This one is about “Demeter, Waiting”. In most of the “Mother Love” poems, Rita Dove uses both enjambment and caesura relatively equally, with maybe a slight emphasis on one or the other depending on the tone of the poem. One key exception to this however, is “Demeter Waiting”. All of the lines but three use enjambment. “is to put love into her pocket-“, “philosophers, or a war-bound soldier.” and, “over. Then I will sit down to wait for her. Yes.” both use caesura. Enjambment generally gives off a more negative or harsh tone, which fits well with the mood of the poem. Demeter describes the pain and loss she feels while her daughter whiles away the fall and winter in Hades’ realm. “She is gone again and I will not bear/ it, I will drag my grief through a winter/ of my own making” (Dove). Without Persephone, Demeter can’t be happy, so she creates a winter out of her own grief. Using evocative language such as ‘bear’, ‘drag’, and ‘grief’ also helps create the negative tone, along with Dove’s frequent use of enjambment. The two lines that Dove uses caesura as opposed to enjambment on are very important as well. “is to put love into her pocket” uses caesura because it talks about love. Since the whole collection of poems is titled “Motherly Love”, this is very significant. Demeter is remembering her love for Persephone, which adds a positive tone to an otherwise negative poem. The juxtaposition of this is crucial as well, because the line after next, she talks about “a war-bound soldier.”. That line uses enjambment as well, emphasizing the juxtaposition between a mother’s love and a mother’s wrath. The final line of the poem is, “over. Then I will sit down to wait for yer. Yes.”. The period and enjambment at the end of the line is a symbol for Demeter’s determination at letting the earth suffer in winter while her daughter wastes away in Hell, and ensuring the reader has no doubts about the negative tone of the poem.
I definitely agree with your analysis on this particular poem, and I think this poem is very straightforward in terms of context and tone/mood. However, it was very interesting for me to see your analysis on Dove's use of enjambment and caesura, because many of us hardly pay attention to them, and for me personally, they were forgotten in the back of my head. Also, one part that I found very interesting in this poem was when it said, "Then I will sit down to wait for her" towards the end of the poem. I found it a little incongruent how after clearly depicting the rage of Demeter with the use of imagery and vulgar diction, the poem suddenly becomes calm and tranquil. This made me wonder why Dove chose to apply such technique to the poem; the sudden, capricious change in the mood at the end of the poem.
Heroes, by Rita Dove, clearly illustrates a complex relationship between mothers and daughters. When interpreted literally, the story goes like this: the speaker picks up a fading flower that is about to perish, and delivers it to the nearest house in an effort to save it. However, the lady at the house screams realizing that it was the particular flower that gave her hope and strength to live each day. Acknowledging the situation, the speaker strikes the lady, which results in a brutal death. Now as a fugitive, the speaker flees through villagers’ eyes, with excessive uneasiness and guilt. That was the literal interpretation, yet there are so many more elements and insights to the poem when interpreted figuratively. Before any further figurative interpretation, one crucial element in the poem is that each character and object in the poem contains a metaphorical meaning. Dove does this through figurative language such as extended metaphor, in order to provide a deeper meaning within simply a flower, the woman, or the speaker. Even though there are many different possibilities in interpreting them, I saw the woman on the porch as the mother, and the speaker as the daughter. The first thing we notice is the critical condition of the woman, or the mother. Dove writes, “…Gave her the strength every morning to rise” and “she wouldn’t live to read, anyway,” suggesting the weakness and the fragility of the woman. Clearly, the woman could not live without the flower, or the poppy. As I was analyzing the poem, I wondered why Dove specifically chose to use poppy as the flower that the women had dearly desired. So I searched up the language of the poppy, and I found that it means eternal sleep, oblivion, comfort, and solace. Then I came to a conclusion, that maybe what the woman, or the mother, had truly desired was the eternal comfort and solace that would come after her death. Thus, there is a clear irony there, as the flower that gave the woman strength to live each day could only be achieved once her life ended. Another interesting point to notice is that the speaker, or the daughter, actually picks up the flower with a positive intention to save and deliver it to the mother. Yet her positive intention turns out to be a disaster, as the daughter ends up killing her own mother. In a real life situation, this could be interpreted as a daughter bringing her mother what she had desired, not knowing what that truly means. In the end, whether it was intended or not, the daughter in fact ends up taking away her mother’s pain, and delivers her eternal sleep and comfort. The last interesting interpretation I wanted to share is the flower’s whereabouts. First it belonged to the mother, and served as a reminder and energizer that kept her living. If we pay close attention, we realize that the flower is now in the hand of the daughter, who had to conceal all the evidence and clues. Even though the poem does not extend beyond her escape, a prediction can be made that the daughter may possibly face the same fate as her mother, strengthened and reinvigorated by the flower.
I like how you talked about the meaning of the flower, speaker, and the women, you did not talk about the meaning of the “miserable garden” which I felt was an important aspect of the poem. The poppy in the garden is described as “A flower in a weedy field”. Due to the poppy being something the women (most likely the mother as you said) can not live without the weeds most likely represent the reasons she does not want to live. Also as you talked about the poppy represents solace and comfort, and perhaps the the women was ignoring how the poppy was wilting. The wilting of the flower representing her comfort going away which is probably caused by her age. When the speaker brings the flower to the women she realizes that her time left with poppy(comfort) is short.
This is a very interesting view of the story, and similar in some ways to the meaning I found in the poem "Heroes." When I read this poem I too placed the mother as the woman on the porch who relies on the flower. But when I interpreted the poem I determined that the flower had represented the daughter in this story. I labeled the speaker as a man. I found these roles because I applied the Greek Myth of Hades and Persephone to the poem. The mother is very similar to Demeter, the daughter represents her daughter Persephone, and the man in the story represents Hades. In the poem the speaker picks the poppy flower (a flower sacred to Demeter), with the idea that he is saving the flower from the “miserable garden.” Hades is the god of the underworld, so when he picks the flower it clearly will die, similar to the myth that when people die they go to the underworld. The poem goes on to explain that by him picking the flower, he is writing history that Demeter “wouldn’t live to read.” This is significant because in the stories, it is said that Demeter was so upset about her daughter Persephone being taken into the underworld, she creat winter, which causes plants to die. Since Demeter is the goddess of harvest this is similar to her own death for the season. Shortly before, the poem says that the flower is “the one that gave her the strength every morning / to rise,” this represents the idea that Persephone loved her daughter and grieved her loss, and it was hard for her to produce crops during the time that Persephone was away due to her sorrow.
I agree that this poem was an extended metaphor. You saw much of what I saw when it came to the flower, speaker, and women. But I do agree with Baylor that you did not address the importance of the garden. The garden can be seen as a major symbol as to why the woman living or is having a desire not to. The flower represents essentially a sense of hope or solace for the women in her "weeded" life. This is something that enables the reader to connect with the woman in the poem. The sense of hope and solace can be instrumental in someones life. Some people take things like these as signs from a higher power even.
The poem I chose was "Golden Oldie" by Rita Dove. This poem really stood out to me because it reminded me of a movie from the 1950's. Perhaps it is due to the title, which gives an impression of a jazz album. There is a lot of powerful imagery used in this poem. In the first stanza, Dove uses a simile to stimulate the readers. The simile is," swaying at the wheel life a blind pianist caught in a tune meant for more than two hands". This simile portrays how the narrator's feelings were out of her hands, uncontrolled by her. This makes the narrator feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Uses of the negative motion words, such as " swaying" and "caught" support this point of reminisce. Later, the poet writes that the narrator is looking for " a pain majestic enough to live by". I believe this "pain" is the pain of love. It is to portray how love is painful but, undoubtedly, without it, one cannot live. Although the subject is said to be a young girl, she seems to know more than shown about the concept of love. If she didn't know what love is like, she wouldn't find it painful. For one who has never experienced love, it appears fulfilling and satisfactory, when in reality, when one has loved, they know that it mean s to carry around a pain caused by love. In the third stanza, the narrator is listening to her thoughts saying " Baby, where did out love go?". At this point, I noticed maybe the love she is looking for, she had, at one point found, but that love ceased to exist. She is looking for a re blossoming of a love she once had.
I agree with your interpretation of "pain" is being the pain of love. When I read this poem I tried to relate to the whole concept of motherly love. And I thought this was trying to get at is that when one gets older they tend to forget the importance of their mother. This is why the young girl is finding a pain majestic enough at an early age. She is beginning to search for love that will slowing take her away from her mother. And finally in the end Rita Dove says : ”Baby, where did our love go”. I believe that's the reason why it's called Golden oldie because it was golden with the love, but then it got old when the young girl got older. Therefore, the mother is looking for the love she once had with her daughter.
