found to be quite significant in this poem is the title: "Persephone, Falling". I thought that this could be referencing Persephone's fall into the underworld each winter.
DeleteIn her poem, “Breakfast of Champions,” Rita Dove uses a number of literary devices, including visual imagery, metaphor, and homonyms to add greater stylistic interest to her piece. “”Breakfast of Champions” is written in a half Petrarchan Sonnet-half free verse form. It features the traditional fourteen lines with one octet stanza and one sestet stanza that every Petrarchan Sonnet contains. However, it lacks the common rhyme scheme. This speaks to Dove’s originality and She writes, “I’ve crossed a hemisphere,/ worked my way through petals and sunlight/ to find a place fit for mourning” (lines 1-3). There is a lot of visual imagery present in this passage, as she refers to petals and sunlight to to paint a very beautiful picture in the reader’s head. In the third line, she uses a sort of play on words with the homonyms: morning and mourning. Basically, this simultaneously refers to breakfast, which is in the morning, and the speaker’s sadness for the loss of a loved one. In the subsequent stanza, Dove writes, “I rummage the pantry’s/ stock for raisins and cereal as they pull/ honking out of the mist” (lines 9-11). Dove uses a sort of breakfast diction here that is a theme throughout the piece. Breakfast seems to be a metaphor for new starts in this poem. In the first stanza, the speaker talks about mourning a loss. However, in the second stanza, there is no mention of this loss, and there is a much cheerier mood. Also, Dove writes, “Arise, it’s a brand new morning!” (line 14). Since breakfast is one of the first activities everyone does each new day, it is sensible to think that breakfast is this symbol for fresh starts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis, and could talk about the negative connotations that come with some of the visual imagery and how they are used to display the idea of a fresh start, being better than the day before. Dove describes the atmosphere as having, “overcast skies” (1) and also describes a laurel brush as having minimal dust on it. Both overcast skies and dust have negative connotations that you can associate with, in this instance, having a bad day. Both are used in the first stanza, which then leads the reader to believe that the second stanza is about breakfast and a fresh start to each day.
DeleteThis set of poems from “Mothers and Daughters” are mostly based on the story, in Greek mythology, about the Greek goddess, Persephone, captured by Hades, the god of the underworld, to be his wife. In the poem “Wiederkehr,” Rita Dove expresses the troubles Persephone faced when she was first with Hades. Dove writes this poem in the point of view of Persephone, and identifies the horrid description of Hades’ physical appearance with the usage of dense visual and tactile imagery. The poem begins with “he only wanted me for happiness” which immediately shows the selfishness of Hades and that he only wanted her for his needs (line 1). Later Dove writes, “and not think so much,” which is an identification that Hades didn’t want her to think about her unfortunate current situation which would have made her sad (3). Hades’ physical reaction to Persephone’s beauty is shown through, “to watch the smile begun in his eyes end on his lips his eyes caressed” (4-7). He longs for Persephone. There is an unsettling tone to this line because as Dove describes Hades’ eyes caressing her, due to his love for her, it disturbs the reader. The reader knows how much Persephone doesn’t want to be with him in the underworld and creates a perturbing mood. Lastly, as Persephone “reaches” for her “choice,” it shows her despair in her situation and her desperation in not being with Hades. (This was probably my worst blog post ever).
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis really interesting, and it opened my eyes towards some aspects of my poem that I did not notice until after reading yours! While I did notice that most of these poems were based off of the Persephone Hades myth, I did not think that mine was about this too until I read your analysis. Rita Dove contrasts many ideas throughout both our poems, because while in the poem I analyzed, "Party Dress for a First Born", Rita Dove talks about the speaker's hatred to man. Combined with your poem's analysis of Hades' physical want of Persephone, and the unsettling and uncomfortable feeling that is caused by this perpetration of personal boundaries, the uncomfortable situation that the speaker in my poem is found in could be this, a big party for her entrance into the underworld, and how Persephone feels out of place both because of Hades' disgusting lustful desires, or because she does not think she is old enough to undergo this torturous treatment.
DeleteThat was very interesting analysis because you related all the poems to one story. I do have trouble though to how do a set of poems titles with “Mother Love” relate to a relationship between a man who seeks to wed a woman. A connection you could make is that the mother’s love does not only attach to the children but also to the husband. But that would counter your analysis because Persephone did not have much love for Hades. I believe that this poem actually references a situation where a pregnant mother chooses to marry a man who she does not actually love because she need the financial support. The rain she is holding inside of her represents the unborn child she still has. I agree that the first line shows malicious intent to the part of the man. The man only wants her for his own pleasure. But I believe that my interpretation would support the overall theme of a mother’s love of her children better.
DeleteThank you Andrea for your relieving views of my terrible blog post, but I forgot to mention some specifics and made it pretty unclear. Felix, I understand where you're coming from and I totally agree, but in my blog post I made it very vague. I was supposed to mention how Persephone's capturing was detrimental to Demeter's life and how badly it affected her emotional status. The capturing happened during the end of fall, and thus, made Demeter very depressed and sad causing her to cry to make the season; winter. She was the goddess of fertility and harvest, thereby making sense because winter is the season where it is very difficult for plants to grow and causing them to die. This capturing greatly affected their mother and daughter status as it broke apart a goddess and her child.
DeleteIn the poem “Exit” by Rita Dove, uses visual imagery symbolism to represent the numerous emotions associated when a daughter leaves their mother. To begin the poem, Rita Dove creates a setting of an airport terminal. Using the title as support, this poem is about a daughter leaving their mother and becoming independent for the first time. As Rita Dove is a mother, she pours all her feelings into what she had experienced when her own children left her into this poem. She uses visual imagery to help portray her feelings, as seen when she writes “The windows you have closed behind / you are turning pink doing what they do / every dawn” (6-8). Here Dove describes the color of the daughter’s face as pink, but more importantly like dawn. The dawn is often times used as a symbol for a new beginning because it is associated with a start of the day. Dove conveys her happiness about her child leaving because she knows that something new will begin and that she can have a successful life. But despite all her hopes she has for her daughter, a mother cannot help but to feel saddened. Dove’s sadness is shown when she writes “Here it’s gray” (8). Gray is a color often used for the emotion of sadness because they resemble the grey clouds of a rainy day. She put this dark visual imagery to represent her sadness that her daughter is separating away from her and becoming independent. To further show her sadness, Dove writes “This suitcase, / the saddest object in the world” (9-10). The suitcase here is used as a symbol for departing or separating. The fact that she stated that it is the saddest object in the world, shows her deep sadness of her separation with her daughter. From this poem, it is easy to see the deep and powerful attachment and love she has for her children. The sadness she writes on this poem are her attachments with her children being separated. The poem shows her maternal affection to her daughter, but also the hopes she has for her daughter or children to have a bright future.
ReplyDeleteIn “Cozy Apologia” by Rita Dove, she uses metaphors, similes, and rhyme scheme to display her love for her husband, and the idea that no one should settle with being ordinary. Dove’s refers to Hurricane Floyd, “Big Bad Floyd, who brings a host/ Of daydreams: awkward reminisces/ Of teenage crushes on worthless boys” (14-16). Hurricane Floyd, which occurred in 1999, is used as a reference to her previous and failed crushes from her childhood. Similar to how hurricanes can bring bad weather and memories, she remembers her bad previous loves. She refers to previous crushes as, “worthless boys” to emphasizes the beauty of her current relationship with her husband. Dove writes, “Were as thin as licorice and as chewy, / Sweet with a dark and hollow center” (21-22). This continues the metaphor, because it compares an empty love to the calm hollow center of a hurricane. Dove is showing that these early loves started out sweet, but then there was always something missing, a “hollow part” of the love. This metaphor carries into the third stanza, when Dove writes “We’re content, but fall short of the Divine” (26). Here, Dove is talking about her time with her husband and how she is experiencing happiness now. The rhyme scheme through the first two stanzas makes the text have a more lyrical flow to it. The third stanza differs, demonstrating how Dove believes her love deviates from normal and that she finds happiness in that. Dove writes, “When has the ordinary ever been news?” (29). Here, Dove is telling the reader that her love is beyond the average love, and that she is content with having an interesting and non ordinary life.
ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove's poem "Cozy Apologia", she employs allusion in order to convey thoughts of her relationships with men.
ReplyDeleteThe poem states it's authored for Fred, who happens to be Rita Dove's husband,Fred Viebahn, therefore, this poem may be autobiographical due to the first person point of view and the dedication included.
Starting the first stanza with an end rhyme scheme of AABBCC, a cliche is immediately drawn, with allusions to medieval-times and kids' storytelling: "Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / As standing in silver stirrups will allow— / There you'll be, with furrowed brow / And chain mail glinting, to set me free:" (6-10). This gives a typical damsel in distress, with Rita Dove being the one in chains here. This is probably used as irony, as knowing Dove's strong feminist themes and ideals would not allow her to live in a personified patriarchal relationship, with the female as a subordinate, or if it is, then this poem is a form of regret for living the life which she so condemned.
Natural disasters are also alluded to in this poem, notably a hurricane in 1999; "...Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast, / Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd, who brings a host / Of daydreams..." (13-15). This particular hurricane was used due to its unusual naming; it is male when the norm is a female host of destruction. This entity has the power to destroy, yet in this moment it was used for its opposing meaning, making it an ironic allusion, for it did not cause destruction but rather summoned the memories of childhood, once buried deep in the speaker's head. The comparison between the relationship in the present and those reflected upon were "thin as licorice and as chewy, / Sweet with a dark and hollow center..." (20). This and the hurricane could be compared, because the tumultuous chaos caused by the hurricane stop in the centre, where there is nothing, the eye of the storm. Licorice, as described here, also has a centre unlike the rest of the substance, but unlike the calm brought on by the eye in the midst of terror, these are void of substance, worthless, in the speaker's eyes.
The poem ends on a note of sweetness, "And yet, because nothing else will do / To keep me from melancholy (call it blues), / I fill this stolen time with you//" (27-30). Apart from providing a contrast to the meaningless relationships mentioned in the previous stanza, Dove ends the poem with no remorse, for although the male-led relationship in her life is not of accord with some of her writing, she feels comfortable within it, filling her thoughts with her husband, provoking her happiness.
Great job, your analysis is very thorough and detailed. I also thought the poem was autobiographical because, as you said, it is written entirely in first person and is dedicated to her husband. I also noticed the rhyme scheme present in the first stanza. Specifically, it is written in iambic pentameter much like a Shakespearean Sonnet. This gives a very flowing and lyric quality to the text, which fits along with the numerous instances of visual imagery Dove included in this stanza. One other thing I really enjoyed in your analysis was your mention of the poem ending "on a note of sweetness." I feel like this really sums up this quite happy and content ending that Dove uses to conclude the work.
DeleteI really enjoy your analysis, as it is very different from mine, but also has some similarities. We both mention the allusion to Hurricane Floyd, and both believe that Dove is describing love. Your analysis allowed me to look at the poem from another perspective, although it was similar to mine. To extend your analysis, you could talking elaborate on the happiness her husband brings her compared to her failed relationships as discussed in the second stanza, and how that is displayed through the altered rhyme scheme in each stanza. Overall, I find your analysis to be very strong!