In the poem "Used" by Rita Dove, Dove addresses the influences of society on the average person. She references short skirts, waist sizes, and the loss of all "interior light". But I think the most important part of this particular poem is the metaphor of the silk sheets. Dove talks of the influence and pressure of initially buying the sheets. And then later the consequences of those sheets. But the sheets have a deeper meaning. When Dove writes about the pressure of the Macy's clerk, she is showing how society as a whole pressures people int the material world. The strong desire of material wealth and having luxuries that others do not. Dove uses the slickness of the sheet as well. She writes, "We couldn't hang on, slipped to the floor and by morning the quilts had slid off, too"(Dove). Here Dove is addressing the consequences of giving into the material world. Hanging on or staying afloat in the world of influence and greed is terribly difficult. Many slip and fall short. And things others rave about do not turn out how they are expected to(ex:the sheets). Dove also writes: "It's hard work staying cool". And as a teenager this is found to be very relatable. Material items and wealth are so heavily valued in that world that "staying cool" is hard to do. This does not necessarily mean popularity either. "Cool" can also be interpreted as level headed or even authentic. Staying true to one's self in the face of all the material influence.
This was a very interesting take on this poem. I liked how you focused on material wealth as I do think it had a large impact on the feelings pervading this girl. One thing that I thought was very interesting in this poem was the use of juxtaposition. At the start of the poem it states "...every man-child's preadolescent dream". The term man-child clearly can contradict itself as it is shows that there is pressure for every child to feel grown up, and essentially as a man. The other use of juxtaposition in this poem was in the last line when Dove states "It's hard work staying cool". This may seem confusing to some people as usually people work hard in order to achieve something greater than they already have. However in this poem it is saying that it takes hard work not to differ from others and stay within the ordinary. This clearly relates to current high schoolers as it takes a lot of effort for many to fit in and be "normal".
“Primer” by Rita Dove is a poem that conveys the relationship between a mother and daughter as one that is necessary yet unappreciated. In this poem, a girl is constantly made fun of due to to her size and participation in school. After repeatedly being bullied her mother has learn to come and get her out of trouble after school. This is a very thoughtful deed however the daughter neglects to appreciate the mother’s actions towards her. She takes her anger out on her mom by refusing to ride home with her and instead walking home. It is uncertain if the mother understands or is hurt by the actions that the daughter takes in order to prove to her peers that she truly can fight for herself against them. Rita Dove uses literary and stylistic devices to portray the true meaning of this poem in the most appropriate way. Imagery is used to create a visualization of the three sisters that are doing the harm to the daughter. Dove states “...three skinny sisters in rolled-down bobby socks.” It is ironic that they are making fun of her for being small when the description of them states that they are skinny. Rhyme was also evident in the poem when it states “...and Mrs. Stringbean!, they trod my heel. I knew my body was no big deal”. Rhyme helps identify that this truly is a poem and helps the poem flow with more ease. Lastly, when the mom comes to help the daughter it says “...drove up in her Caddie yo shake them down to size”. This is personification as you do not actually shake humans down to size. This literary device implies that, although the mother was small, she was still able to put the girls in their place. If the daughter took a minute to admire and learn from her mother rather than be embarrassed by her, then maybe she too could fight off the Gatlin kids.
I agree with your idea that the girl walks home rather than riding with her mom to show the bullies she can fight for herself. However I saw the relationship between the mom and the daughter a little differently. I think we can both agree that the mom drives up to the school and scares the bullies away because she wants to keep her daughter away from physical abuse. However, after seeing her daughter is out of harms way, she is fine with her walking home rather than riding with her. She understands her daughter is learning how to become more independent and growing up in the process and this is why she does not force her into the car. In addition, I do not think the girl is frustrated with her mom jumping in because she says that her mom is the reason she survived the bullies shoves.
In the poem ‘Golden Oldie’, Rita Dove describes the relationship between teenage girls and love as impulsive and near impossible to find. To bring this idea across, Dove writes, “Baby, where did our love go?- a lament I greedily took in without a clue who my lover might be, or where to start looking”. In this song, the artist is singing about a relationship that is starting to fall apart and they want it to be the way it used to be. Although the artist of this song is clearly heartbroken and struggling with the end of a relationship, the girl wants to experience this feeling in order to first feel love. Dove uses the word “greedily” to describe the effect this song is having on the girl. The girl is showing an intense and selfish desire to find love although it is out of her reach because she has no one to find it with. Therefore, she is thinking impulsively because she is thinking through desire rather than common sense. After hearing this song, she has her eyes set on finding love. She is so solely focused on this that she is ignoring what the song is truly about: the heartbreak that follows love. In addition, Dove writes that the girl does not know where to start looking for love. She uses the word “looking” to show that even if the girl finds someone she thinks she can love, she will need to continue looking because love cannot be found through impulse. These couple stanzas create a serious tone because the reader realizes the girl is setting herself up for failure. It is ironic that the girl knows this but is ignoring the fact because of the impulse she has to find love.
I think your take on this poem is very interesting. It is interesting how you thought the last couple stanzas create a serious tone, because when I read it, it created more of a hopeful tone, that one day the girl will find the love that she is desiring. Because of your interpretation, I reread the poem to reevaluate the meaning. I do agree that she is acting out of impulse and greed, rather than logic and patience. The word "looking" does give that interpretation that she is only trying to find love, regardless of the quality. By " a lament I greedily took in", I believe she meant the nature of the love would be all-consuming, for that reason it would be greedy, but your interpretation is that the concept of love, itself is portraying the use of the term greedy.
The Poem "The Narcissus Flower" by Rita Dove can be seen as a metaphor for when Persephone falls into the underworld from her life on earth. The poem seems to be from Persephone’s point of view, although Dove does not explicitly mention that is the intent. The Greek myths say that for 4 months every year she must go down into the underworld, causing winter for the earth above. The first thing I noticed in this poem was the title. The narcissus flower is one that is very important to Greek mythology. One of the stories it is involved in was when Zeus was trying to get his daughter Persephone out of the underworld, he had Gaia plant narcissus flowers to draw her attention and get her away from her guides so that she could escape. Another connection I found was the frequent use of words that had negative connotations such as “frightened,” “incinerated,” “hate,” and “fear.” This can be linked to the darkness and pessimistic nature of the environment that Persephone is drawn into when she visits the underworld In the poem when she mentions “this man,” it is in reference to Hades, and how nothing could “chasten,” or lighten the “plunge” of him bringing her back into the underworld. The second to last stanza says that “you can eat fear / before fear eats you.” This ties into Persephone accepting her fate for the four winter months of the year, and adapting to the circumstances rather than letting them get the best of her. This follows perfectly into the next stanza where she speaks about how “you can live beyond dying,” which is another reference to her thriving in the underworld, and she mentions that you can “become a queen.” This is very obviously a reference to Persephone’s title as the “Queen of the Dead,” which is a title that many know her by. It is said that when newcomers come into the underworld they are welcomed by Persephone to help them adjust to new life, quite possibly so that they do not feel the same fear and angst that she felt the first time that she was in the underworld. The myths mention that when the messenger god Hermes visited the her in the underworld she had adjusted well to her new position and was thriving as a queen.
This is a very interesting take on the poem. I really like all the additional Greek mythology knowledge you included. I also think that the meaning of 'narcissus' plays a role in the story, and your mention of the negative connotations. There's another greek myth about Narcissus, who became so in love with himself/his reflection that he drowned in a mirror-like pond. You talked about the other meaning of the narcissus flower, and I think the double meaning of "narcissus" brings another depth to the poem.
Rita Dove expresses this poem by using alliteration, and similes. This poem is about Rita Dove talking to a young girl and relation to her about how she had a lot to think about and told her she had a mother that she went to during this time of crisis. She illustrated the occurrence as beautiful sight” and described it as “nothing else matters” This young girl is going to a party (hence party dress is in the title) where men will be at. Here Rita dove says she will step out disguised while the men are looking at her, but truly wishing them dead. Then she says is will be a secret. Alliteration is used when describing about how Rita Dove also had a full plate “ … full plate or unwittingly stepped on an ant.”. It was also used when she said “my mother” and “stood still ”describing when ran to mother. This use of alliteration is important because it gives a creative rhythm to associate with the mother and the experience she had with her mother. The use of similes gives a reader a good comparison of what is happening in the poem. In the poem is says “ waiting radiant as a cornstalk at the edge of the field” and the second simile used says “ tonight men stride like elegant scissors across the lawn to the woman arrayed there” the first simile was important because it gave a reader a unique comparison that describes the occurrence as a one of a kind or special type of bonding moment that happens with motherly love. The second simile used is extremely significant because it portrays the idea that the men are ready to “control the women” which clearly is not a good for the women which is why she said at the end “ it will be our secret” when talking to the young girl.
Exit, by Rita Dove, is a sonnet about a girl leaving her home for a better life, but she has mixed feelings about her journey. Over time she begins to feel more confident about her idea even though she is leaving behind her home. Dove uses imagery, repetition, and personification to portray this story to the reader and create a hopeful tone. Rita Dove uses imagery when describing the better life that the women is moving towards. She writes, “The door opens onto a street like in the movies…”(Dove). The description creates a relatable image for the reader of going to new place and walking outside and being overwhelmed by everything. The women is moving towards this place which helps create a hopeful tone that she will make it there. She also writes, “Well, the world is open”. The description of the world creates an image of a place with no limits. This helps create a hopeful tone because the reader wants the women to go into the open world. Dove also uses repetition to portray the story to the reader and create a hopeful tone. She writes, “...clean of people, of cats”(Dove). The new place being clean of people (most likely bad people) and clean of cats(often associated with deception and being sly) shows that the new world is better than the old one. This creates a hopeful tone because the reader hopes the women will leave the old world. The author uses personification to create a hopeful tone. She writes, “This suitcase, the saddest object in the world”(Dove). The suitcase being sad is personification because sad is human characteristic. The suitcase is the saddest object because it represents leaving an old place and going to a new unknown place. This adds to the story because it shows how the women is sad about leaving her home. She also writes, “the sky begins to blush”(Dove). The sky blushing is personification because blushing is a human characteristic. It happens as she is in a taxi cab to the new world which signifies a good event. The tone at this point is hopeful because the reader hopes it will turn out good for the women.