DeleteIn the poem “Eliza, Age 10, Harlem,” Rita Dove uses a child’s point of view and metaphors to display the young, innocent nature of Eliza. In the first stanza Dove writes, “I’m not small like they say/ those withered onions on the stoop/ clucking their sorrowful tongues” (lines 1-3). In these opening lines, Eliza is describing scornful adults from her point of view. She uses a metaphor when comparing them to “withered onions”, alluding to the wrinkles people get as they age. With this negative diction she uses when referring to them, she implies that there is a sort of mutual resentment between her and the adults, which is not all too uncommon a type of relationship between children and grown-ups. When Dove writes, “I’m not small like they say,” she is explaining the assumption of most adults that Eliza is just another ten-year-old kid. However, in Eliza mind, she is much more. In the final stanza, Dove writes, “Yes,/ I am my grandma’s sweet pea/ and someday I’m gonna pop/ right out” (lines 11-14). Here, Rita Dove, from Eliza’s point of view, is recapping a metaphor Eliza’s grandma used. Eliza’s grandma is comparing Eliza to a sweet pea, which gives an element of realism to the text. Many grandma’s have these sort of nicknames for their grandchildren, so this allows the reader to relate very easily to the text. The popping out of the sweet pea seems to be referencing Eliza’s eventual change from childhood to adulthood. When she becomes an adult, according to her grandma, she will “pop out” and make a splash in the world.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your analysis, it made me take some points of view that I hadn’t considered before. One thing that I did spot when I was thinking about the poem was Dove’s use of the term “withered onions”. I had a similar interpretation as yours, but I hadn’t made the connection between the term and Dove’s use of negative diction. Another thing that I found insightful in your analysis was when you talked about the narrator thinking that she was much more than just a ten year old. I hadn’t thought about this when I first read the poem.
DeleteIn the poem “sic itur ad astra” or, thus is the way to the stars, Rita Dove uses lots of symbolism and some interesting diction choice to convey that the narrator of the poem seems to be lost and desperate. Dove says “Bed, where are you flying to?” (1). The bed isn’t actually flying away, but Dove is using it to show the narrator’s emotions. The narrator becomes upset when he/she is away from the bed, because they use sleep as their escape from reality. This further leads to the point that the narrator is feeling lost and seeking comfort. Dove says “I close my eyes / and sink back to / day’s tiny dismissals” (6-8). Dove uses this line to drive the point home that something is happening in the narrator’s life that is making them uneasy. She again shows that the narrator is seeking to escape the situation by telling the reader that the narrator’s eyes were closed. When Dove says “fluttering white as a sail” (11), she is showing the fragility of the narrator’s life, and using the nightgown fluttering to symbolize it.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is in a different perspective from mine, but is very interesting nonetheless! I thought this poem was being told from a child's point of view, the child being in a dream-like state. The personification of the flying bed,“Bed, where are you flying to?” served not for the purpose of conveying the speaker's anxieties but rather the wonder and amazement which awaited him (1). The stanzas, I don't know if you noticed, were symmetrical vertically, as they were five lines, six lines, six again, and then five, with the last line separated for emphasis. I think this was done for visual effect, as the title means "Thus the way to the stars", so I think Rita Dove was trying to visually convey a child's adventure in his dreams, with the poem serving as a staircase to the stars, or where his adventures reach an epitome.
DeleteI completely agree with your analysis and I found it very informative as I had very little clue of what the poem was about. I was about to post about this poem, but I realized how many different connotations and possibilities this poem could have. I thought your view and Andrea's comment had very good perspectives on the poem, but the way I first thought about the poem was that it might be about a dream or the desires for sleep. Rita Dove might have been spending late nights not being able to sleep due to her poems haunting her at night causing her to have dyslexia.
DeleteIn the poem “Meditation at Fifty Yards, Moving Target,” Rita Dove uses a second person point of view to describe and discuss guns. She uses lit devices such as personification, and visual imagery to convey the dangers of gun usage and how they function. In the first stanza, Dove warns the reader about the dangers of guns with an informational structure as she writes, “Never point your weapon, keep your finger / off the trigger. Assume a loaded barrel, / even when it isn’t, especially when you know it isn’t” (1-3). Here, and in the rest of this stanza, she repeatedly signifies the true dangers of a gun whether it is loaded or not. Just the figure of a gun and what it can symbolize can mean a lot of negative things and connotations as Dove indicates it in this poem. She describes how it can drastically impact one’s life by later writing, “You could wound the burglar and kill your child / sleeping in the next room, all with one shot” (11-12). This is one of many examples of emotional imagery Dove uses in this poem as it connects the violence of guns directly to the reader. Her point of the dangers of guns is most effectively shown here because as she describes how the reader could kill a burglar, she also warns the reader that they could kill their own child. The second stanza is crucial to the poem because it is the one that is connected mostly with the title. She writes towards a person who is more passionate about guns, and portrays the concentration of a gunman with an analogy of how similar it is with meditating. In the third stanza, she differentiates the stereotypes of gender roles as she describes men to be more aggressive, loud, and strong, and women to be subtle, elegant, and reserved, similarly to their gun preferences. Lastly, the last stanza, and most interesting one, is written in the point of view of the bullet. Dove intentionally does not uses capitalization's and punctuation's to remind the reader that the bullet is still an object.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very interesting analysis about this poem and great that you pointed out that the italicized words on the top shows what kind of topic or perspective it is. You stated that the first art pf the poem had an informational organization to it. I agree with your analysis but I think it could mean just more than a literal meaning. Dove probably wrote information about guns in this way to show how people view guns; as just objects. But to Dove, these guns are actually very harmful, supported by the sudden change in tone at the end part of the poem. She wants to change how people see guns as just mere machines that work by rules and instructions to weapons that are capable of ruining lives.
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DeleteIn the poem “Noble Sissle’s Horn, Rita Dove uses enjambments to show the persecution that African American soldiers faced during their time in the army. To begin with the analysis of this poem, a bit of history would help in understanding the topic of this poem. During World War I, thousands of African Americans joined the army hoping to serve their country and gain some respect from the Caucasian members of society. But all they received was ridicule and racism within their own ranks instead of the teamwork they expected. A majority of the black soldiers were assigned for cleaning or cooking; jobs that were undesirable. In this poem it is about a soldier who is being assigned as a cook and his thoughts and perceptions are written in this poem as well as the Caucasian soldiers’ thought. Dove uses these end stops in order to show the two different thoughts of soldiers of two different races. They provide emphasis to different parts of sentences in order to give a better understanding about their thoughts. Dove writes “The difference between a moan and a Hallelujah / ain’t much of a slide” (12-13). By adding an enjambment and an end stop, Dove creates one whole idea but in a much more organized manner. The two topics of the same idea are literally split by the enjambment to help the reader understand that the African soldiers were much more willing to get hurt and fight rather than become stuck on kitchen duty. According these lines, a moan and a Hallelujah are not very different. They are not different because if they were assigned to actually fight and get hurt, they would be very happy. Such a thought just proves how horribly repetitive and undesirable the tasks that were given to the black soldiers. When the words are italicized, this indicates that a white soldiers is thinking. Many of the lines contain an end stops. This creates a very abrupt and interrupted fluidity to the poem showing the hatred that the soldiers had for the black soldiers. The tone sounded as if they were trying to command them. This poem successfully shows the hatred the black soldiers received, even within their own ranks.
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis of “Noble Sissle’s Horn” very interesting. The background information that you gave really helped me to understand what the message and reasoning behind writing the poem was. Before I read your analysis I would have thought that the black soldiers would have preferred to work in the kitchen rather than putting themselves in danger. From the quote you used, it seemed to me that rather than the African American soldiers finding the kitchen tasks mundane, they felt more like they weren’t serving much of a purpose. I think that they wanted to fight because it would have given them a purpose and given them something to work for. I would also agree with you that the tone that Dove uses in the poem allows the reader to see how the African American soldiers were treated by the other soldiers.