The poem I chose was “ Sonnet in Primary Colors” by Rita Dove. I chose this poem because I really admire Frida Kahlo and was interested in reading what this amazing poet, Rita Dove, wrote about her. The poem was full of nature and flower imagery which really contributed to the meaning of the poem, since Frida Kahlo uses a lot of flowers in her paintings. Also many exotic animals, such as parrots or monkeys are also elaborated in her paintings. In this poem, Dove is referring to her paintings. An Example of this is found when Dove writes, “ lovely Frida, erect among parrots”. This refers to her one of Frida’s paintings titled” Me and My Parrot”. The reference to her paintings, is a way for Dove to describe the unique nature of Frida and her blossoming of personality and life experiences through her artwork. She uses this to portray how Kahlo’s art is what made her stand out. Later, Dove writes, “ in the stern petticoats of the peasant, who painted herself a present”. This is a metaphor for how Frida, although poor, brought herself to fame by painting. The use alliteration of the sound “p” creates a musical tone to this stanza, making it sound more beautiful and emotional. Furthermore, Dove uses flower imagery to veil the true life of Frida. Rita Dove writes,” wildflowers entwining the plaster corset her spine resides in the romance of mirrors”. This is referring to the corset Frida had to wear to protect her spine, as a result of an almost fatal car accident she was in. The corset was painful beyond imagine, but the flower imagery makes it seem more natural, less arduous and more beautiful.
I also wrote about “Sonnet in Primary Colors” by Rita Dove. I really liked how you connected her backstory to the sonnet. I especially liked the connection of the almost fatal car accident, because I missed that when I was reading about her. I also like how you saw the metaphor when she wrote “in the stern petticoats of the peasant who painted herself a present”. This is something I did not see until you pointed it out. You also lightly talked about the animals she talked about the animals in the poem. I personally found this very interesting and talked in depth about the parrot. You also connect the poem a lot to nature which is something I did not do but I now can see the very straight forward connection. I also found it interesting that you did not talk about her beloved dead which I though was a very central part of this poem. Her beloved death connects to Frida's life and how it connected to the painting. You talked a lot about connection between the poem, painting, and her life but you seemed to skip this.
Rita Dove describes Catherine of Alexandria legacy (early Christian martyr) in a poetic structure. In the first stanza, Rita Dove expresses how Catherine of Alexandria was deprived of learning and the chance to travel and because of that restraint she had to acquire sainthood through a voice. This is describing how Catherine of Alexandria did not know about Christianity because of the religion she was brought up with and because of that she had to have the vision to convert to Christianity. In the second stanza, Dove uses caesura to let the reader have time to attain the knowledge that the voice was a revelation and it doesn't just happen to anyone. Here she says show each night the what went on was not fit for nobody's ear and continues through the use of enjambment and says but Jesus. The enjambment from Rita Dove allowed to a reader to sense the idea that if was destined for her to become a saint with the separation of Jesus between the two stanzas. After that, Rita Dove notes that Jesus breath is like a lily in the use of a metaphor. Then she exclaims with the use of juxtaposition of Jesus “spiraling pain”. Then uses enjambment once again to say each night the nightshirt bunched about above her waist. What this is referring to the saying “God gives the toughest battles to the toughest soldiers” and that through the pain of the non-believers and prosecutors of Christianity and that she has fight through it because the breath of Jesus is the smell she can't ignore because it is what she is destined for. And going on the-the last stanza, again with enjambment for dramatic effect, she continues saying, “the nightshirt bunched above your waist”. Here what Rita Dove is referring to is that Alexandria is exposing her each day to the non-believers and that she might lose dignity from the people she once knew. Lastly, Rita Dove ends the poem using a metaphor saying “a kept promise, a ring of milk” which I think means that Rita Dove thinks that Alexandria promises Jesus something that that she is obliged to fight against of those who are prosecuting the Christians. In which she did by fighting against the roman Emperor Maxentius and protesting the persecution under him.
I also read this poem, and I think your interpretation of the caesura and enjambment was really interesting. It helped add to the idea that you also mentioned about needing pain to truly believe. I however had a different interpretation of your last line. You said the "a kept promise, a ring of milk" was about being obliged to fight. I thought that it rather symbolized her promise to stay virgin, likely forever as she was a saint. Milk is white, and white is the color of purity, and the ring could either be a ring to wear, or the hymen which traditionally shows virginity. This pledge of purity is also part of her devout religious beliefs, along with the fighting for her beliefs that you interpreted.
In the poem “Nestor’s Bathtub” Rita Dove oftenly describes the viewpoint of Nestor’s wife. Nestor was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War so his wife actually spent most of the time in the house. This poem shows the effect of the fire on the house and on Nestor and his wife. Rita Dove uses a lot of consonance and personification to illustrate the extent of the traumatic fire. She states “...while his wife with her white hands scraped”. This shows all of the labor that the wife put into the house. Later in the sonnet Dove exclaims “...the shards scattered in the hall where jars spilled from the second floor, oil spreading in flames”. This consonance shows how extensive and damaging this fire truly was. Towards the end of the poem, Rita Dove uses consonance as well as personification many times to give objects in the house characteristics that make them seem as though they were alive. She states “drinking cups in the pantry-these, too, survived when the clay pots screamed and the stones sprang their sockets”. Clay pots “screaming” and stones “springing” shows once again how many things in the house were destroyed. However along with the bathtub, drinking cups too “survived”. After all the hardwork that the wife put into the house, the bathtub that belonged to Nestor, was one of the only things that survived the fire.
I agree with what you said about Dove's use of personification and consonance. I wonder, however, if the fire is used metaphorically to display how how Nestor's wife felt because she constantly was to do housework, while her husband was known to be great and heroic. I believe the fire is to symbolize the anger and frustration felt by his wife, because she is a house wife that doesn't get any credit, but she ensures the comfort of Nestor. Maybe the shattering of the objects was her crying out her frustration. Also there was a lot of local color in this sonnet as well. I believe the use of local color enhanced the culture used in this poem. There is a lot of references to the Greek culture in this poem, and maybe the way women are treated, is one of them. The use of personification of household items, may, also, hint that Nestor's wife is so angry, alone and frustrated that these items are the only "company" she has.
In the poem "Canary" by Rita Dove, she speaks of Billie Holiday. This ode to Holiday speaks of how despite her very challenging upbringing, Holiday broke music barriers. As a child, Holiday was forced to grow up very quickly. With money being an issue for her and her mother, Billie Holiday was into prostitution by the age of fourteen. This is a prime example of what Dove means when she writes "under than ruined face". Of course, there was so physical harm, yet emotionally Holiday was more experienced than most. The use of imagery throughout the poem creates a sort of sad tone.This tone is a reflection on the life and hardships of Billie Holiday. The images created are thing with negative connotations. Such as, "a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano". This image is one with connotations of its time. The jazz age in which Holiday lived was filled with club performances with saxophones and pianos. Holiday performed in these clubs which built her whole career. The "mournful candelabra" demonstrates that even something so simple can go through the worse hardships while not deserving it. Just as Holiday was, especially as a child. When Dove uses "you" or "you're" she is referring to Holiday. Throughout this section on historical figures, Dove uses "you" or "your" to refer to the person of which she is writing about. This makes the subject of the work more relatable for the audience. This figures being written about are very prestigious figures, which in turn makes it harder for the reader to form a personal connection.
I definitely agree with almost all of the points that you mentioned, especially when you connected the "ruined face" with the path of prostitution that Billie Holiday had to experience. I also thought it was very interesting and agreeable when you said, "even something so simple can go through the worse hardships while not deserving it" We all know that the African-American women during the early twentieth-century hardly received any education or respect from anyone. So even though playing instruments and singing in front of others are considered easy things to do in our society, these were regarded as privileges for the minorities group at the time. Lastly, I want to point out one more thing about the mournful diction that you mentioned in the post. I also thought it was a crucial part of this poem, but what I found in addition was that this negative and sorrowful diction slowly turns positive as the poem progresses. Towards the end of the novel, there aren't many negative diction to be found, but it's rather filled with positive diction such as "love" and "free". I personally thought this could be talking about the achievements that minority groups made in the midst of all the opposition and difficulties, or possibly the slowly improving situation for the group. Regardless, your blog post was generally filled with amenable points and insights for this particular poem, and I found some of it very interesting!
In “Catherine of Alexandria”, Rita Dove paints a romantic relationship between Catherine of Alexandria and Jesus to show her deep belief in religion. This is accomplished through a multitude of ways, including consonance in the third stanza in ‘lily’ and ‘spiraling pain’. Lilies are a beautiful flower and tend to evoke a more positive tone. White lilies are also a symbol of modesty and virginity, . This is then contrasted with ‘spiraling pain’. Dove uses consonance to contrast these two phrases, proving that pain is needed for beauty and love. Seeing as this series of poems is based on heroes, it is near certain that Dove had some background on Catherine of Alexandria, which adds another level of depth to the consonance. Catherine of Alexandria, or Saint Catherine, was an extremely devout Christian and a man named Maxentius tried to dissuade her and many others from that religion. After torture failed, he proposed to her. She declared Jesus was her spouse and she would remain forever a virgin. Maxentius was enraged and put her to death via a spiked wheel, and finally beheaded her. The pain Saint Catherine went through to prove her faith was true proves the earlier point about pain being necessary for love and beauty.
Another way Dove shows Saint Catherine’s religious beliefs is through metaphors. She writes, “a kept promise,/ a ring of milk”. In traditional Catholicism, virginity until marriage is a big deal. This is likely the ‘promise’ that Dove alluded to. The second line also ties into the idea of virginity. The ring part is significant because one of Saint Catherine’s attributes is a ring. Also, milk is a metaphor for white, which symbolizes purity. The ring of purity could either mean a physical ring worn as a vow to stay a virgin until marriage, or as the hymen, usually seen as a true indicator of virginity. Either way, Dove chooses Saint Catherine as a historical figure and topic for her poem because of her devoutness to her religion, even if it means suffering pain.
In her poem Canary, Rita Dove clearly illustrates the unfortunate situation that Billie Holiday and the entire minority group of African-American women encountered during the early 20th century. Billie Holiday came to be known as one of the most influential African-American jazz singers of all time, yet she faced difficult childhood at an early age such as financial difficulties, discrimination, and even prostitution. Rita Dove, in order to clarify such struggles due to inequality, uses figurative language (hyperbole and metaphor) and disconsolate diction throughout the poem Canary. Rita Dove uses figurative language like hyperbole and metaphor in order to convey her message. In the first line of the first stanza, Dove describes Holiday’s singing as “burned voice”. Clearly one’s voice cannot burn, yet it is exaggerated in order to show Holiday’s powerful impact and domination over the audience. Also, an example of metaphor can be found when Dove writes, “…as many shadows as lights”. This metaphor extends beyond simply describing her voice, but it represents Holiday’s life. What shadows and lights really represent are the highs and lows in her life, thus enhancing the message of the difficulties and successes that African-American women received during the time period. Another crucial literary element Dove uses is the disconsolate diction. Throughout the poem, especially in the beginning, a handful of negative diction can be found such as, “shadows”, “mournful”, and “ruined”. This type of diction creates depressing and disconsolate mood for the readers, and speaks to the audience of the difficulties that certain minority groups encountered at the time. Especially the word like “ruined”, has deeper meaning that discusses what Holiday has physically experienced as a child. Billie Holiday stood in the miserable path of prostitution due to financial problems and lack of education, and this is referred to as “that ruined face”. The uncontrollable condition that the society has created for the African-Americans pushed them off to such degrading conditions, and Dove clearly exposes this to the readers through the use of gloomy diction. In summing up her message, Dove concludes the poem with a powerful statement: “If you can’t be free, be a mystery.” The African-American women during the early 20th century could not fully and freely express themselves. Rather, they were excluded, discriminated, and segregated of their opportunities as legal American citizens. In response, Doves leaves a clear message and tells the minorities to wear a mask, ignore the surrounding situation, and become a mystery. For this will allow you to do what you love despite the oppositions around you. Just like what Billie Holiday has done.
I agree with your interpretation of Canary by Rita Dove. What I also noticed in this particular poem by Rita Dove is the use of parenthetical (words inserted into parathesis). I believe while using your interpretation of this poem, that this part of the poem is what Rita Dove is saying to Billie Holiday personally as if she is still alive. When it says "Now you're cooking, drummer to bass" I believe this marks the beginning of her career and how she began to become a hit and get recognized. Then it says " magic spoon, magic needle" which I think represent her drug addiction after her mother had died in 1945 and her setback in her career. After that, it finally says, " Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of song". This is about how Holidays can take drugs all day but the older she get the more serious it will become. For example when she actually got arrested for substance abuse. I just thought it was important to note the parenthetical this poem to further your analysis on how Rita Dove touched on the struggles of Billie Holiday's life.
In “Nestor’s Bathtub” by Rita Dove, Dove tells about the legend of Nestor, a king during the time of the Trojan War, and his wife. Via her opinion, the “legend got it all wrong.” This brings an interesting point. The bathtub is the only thing left standing in the ruin of Nestor’s home, which was destroyed by a fire, only even considered Nestor’s home without much credit given to his wife. Dove is trying to display that Nestor’s wife is the one who did most of the labor, and spent most of the time inside their home. Through depictions of the wife’s labor when she described the water that she “poured until the room steamed,” and how she “scraped the dirt from a lover’s back,” shows the hard work that she did in their home. Dove uses lots of imagery and destructive diction (especially in the second stanza) such as “blasted,” “exploding,” and “shards scattered,” to paint a picture of demolition and wreckage that was done to the house. Another piece of the poem that emphasizes the wife’s importance to the matter was the lack of mention of Nestor aside from the beginning. Dove mentions who he is, and his absence from their home. To contrast this she often shows the wife’s parts in the home but not her husbands, saying “to the lady’s throne,” with no mention of Nestor’s.
I did the same poem and it seems like we came up with very similar interpretations of this poem. I also noticed how Rita Dove stated "the lady's throne". This really showed how the house should truly belong to the wife as she put all the intense labor into the house. This may go along with the idea that women do not have very much representation. Although they are increasingly having more of a say, they are still very limited in other countries and definitely were back in later times of history. I think this poem is trying to make a point that women need more appreciation and acknowledgement for all the work that they do. Often times their good deeds go unnoticed and this poem raises awareness that their needs/needed to be a change made in society.
I agree with your look on the story. However, I did not catch that the way Dove wrote the story may be different than the initial legend. They way you wrote about it made it sound like in the old legend, the wife was blamed for the burning down of the house and the end of Nestor’s empire. However, Dove thought it was important to remind everyone that Nestor was not a good king and although the house was destroyed, his wife had kept it afloat for a long time with no help at all from Nestor. Dove adds the section about how the bathtub was the only thing that remained “for the sake of the legend” to give the reader the idea that although the man may have more power and be known by more people, the wife works just as hard (in this case harder) and plays just as important of a role in the family.
“Sonnet In Primary Colors” by Rita Dove is written about a painting by Frida Kahlo. Dove describes how she is pained to look more beautiful than all the peasants, and how Frida is mourning the death of the people she loved. The poem is named “Sonnet in Primary Colors” but the only color mention is black which is not a primary color. Perhaps this is because primary colors can make all other colors which is supposed to represent the changing mood. The mood changes when she switches talking about how beautiful she is to go someone she loved died. She is described as having a black wing but later Dove writes, “wildflowers entwined the plaster corset”(Dove). Wild flowers are bright, colorful, and made from the primary colors. It's weird that she has very colorful clothing and a black wing. Perhaps she can't see her own beauty because the black wing is over her eyes even when she is in the crowd of peasants. There is also lots of bird imagery. She writes, “This is for the women with one black wing perched over her eyes: lovely Frida, erect among parrots…”(Dove). Generally bird imagery is associated with freedom, but it seems that her “one black wing” is blocking her view of freedom. She also seems trapped by the death of her beloved dead. Dove also writes about three important communists Lenin, Marx, and Stalin who are her beloved dead. This is due to Frida being communist. These were all very important leaders in leaders which is perhaps why she is mourning there death even though she never met Stalin. She even continued to worship Stalin after it became common knowledge he was responsible for millions of deaths. Also Marx and Lenin died before she was even born. This portrays how devout she was to the idea of communism.
I think that this is an interesting take on the poem. I had a similar approach when looking at this poem and thought that Dove did a good job of separating Frida Kahlo from her peers with the use of similes and metaphors such as saying she was "like children," and "erect among parrots," meaning she stood out. Another comparison of her to her peers was when Dove described she "painted herself...corset," saying that she was beautiful in clothing no matter what she wore. The piece was a praise to Frida Kahlo, and the title paid tribute to her through the structure of a sonnet and the mention of primary colors which relates to art which is what Kahlo was known for. Primary colors stand out among the other colors, similar to the message Dove was trying to portray about Kahlo and how she was outstanding among her peers.