DeleteIn the poem, “The Narcissus Flower” Rita Dove alludes to the story of Hades kidnapping Persephone through her use of point of view, personification, and paradox. This poem is written in the first because “I” is used to refer to the narrator several times. That allows the reader to conclude that the poem is told from Persephone’s point of view during her kidnapping. Dove writes, “you can life beyond dying” (12). This paradox is used to make reference to the underworld, which is where Hades takes Persephone. The underworld occupies all the people who are dead on Earth, and therefore it may seem as though they never truly die. However, the underworld is a very unhappy place where no one wishes to be. Dove’s use of personification illustrates the kidnapping itself and describes the underworld. She writes, “not the way the earth unzipped/but the way I could see my own fingers and hear/ myself scream as the blossom incinerated” (2-4). The earth is personified to be unzipping, which emphasizes the destruction of order once Persephone is taken. Demeter, Persephone’s mother, requests Zeus to take action once Persephone is taken, leading to troubles among the Gods. The negative visual and auditory imagery is used to evoke fear in the reader when thinking about what has happened to Persephone. The pretty blossom blowing up into flames emphasizes the pure evil of Hades, and how he can ruin even the most beautiful of things. Persephone describes the only thing she can hear as her screaming, which is also used to elicit of a feeling a fear in the reader.
ReplyDeleteRita Dove’s “Lullaby” is about a child’s thoughts and needs from it’s mother. The poem is a dialogue from a person that wants to return to the comfort that their mother had given them in their childhood. Dove helps the poem flow more like a dialogue by making each stanza no more than two lines, as well as formatting them on different sides of the page. This switching from left to right side formatting shows that a different character is speaking. When I read the last two stanzas of the poem, it made me think of the change from childhood to adulthood. Dove says “I can’t the school bus is coming” (20), and then the other character says “already? so soon!” (22). In these lines Dove is showing that everyone has to move on from childhood and away from the comfort of home, even if they aren’t ready for it.
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis to be very interesting. I also noticed the alternating formatting on both sides of page to display the dialogue between the mother and child. This formatting, although just a little thing, is very important for the clarity and aesthetics of the poem. I did not notice the metaphor in the last three lines until I read your post, but I absolutely agree with you now that the "so soon" refers to the growing up of a child, which seems so fast the parent. I feel that this line can also be taken literally in the context of the poem because it is very natural for the child to catch the bus anyway. In this way, "so soon" is also a sort of pun.
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DeleteI found your analysis very interesting and rather similar to mine. As you pointed out, the structure creates a form of dialogue between mother and child. Also, the capitalization of each new stanza helps demonstrate that it’s dialogue. I think it helps symbolize the mother and child’s relationship. I think it displays the growing relationship, similar to what you said with the arrival of the school bus symbolizing adulthood. When the child talks about boredom the mother responds with, “Boredom is useful for embroidery,/ and a day of rest never hurt anyone” (14-15). Here, it seems as though the mother is trying to teach a lesson knowing they are growing up.
In her poem, “Second Juror,” Rita Dove uses anaphora and unique enjambment to add a poetic complexity that is surprising due its short nature. In this poem, each line, other than the last one, and each phrase starts with “A”. Dove writes, “A stone to throw/ A curse to hurl/ A silence to break, etc.” (lines 1-3). This anaphora adds a very distinct rhythm to the poem, and emphasizes the “A” as a sort of steady beat throughout. Another contributing factor to this rhythmic feel is Dove’s of exactly four words in each phrase (and almost every line as before). This repetition of words and thus syllables adds to the already steady pulse and makes the poem, when read aloud, almost song-like. The last two lines of this poem are unique because the constant four-word phrase is broken into two lines. Dove writes, “A blank/ To fill” (lines 6-7). Here, Dove uses a sort of play on words because by splitting this phrase into two, an extra blank space is literally filled. This double meaning of the word also fits the definition of a pun. This effect, of course, could not have achieved had she continued with the trend present in the rest of the poem. This uniquely enjambed phrase sticks out in the reader’s mind because of its subtle complexity.