“Nestor’s Bathtub” by Rita Dove is about how Nestor was away from home while his wife was the one keeping the house afloat. Although in the end the house is destroyed, her hard work is still recognized while there is nothing left to remember Nestor for. To an outsider it may seem that Nestor is the one doing the important work. However Rita Dove writes, “But where was Nestor- on his throne before the hearth, counting jars of oil in storeroom 34, or at the Trojan wars while his wife with her white hands scraped the dirt from a lover’s back with a bronze scalpel?”. Notice how it says he was “on his throne” or “at the Trojan wars”. This gives the reader the idea that he had a lot of power but while he was at these places, he was not doing anything important. All he was doing was taking up space or filling the role of a king rather than taking action like his wife was doing back home. During this time period, the king was born into his power. Thus it was common to have a leader not fit for the job. This is why when the house burned down killing Nestor and all his possessions, no one remembered him. Dove writes, “For the sake of the legend only the tub stands”. Although we know it is not true that the tub survived the fire since Dove writes “For the sake of the legend”, the author adds it to the story to reward Nestor’s wife for her work. In addition it explains that while her husband was forgotten, she was remembered forever for her hard work despite help from her husband.
“The House Slave” by Rita Dove conveys the agony that the typical slave would have to go through everyday in order to survive. Rita Dove uses powerful imagery and similes to get her point across to the reader very clearly. A powerful example of imagery was “At the second horn, the whip curls across the back of the laggards-”. This shows the brutal mistreatment that the slaves had to go through everyday. Shortly after that sentence, it states “...sometimes my sister’s voice, unmistaken, among them”. For one to have to hear people they know or even love squealing of pain is a task no one should ever have to go through. Towards the end of the poem it states “and as the fields unfold to whiteness, and they spill like bees among the fat flowers, I weep”. My interpretation of this imagery was that the fields were white because they were stripped of the crops that the slaves picked. Also the bees among the fat flowers were the many slaves putting in hard work in the fields. This shows how many of them there are, which shows that they should not truly be a minority. Even if they were a minority they should still be able to have equal representation and say as the majority. The segregation between blacks and whites has clearly disappeared for the most part. However, to this day, issues and debates still occur on whether or not blacks and whites are truly being treated equal everywhere in the United States. Cases such as Ferguson and Trayvon Martin make issues depicting racial equality come up again. It is argued that these black people were treated poorly and wrongly by white policemen and that they would have been treated differently if they had been white. This is a powerful and impactful poem by Rita Dove that shows how blacks were treated and how the cruelty towards blacks truly needs to stop.
Ammel, I really like the perspective you took on this poem. I thought that Rita Dove did a great job through diction such as "bundled into aprons," and "the whip curls across the backs of the laggards," to really try and depict to the reader what slavery is like. Often times, it can be hard to get a true feeling for what slavery was like as someone who has never experienced it, so through great details and imagery Rita Dove was able to do this much better than we can on our own. Another technique Rita Dove used was a constant use of punctuation. she used a lot of end stops and caesuras to may the ideas short, and to the point. It showed that they did not go on and on about how their lives were, but it was more matter-of-fact. I thought this brought an interesting tone to the poem and almost made it seem more sad, because when you were reading the poems, the stopping due to the sentence breaks cause the reader to think at those points in the poem, Leading them to really get more of an effect on what the slaves Dove is portraying in this poem felt.
I believe this poem by Rita Dove is touching on the topic of poverty in society. I think particularly its about poverty in the US throughout history. I thought this because she used the term intolerable, which reminded me of the intolerable act in which was one of the acts that made the colonists angry which then created a revolution thus creating the United States. In the first stanza, it is describing how one can think they are being civilized but they're not seen as civilized and that their appearance (wealth) is what they bring to the battle. In the second stanza, Dove changes tones. She changes from an irritated tone (because of questioning the word “intolerable”) to a calm, soothing tone in the way to tell the reader “ now listen carefully”. This part of the poem is talking about society is surrounded by people who want more wealth (rich get richer) with the imagery of dark and flames, and then uses positive diction like “serene” and “heaven” to convey in the center of the flames there are people who know what to do but can't escape the perimeter of flames because the wealthy. The last stanza is portraying how poverty is intolerable and in reality it is an issue and a struggle for people. She describes this by saying “born up a creek and placed flat with a paddle” and “ if we ain't got a pot to piss in...” indicating the struggle of the poor. What is Dove asking here is that what will America do about it? Since doing nothing will help they must do something. That's why at the end she pleads mercy for America has mercy in a lyrical way by using alliteration.To summarize Rita Dove is conveying how poverty in America is an intolerable situation and that being think that it's alright because of their perception of being civilized.
Daniel, I really appreciate the different approach you took in analyzing the poem. I assumed that this poem was about the struggle of the African-Americans, simply because the section is titled, "Civil Rights Movement". But you interpreted the main argument of the poem as the poverty throughout the U.S., which gives it a broader opinions and context. One interesting point I discovered though, is how Dove presents the intolerable situation in a question format. She asks "So what if...?", and I wondered how you would interpret this as in terms of poverty and deprivation throughout the country. In general, I thought your interpretation was very fresh and original, and I liked the way you supported it with multiple sources of evidence such as tone, diction, and imagery.
Rita Dove's poem "Belinda's Petition" is in honor of a real person, Belinda Sutton, who was a slave to the Royall family. Belinda’s owner in his will stated Belinda should recieve ￡30 for three years. The person who was supposed to carry this out did not follow to his word that he would, because he assumed that because Belinda likely could not write or write, that she would not notice. Twice, Belinda petitioned for the appropriate amount of money be given to her by this man, and both times, Belinda’s petition went through.
Many of the words in the poem have a connotation that is related to the government, specifically the US government. These references, along with her use of words that relate to her terrible condition such as “please,” and “pitiable,” and “boast,” poke fun, and use sarcasm to mock the government, and shows that although she may not be able to read nor write, she is still an intelligent being. Much of Dove’s diction relates to slavery, showing off her condition and displaying the tragedy of the situation, but also words that have to freedom, to show the contrast and how far from freedom she really was. A constant use of time in the poem shows the lengthy years that Belinda has spent as a slave, and shows that although time is limited, to a slave it is not a matter of concern in their lives, saying that she (Belinda) “expects nothing,” and explains to the officials that she “will not take too much of [their] time,” again mocking them as if the members of the government’s time was more important than her own.
I thought Belinda’s story was very eye opening and intriguing. It shows how one can be taken advantage of just for being incapable of society. In one of my other classes we talked about how mental illnesses would not be seen as so weird or frightening if more people were educated and knew the reasoning behind some of their actions. Similarly. the man should was too arrogant and selfish to take the time to acknowledge that Belinda was actually an intelligent person who deserved to be treated equally. This is still an occurring issue in society where people make stereotypes, which leaves people neglected of their deserving rights. Rita Dove is trying to show how if our society was not so uneducated and arrogant, people would be treated equally and get what they deserve.
In her poem “The situation is intolerable”, Rita Dove gives an inspirational advice to the fellow minority group (African-Americans) to stand up against the injustice and prejudice of the society. The living and working conditions for the African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights movement were absolutely degrading and devastating. However, while Dove fully recognizes this discrimination and inequality, she also presents the responsibility that the minority group bears in such case: to stand up and fight against the intolerable situation. The three individual stanzas support her claim with the elements of imagery and metaphor. In the very first stanza, Dove describes the condition that the African-Americans seem to be living in. First she poses a question, “Aren’t we civilized, too?” then answers it in a rather positive manner. She describes the fine clothes and shoes that the particular group wears, thus enhancing the idea that the African-Americans may not be so inferior as the society suggests. Following up, she metaphorically describes the situation that African-Americans are required to face. Dove writes, “a righteous sword advancing onto the field of battle in the name of the Lord…” This metaphor represents the people of color fighting to survive each day in an unfamiliar and hostile environment. They were faced with disenfranchisement, segregation, and even lynching, occasionally. Then Dove extends the metaphor to the next stanza, and uses it to describe the hope that can be discovered in the midst of hopelessness. She first uses imagery to describe the degrading condition, “all around us dark and the perimeter in flames”. Often times, darkness involves negative connotation, such as depression, desperation, and hopelessness. Also, the perimeter in flames is associated with the upcoming troubles and challenges, causing the readers to imagine the glance of fire over the horizon. Yet in contrast, Dove brings in the metaphor of tiny stars, the missionary stars. In the midst of such hopelessness and turmoil, stars represent hope and optimism that the minority group can hold on to. Finally in the last stanza, Dove presents a solution, what the group can and must do in this hostile and intolerable society. Notice that Dove starts the stanza by questioning, “So what…?” So what if the conditions of the African-Americans are so degrading? So what if they are so poor and underprivileged? These are the questions that Dove asks, which represents the idea that these problems should not stay as clueless problems, but something must be done and some kind of action must be taken to fix them. In concluding the poem, Dove clarifies her position and solution by saying, “Our situation is intolerable, but what’s worse is to sit here and do nothing.”
Our interpretations of this poem are similar. I liked how you pointed out the metaphors and imagery in this elements to support your interpretation. I thought your interpretation of this poem about it being advice for the minority group (African group). When I read this I thought it was just talking about poverty in general. I was wondering what key elements in this poem made you suggest that it is about African Americans. Although I didn't talk about it in my blog I agree with you interpretation on the last stanza about Dove posing the question "So what if...? about how she is saying this should not stay as clueless problems. But in terms of poverty in general because I was thinking Rita Dove was trying to talk about poverty throughout US history by just using the term "intolerable" as its starting point (just before America was created).
In the poem "Freedom Ride" by Rita Dove, there is a heavy use of allusion and bus imagery. Despite Dove never outright saying anything about the freedom ride, the expects the reader to know what it is. Thus making the title an allusion and setting the tone for the poem. Personally other than the title, I think the allusion to Malcom X is the most important. Due to the freedom ride being administered by Martin Luther King JR, Malcolm X was a very important reference and person associated with this. Due to the heavy use of bus imagery, this aids the reader in coming to the conclusion that this poem is about the freedom ride that occurred in the civil rights era. These references include "pull the cord" and "pick any stop". But the most important imagery associated with the freedom ride is the fire imagery. The bus on the ride was burnt down and torched. This is demonstrated in the poem when Dove writes, "where you sit is where you'll be when the fire hits." This is not only representative of the bus in general referencing a seat but also talking about the fire that occurred on the bus of the freedom ride.
I agree with your explanation of how the poem is about the freedom riders. How do you think, however, the imagery creates that concept? Also what kind of tone does the imagery poetic devices used create?
In the poem "Rosa", Rita dove uses poem structure and use of punctuation to create an affirmative tone. On the last line of each stanza, there is a period. That is, however, mostly the only place in the poem that has punctuation. This makes the story told in the poem sound more affirmative and creates an more picaresque setting, where different aspects of the situation are examined, but they all connect to one thing at the end. Dove also uses personification in this poem. For example, when she writes," the clean flame of her gaze carved by a camera flash", personification is used to create a more intense, vivid imagery in the minds of the readers. This prom, evidently, is about Rosa Parks. The story for which Parks was used and cherished for raising awareness and action towards the civil rights movement. This poem, therefore, must me written in a format that will make the readers feel almost scared, to make sure the lesson sticks in their minds. The use of personification of her actions and body movements is used to intensify this effect.
I do agree that is has somewhat of an affirmative tone, but I would argue that based on the historical importance of the poem is has more of a reminiscent tone. She talks about everything in a very cohesive calm way as if someone was telling an old happy story. Also everything is in past tense, and to be reminiscent about something it has to have happened in the past. I also think that for it to be affirmative it has to be hopeful and supporting. I would say it is supporting of her action but I get the sense that they already know what is going to happen like they are telling the story after is has happened. If the are telling the story after it has happened it would be reminiscent. I do like how you talked about the importance of the event because in my poem I also talked about the importance of the Lady Freedom.
I agree with with the point that you made. But when it comes to the tone I do agree with baylor that it is a more reminiscent tone. The historical importance of the Rosa Parks incident is huge. This is why I think she chose to only talk in past tense. I also would've liked if you were to have given an example or two about the personification used.
In Lady Freedom Among Us”, Rita Dove uses imagery, repetition, and personification to create a proud tone. Lady Freedom also know as the statue of freedom is on top of the capitol building. This is the building where national laws are passed for the betterment and freedom of the american people. She uses imagery to create a proud tone. Dove writes,”Don't lower your eyes or stare straight ahead to where you think you ought to be going”(Dove). The author is trying to tell the reader using imagery that they should not look nowhere but they should also not look at only one place. With freedom someone should look to many places and choose which one is best for them. This message of freedom of choice through imagery creates a proud tone. She also uses a combination of imagery and repetition to portray a proud tone. She writes, “with her oldfashioned sandals with her leaden skirts with her strained cheeks and whiskers”(Dove). The clothing described is Greek and roman which symbolizes freedom and democracy which in american society is something to be proud about. The repetition of “with her” emphasis the importance of what she is wearing to the reader. This description of her outfit which represents freedom creates a proud tone. Dove also uses personification of the statue to create a proud tone. She writes, “she who has brought mercy back into the streets and will not retire politely to the potter's field”(Dove). The personification of the statue that represents freedom shows how freedom has taken away fear from brutality from police on the streets. A potter's field is a graveyard so her not retiring to the graveyard is her not politely dying. This means she will fight for the freedom of Americans. This creates a proud tone because the freedom of america is being protected.
I agree with your interpretation of the proud tone of the poem, but I also believe that it's commanding as well. You mentioned the repetition of "with her", but I think the repetition of "don't" in the beginning of lines throughout the poems contributes more to the aforementioned commanding tone. Dove uses the repetition of "don't" to inspire others to be proud, and to remind them of the freedom they have achieved. You also said Lady Freedom was the statue atop the capitol building, but it could also be interpreted as the statue of liberty. This is supported by "don't think 'another item to fit on a tourist's agenda'". The statue of liberty is a tourist destination, and a symbol for the freedom that this poem demands its reader to remember.
“Lady Freedom Among Us” by Rita Dove talks about something everyone has had to fight for at one point or another: freedom. Therefore, this poem creates a tone of understanding, but also determination with the reader. The last two lines say “for she is one of the many and she is each of us”. Dove is referring to Lady Freedom and saying that she is part of all of us. This poem also talks about how we do not have all the things we want, but we work hard to make it work. Dove writes, “she has fitted her hair under a hand-me-down cap and spruced it up with feathers and stars” Lady Freedom is working hard to make something out of the little resources that have been given to her. In addition she is wearing feathers which suggests the maxim, ‘Flight equals freedom’. The word “plumage’ is also used which refers to feathers. By the end of the poem, the reader understands that the poem is actually about them and all the people around them. Dove writes, “don’t think you can ever forget her don’t even try she’s not going to budge”. This is referring the Lady Freedom but also the reader himself. It is saying that American’s will continue to fight for their freedom forever and they won’t give up. This creates a tone of determination because the reader understand the passage is directed at them and it says that receiving freedom comes only after relentless work.
When comparing the excerpt from "The farming of bones" by Edwidge Danticat and "Parsley" by Rita Dove, the audience can find that they both refer to the time of Trujillo's rule in the Dominican Republic. While both are on the same time period and focus on the same thing, parsley, both have very different points of view. While the story looks at the perspective of someone who is trying to escape Trujillo, the poem looks at how Trujillo or "el general" feels. Dove does this through symbolism in the first setting of "The Cane Fields". In this section of the poem, the parrot would be "el general" and the "cane" is symbolic of his mother, who is dead. This title of the cane field is also ironic. It is ironic because as the audience reads in the next, they learn that "el general" has buried his mothers cane and that this has the connection to his word: Parsley. There is a ritual in his village where a mother wears parsley when son is born. He uses this parsley as a way to show "love and death" in his time as a adult. This connects to the short story because the main character and the people around them, are forced to eat parsley by the handful. Which would be for lack of a better saying, "In memory" of his mother. Yet many, would rather eat the parsley than be beaten or killed.
Tabby, I think the element of symbolism that you brought up is a very interesting interpretation of the poem. You interpreted the parrot as the general and Trujillo's mother as the cane, which gives a whole new perspective to the poem. But one question I had was, if the cane symbolizes the mother of Trujillo, why does it create such a degrading and menial tone to the poem? Another interesting point I found in your interpretation was the traditional village ritual. I wasn't aware of such tradition, and I thought the connection you made to "love and death" of the general was very congruent and agreeable. But once again, if parsley illustrates love and death, why is it such a horrifying and disturbing experience for the characters in The Farming of Bones?
When I read the expert from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat and the name “Trujillo” showed up it instantly rung a bell because I read a book back in freshman year called “In Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez involving the name Trujillo. From that book, I got a perspective of how these sisters from a family each lived under the regime of Trujillo and how their family was associated with him somehow. But yet an I never knew till now that the Parsley Massacre was taken place and that Trujillo was genocidal. It was a fictional novel, but still made me aware of who Trujillo was and that was was capable of killing. I just don't have the background knowledge that he was genocidal when I read this novel by Julia Alvarez. Connecting this book and the excerpt given allowed me to have an idea of what Rita Dove might be conveying in her poem Parsley. From the except one can tell that the word “perejil” and how you say it can cost your life. Pereliej means parsley and the excerpt revealed the cruelty of how it was used to try to succeed in a genocide against the Haitian population. Now using these ideas I thought I could analyze the last two stanzas of “the cane fields”. Rita Dove says how the general found the word “perejil”. Here it is evident that Rita is connecting this to the parsley massacre. When Doves says “he laughs, teeth shining out of the swap”. Knowing that the general is Trujillo I could imagine this as some sort of evil laugh because I thought this was his key to killing the Haitians so it gives him pleasure. In the last stanza, rita dove talks about the cane being in their dreams. I could imagine that the Haitians had to work in cane fields and that they were probably forced into that labour since it is “haunting” them. Then Rita Dove uses profanity diction like” lashed” and “streaming”. By using these words I thought Rita dove was referring to whipping since the Haitians were basically enslaved. After this reputation is used by saying they are lying down but for every drop of blood... This gives the reader the idea that since the general settled on a word (Trujillo word “perejil”) they are lying down and dead already. Finally refrain is used in the last two lines of the passage. I think what Rita dove is trying to say is that for every killing that is unfair there is still wealth going to general. Wealth is symbolized by the parrot because it is imitating spring (green is the color of money) which is the advantage for Trujillo.
When I first read the poem I knew that I had read about Trujillo previously before and it was not until I read your blog post that I realized it was from In Time of The Butterflies from freshman year! I too was aware that he was capable of massacring but did not know about the parsley executions. With all the imagery that Rita Dove uses, it makes people quick to make connections between the article and the poem. Especially the imagery of Trujillo makes one understand how capable of cruelty he is.