ReplyDeleteOne other interesting piece in this poem is the very distinct turn in mood that occurs after the third line. The first three lines are quite dark and intense, while the last four are light and positive. This shows a drastic shift in feeling of the narrator.
I found your analysis very interesting and rather similar to mine. As you pointed out, the structure creates a form of distinct rhythm for the flow of the poem which makes the poem very unique. Also, the repetition of A, I found, was very interesting and didn't really catch my eye when I first read it. I think it helps the poem to allow each thing being described very discrete. The pun was also very suitable at the time of the poem as it fits very smoothly and flows very well with the poem. Overall, your analysis was well fitted with the poem and I very much enjoyed it.
DeleteIn the poem “Fox Trot Fridays,” Rita Dove uses an unexpected poem structure of short couplets to describe how the foxtrot dance works. This poem is one of the two poems in the whole book in which Dove uses couplets throughout the entirety of the poem. The title of the poem is directly related to the poem because introduces that the poem is going to be about this specific type of dance. She adds “Friday” to identify the context because people typically connect friday as the day of the week when most people are most relaxed, thus, having that feeling of breaking into a foxtrot dance. This is proven when Dove writes, “Thank the stars there’s a day / each week to tuck in”(1-2). The day referenced here is friday, and the phrase “to tuck in” symbolizes relaxation and the state of being cozy as it symbolizes friday being the day of to relax and express yourself. Throughout the poem, Dove repeatedly uses enjambment to go with the flow and rhythm of the dance portrayed by the poem and they emphasize the constant movement and flow of the dance. The formation of the poem being in a couplet structure could also imply that each line represents one of the dancers so that the lines are constantly in pairs. This is supported when Dove writes, “one man and / one woman” as it separates both genders on two individual lines (11-12). She ends the poem with “to count all the wonders in it.” (17) to emphasize how relaxing it is to do this dance and how smooth the dance is again.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you pointed out that the couplet structure of the poem could represent two partners dancing.I agree with this analysis because of the quote you used for you support. To further support your claim, the rhythm of the couplet felt like a dance itself. To be able to dance, there must be a constant beat or tempo in the background. She executes this by the skillful use of enjambments and end-stops to create this tempo. She also uses rhyme to emphasize this rhythm like using the words toe and Cole. I believe that this whole poem was actually praising the day of Friday because she describes the fun things she can do on that day. Great analysis on the poem and you really helped me understand the poem better.
DeleteThrough Dove’s use of positive diction in the poem “Desk Dreams”, she conveys her appreciation for nature. This topic for Dove is unusual because she is a poet who is not very fond with nature as other poets are. But she cannot deny the feelings she has when she is exposed to the beauty of Mother Nature. The title of this poem is called “Desk Dreams”. In this poem she describes her feelings while writing in different environments. The word Dream here represents nature and the word desk represents her working. The word Dream is an example of positive diction displaying her appreciation before the reader begins to read the poem. Naturally, writing needs inspiration or motivation in order for the author to share something meaningful to the world. One of those motivators for Dove is nature. She writes “I love this unconscious solitude” (3). Here she uses positive diction in the form of the words “love” and “solitude”. The purpose for such positive words is to show how much she enjoys the isolation that nature simulates. If Dove had used the word loneliness instead of solitude, then the statement would imply that there is an aspect of sadness when she is exposed to nature. Her use of positive diction to show her appreciation for nature is further shown when she writes “the heavens / scrubbed and shining.” (61-62). She describes the stars as the heavens, creating a hopeful effect on the reader. The joyous images associated with the word heaven allows the reader to understand the beauty she saw in the midnight sky. By harnessing the power that that word contained, she accurately conveys her emotions. She further polishes this image by adding the words “scrubbed” and “shining” to add a feeling of wonder on the reader. Comparing the stars to something that is shiny makes them think of valuable materials. This shows how much she valued the image she saw in the sky. By using positive diction, Dove is able to connect her feelings about nature to the reader. This allows her to share her thoughts when she writes about the environment effectively.
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