In the powerful article “The Farming of Bones” by Edwidge Danticat, it is shown the extent of desperation that will lead to poor decision making. This article describes the time when the Dictator of the Dominican Republic (Trujillo) wanted to twenty haitians executed. He did this by making them pronounce perejil with the spanish accent instead of the french that they were used. Perejil means parsley and if they failed to say it properly then they were executed and brutally tortured. In this article Amabelle tells us of the brutal punishment that her and her countrymen went through. At the start of the article she states “At that moment, I did believe that had I wanted to, I could have said the word properly, calmly, slowly, and they way I often asked “Perejil?””. A little later she proceeds to saying “But I didn’t get my chance”. Although it says she didn’t have a chance to say it properly it seems as though there is a sense of internal rebellion within Amabelle. She states that she has said it the correct way before so even though she did not have the chance she probably could have said it as she was about to get tortured if she was that desperate. There was an extreme sense of rebellion at the last line of the article when stated “You ask for perejil, I give you more”. This shows that no matter the hardships that they face, they will never succumb to the power and cruelness of Trujillo. They will always have self pride and the urge to fight against the autonomy.
I liked how you analyzed this expert and coming up with the overall impression that no matter what hardships they face they will never succumb to Trujillo. My question, however, is how Rita Dove poem "Parsley" conveys what is being told in "the Framing of Bones"?
In the first part (“The Cane Fields”) of the poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove effectively illustrates the suffering that Haitians encounter, and poses a clear connection to the novel The Farming of Bones. Before any explication, the main event throughout the poem must be identified: The Parsley Massacre conducted by General Rafael Trujillo. Trujillo was a dictator of the Dominican Republic, who attempted to increase the influence of the Dominicans by eliminating the Haitians. Estimated 20,000 Haitians were massacred in the process, and the poem “The Cane Fields” visibly illustrates their grief and persecution. The very first thing to notice is the use of allusion in the poem. There are multiples allusions that connect back to the Parsley Massacre, and one of them is “El General”. Without a doubt, the general refers to the cruel and merciless dictator Trujillo, who took the full charge in every little step of the tragedy. As we continue, there is another interesting allusion that appears, “We cannot speak an R”. Haitians, who spoke French and Creole, were incapable of pronouncing ‘r’. Haitians’ inability to pronounce ‘r’ flows smoothly to our next allusion, “El General has found his word: Perejil. Who says it, lives.” General Trujillo, noticing Haitians’ incapability, decides to sort out the race by forcing them to pronounce the word. This connects to one of the scenes in The Farming of Bones. The soldiers that caught the Haitian fugitives question, “‘Tell us what this is,’ one said. ‘Que diga Perejil.’” This scene of interrogation clarifies the allusion, as well as the punishment given to those who were identified as Haitians: death. Another interesting pattern that occurrs throughout the poem is the use of refrain. One very clear refrain was, “There is a parrot imitating spring”. Unlike many of my peers, I personally interpreted this refrain with positive connotation. The first reason why I did so is because spring generally contains a feeling of fresh start, brightness, and cheerfulness. I assumed that the same could be applied for the spring that the parrot imitates, which is a clear sign of upcoming hope. Another evidence was by actually looking at the start and the end date of the massacre. September of 1937 marked the beginning of the Parsley Massacre, and it came to an end around January of 1938. The time period in which the massacre broke out appears to be during fall and winter, usually the symbols of suffering and pain. On the other hand, the genocide came to an end as it approached spring, which enhances the idea that the “parrot imitating spring” signals the upcoming optimism and hope. Throughout the poem, Dove clearly creates an oppressive and harsh scene through the use of allusion, which reveals the meaningless deaths of thousands due to one dictator’s wrongdoings. However, at the same time, the use of refrain reveals the hidden hope beneath the surface, which gives the Haitians something to hold on to in the midst of such darkness. This universal message extends beyond the Parsley Massacre to the readers: There is always hope and optimism to look up to, despite the degrading and menial situation that we are currently in.
Joseph, I also blogged about the repetition of the phrase "There is a parrot imitating spring." I think the point that you bring up about the parrot, and its correlation to spring, representing hope and is interesting because I never considered that. In my blog post I talked about the progression of the parrot as a symbol of violence, which is quiet the opposite of how you saw it. I thought that your point made valid arguments, and I can see where both interpretations come form. From the side of the bird representing violence I think that it is important for you to realize the multiple references to the bird which were in the same sentence as allusions and mentioning of the Parsley Massacre and the mass-murder that is the subject of this poem. At the beginning of the poem, the bird is supposed to symbolize peace, beauty, and optimism as many birds do. But later in the poem, there is a sense of irony because the bird is the pet of a cruel dictator, and though the bird is still beautiful and peaceful, it is used in a context where it is associated with many horrible things.
In the poem “Parsley” Rita Dove writes about a leader in the Dominican Republic who treats his people unreasonably by killing them because they cannot pronounce a word correctly. He does this in order to release the anger he has regarding the sudden death of his mother. Dove uses symbolism and irony to explain the gruesome and unfair rule of El General over the Haitians. The poem talks about a parrot that imitates spring each year and cane that consistently appears in the swamp. The parrot symbolizes El General and the cane symbolizes El General’s deceased mother. We know this because Dove writes, “The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. And we lie down. For every drop of blood there is a parrot imitating spring”. The cane haunts the Haitians in their sleep because it is what makes El General kill them. The general looks at the cane and it reminds him of his mother which makes him want to kill. It is saying that for each person that is killed, the parrot is the cause, which means the parrot symbolizes El General. Dove uses irony when she writes, “Ever since the morning his mother collapsed in the kitchen while baking skull- shaped candies for the Day of the Dead, the general has hated sweets. He orders pastries brought up for the bird”. Recall that the bird symbolizes the general. Thus, it is ironic that he is ordering sweets for himself although they remind him of his mother and he says that he hates them. He reminds himself of his mother’s tragedy in order to find a place to release his anger: the Haitian people. This is similar to him using the Haitian’s poor grammar as an excuse to kill them and avenge his mother’s death.
Kyle, I agree with your representation of the symbols and the anaphora. I also agree with you on what eat means and their connections you made to the main characters in the story. For example how the cane makes the general want to kill. But I was wondering to what extent you say the hatian grammar effecting this? If there was a more in depth explanation?
I also wrote about “Parsley” by Rita Dove. I wrote about the cane and the people's fear of the cane. I did not write about the connection between the cane and Trujillo's mother. I definitely agree with your interpretation of how the death of his mother makes him want to kill. I found it very interesting how he described his mother's teeth as having arrowheads. This is weird because she is very well fed and is not starving. The people of the children of the Dominican Republic also gnaw their teeth to arrow heads. Perhaps the sugar rotted her teeth. I’m not exactly sure how his mother was in a situation where her teeth were gnawed to arrowheads. Maybe her death happens before Trujillo ruled.
Rita Dove’s poem “Parsley” is about in a time in the Dominican Republic when their dictator, Rafael Trujillo, ordered 20,000 Haitian blacks to be executed if they could not roll their R’s in the spanish word for parsley (“perejil”) correctly.
In this poem, something that really stood out to me was the motif of the parrot, and the repetition of the phrase “a parrot imitating spring,” which was repeated four separate times. This poem starts out with imagery involving a parrot.This is important because it relates to one of the maxims that we learned in class: if something is important that you want to use later, introduce it early. This is likely why the first thing that Rita Dove mentions is the parrot. By telling us that the parrot is green, Dove could be trying to tell the reader many things. When I read this I first recognized that green was the color of parsley, which is significant as it is the title of the poem. But after further thinking about the significance of Dove choosing to mention this, I associated green with nature or growth, which is often what the season Spring stands to represent. Coincidentally (or not), this is what the parrot is meant to symbolize in this poem. Later, in the simile: “like a parrot imitating spring,//we lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green,” the parrot and spring is compared to the Haitian cane workers (“we”) “lying down screaming,” which is an early reference to violence. This simile again brings up the color green, signifying how important it really is to the poem. The parrot is mentioned the next two times in progressively worse situations, transforming the image of the bird from something beautiful and peaceful, into an image associated with violence. The first is in relations to arrows, but the last reference to the parrot is accompanied in the same sentence by “every drop of blood” which is an allusion to part two of the poem, and the mass-murder of the Haitian workers.
I like your analysis of the changing meaning of the parrot, I hadn't even noticed that. I saw the refrain of "a parrot imitating spring", but I had difficulty deciphering the meaning. You mentioned the comparison the the Haitian cane workers, I wonder if you saw any significance in Dove's refrain of the word "cane" throughout the poem in conjunction with them being cane workers? I think this double meaning was intentional.
“Parsley” by Rita Dove is about the dictator of the Dominican Republic Trujillo, also known as El Jefe. As a high ranking military leader he overthrew the leader at the time and brought pain and sadness to the lands of the Dominican Republic. His leadership ended up causing a rebellion. Rita Dove uses Spanish, symbolism and exaggeration to create a sad tone and portray the awful situation to the reader. She writes, “El General has found his word: perejil”(Dove). Perejil means parsley which is also the title of the poem. It is believed that parsley grow for the wicked and not for the good. Also if parsley grows in a garden there will be death before the year is over. The symbolism represents how El Jefe is a wicked man which creates a sad tone because of what he will do to the Dominican people. Also the death before the year is over could represent his assassination or the killing of many others because of him. Dove writes, “The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads”(Dove). The exaggeration shows the reader how the children are chewing on their teeth due to hunger, or phrase they are sharpening their teeth to bite El Jefe. She also writes, “ He laughs, teeth shining out of the swamp” (Dove). His teeth being in a swamp represents how his mouth is a swamp. The swamp teeth symbolizes how he is a liar. The tone is sad because he is lying to the people of the Dominican Republic. Dove writes, “ The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming” (Dove). The Dominican people fear the cane season, a plant that is one of the main exports of the Dominican republic because they will be forced to work in the fields. The tone becomes sad because of the description of the workers being forced to work the cane fields.
Baylor, I agree with your Interpetation of this poem. In addition to the points you made, the poetic structure of the poem could further support your point. The use of causura and end stop in this poem supports the point you made about the Spanish symbolism of parsley. If parsley grows in a yard and death is sure to follow within a year, then the punctuation and pauses in the poem could represent the death of each worker. I really like your explanation and looks like you did some extensive research.
Baylor, I completely agree with your ideas on the general and how the cane affects his decisions. However, I made a connection between the cane and the general’s deceased wife that you did not write about. I believe this is an important connection to make to clearly understand “Parsley” because it seems that the anger the general carries after the death of his mother is what gives him the motive to kill so many innocent Haitians. Without the incident with his mother collapsing in the kitchen, El General may have still been a harsh ruler, but I doubt he would carry his anger to the extent of killing the Haitians because they could not pronounce the letter “R”.
In her poem "parsley" Rita dove uses repetition and irony to depict the cruelty and injustice acts committed on many Haitians. There's a big allusion in the poem in which the readers should know and that is the historical event caused by Rafael Trujillo( Dominican Republic dictator) to kill 20,000 blacks in Haiti, simply because they were unable to pronounce the letter "r". The first part of the poem " The Cane Fields", represents the situation in the point of view of a Haitian farm worker. Here, repetition and harsh negative imagery used by dove, portray the point. An example of negative and harsh imagery is " we lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green". Here, "screaming" and "punching" have a literal meaning and create a tone in which the readers are disturbed by the situation. Later dove writes, " Th cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming". Here, there's another allusion, the cane. This probably represents the cane the general carried. The use of negative nature imagery in this phrase, displays how the workers felt helpless and hopeless. The use of repitition also creates a tone, in which the audience grows worried. The phrases" there's sparrow imitating spring" and " the cane appears" are repeated throughout this part of the poem. Rita dove begins the first stanza by using these phrases, in fact the very first line states, " there's a parrot imitating spring". The last line of every stanza has one of these phrases written. The phrases Switch on every other stanza, to portray how the thoughts and mind of the workers jumped from place to place, but really they were only focused on these two phrases. The phrase" the cane appears" is used to portray how, the general, whom has the power to kill them, could appear anywhere. The second repeated phrase, "like a parrot imitating spring" is a metaphor to show the hopelessness of the workers. The parrot( itself an allusion, since the general had a parrot) is a bird. This bird could be free and fly far away but is caged inside the general's palace and repeated what he hears. Similarly the workers are slaved to the general and have no one escape. "Imitating spring" is to show how spring, a symbol for beauty and Happniess, is only imitated through the parrot and never actually found. The hope of a better life the workers posses, will never be found as a result of their condition. Also Rita dove structures this poem with caesura and end stops. This poetic structure further pushes on the tone of the poem. The constant stops and pauses, create a tone of hopelessness in the readers' minds, since similar to line, the workers' lives will soon come to end or be destructed.
In her poem “Quick”, Rita Dove uses an exemplary situation of ballroom dance in order to send a universal message on the importance of grasping an ephemeral opportunity. I interpreted and divided the poem into three sections, each containing different features and stages. The first three stanzas can be grouped as the first section of the poem, with their common distinctive qualities. What ties the first three stanzas together is the clear illustration of the calm and shy boy at the ballroom dance. The boy finds a beautiful lady at the dance, too beautiful that he cannot even dare to directly stare: “Wink of fuzz in the headlights”. Yet he does not attempt to make any further movement than to stare at her from the dark and hidden corner, as Dove writes, “he peers from the culvert, all bobble and twitch, vacant eyes”. The boy feels completely drawn into the majestic lady whom he has discovered, yet he cannot dare to make any sort of movement, thus clearly depicting his shyness and stillness. One poetry device that enhances such illustration is the use of end-stops. Five of six lines in the first section pause with the end-stop, which causes the readers’ thoughts to pause as well. This connects to the calmness, stillness, and slow progression that the boy experiences at the ballroom dance. The next two stanzas (fourth and fifth) paint a mysterious and secretive picture in readers’ minds, and associate the lady as a symbol of opportunity. First, Rita Dove uses metaphor in order to accomplish this goal. In the fourth stanza, Dove describes her as, “On the hill, there crested in moonshine the fabled silhouette”. The lady at the ballroom dance is described as a secretive yet appealing creature, allowing the readers to interpret her figuratively in many different ways. One of the options was to interpret and associate the lady as a symbol of opportunity. Such association comes from the fact that the appealing and attractive chances in people’s lives do not come so directly, but it is rather concealed and shines even brighter for that reason. Also, the use of magnetic diction delivers a similar impact. Words like “fabled”, or “flamboyant” present in the stanza are often used in the occasions when something or someone is highly appealing or charming. Therefore, the use of magnetic diction adds to the previous interpretation of opportunity, and causes it to appear ever more appealing. Finally, the last four stanzas are considered a third section, with a common theme of ephemeral opportunities. Even thought the boy sights such an attractive lady at the dance, he’s too shy to approach her and hesitates to make movement toward her. And soon, the far-too-long hesitance causes the woman (opportunity) to disappear in front of his eyes. Rita Dove depicts, “she disappears: red swish or gray, too quick to tell”. In addition, Dove enhances this quick disappearance through the use of enjambment. Four of seven lines in the final section continue on to the next line with enjambment, creating a non-stop and rapid pace. Therefore, despite the wonderful experience of sighting an opportunity, the boy simply stands there and watches it rapidly disappear, which clarifies Rita Dove’s message to grasp and cling on to the opportunity that you encounter.
When I read this poem I was really confused about what was going on. Phrases like "look, a baby one" and "where's mother" (both italicized) thew me off, guard. After reading your interpretation of this poem, it really cleared this poem up of me. But I am still wondering why Rita Doves use those phrases and decide to italicize it. Since you didn't include it in your blog I want to ask you the reason you think she does this based off your interpretation.
In this poem, I think that Rita Dove is expressing how the art of dancing is her escape when times are difficult. In the first line, it says, “We were dancing”. Rita Dove doesn't try to sugar-coat it and gets to the point that dancing is what she is going to be talking about. The she explains the process of the dance making it sounds very arousing, but it requires focus. After she says this Rita Dove uses caesura for a dramatic stop before she juxtaposes the two words “perfect” and agony” summarizing the feel of the dance. Then after this line, this is where Dove reveals that dancing is something special to her by saying "one learns to smile though ecstatic mimicry”. The juxtaposition of “ecstatic” and “mimicry” and gives the meaning that positivity can spread through interaction whether is through dancing or any sort of activity because if one smiles the other does too. She then says that this escape is what American Smooth is all about. After this Rita Dove conveys that doing an activity you like can allow you to escape from reality. She does by forgetting how still the person she was dancing with was (because she focused on the performing the dance). Using a parenthetical to give us an actual feel of forgetfulness, Rita Dove questions the past " for two measures? for?". After the parenthetical Dove finishes this poem with the use of positive diction including “achieved”, “swift”, “serene”, and “magnificence”. The positive diction helps describes how beautiful life is when you escape and set your mind free. She then ends it in a lyrical way by using alliteration “ before the earth remembered who we were and brought us down”. I think what Rita Dove means when saying this is that you're only happy and distracted for the time being before eventually low points reality strikes again.
I really liked your view on the poem as you really looked into the depth of the poem. The first thing that caught my attention was the imagery that she used in the poem. At first she states “into the next song without stopping, two chests heaving above a seven-league stride...”. Later in the poem she states “(the leftward lean, head turned just enough to gaze out past your ear and always smiling, smiling)”. The segments of imagery really show how truly happy and free from reality she feels when dancing.
I thought that this view of the poem "American Smooth" was very insightful. When analyzing this poem I wasn't quite sure what to thin, but I too noticed the juxtaposition of the phrase "perfect agony." I thought this poem was clearly about dancing not only because of her direct stating, but also because of the language she used, much of which relates to dancing. I really liked that you found a deeper meaning to this poem because before reading your blog post I was confused on how to interpret it, but this helped me a lot.
I also wrote about “American Smooth”. The only topic in the poem we both talked about was the “perfect agony”. I didn't write about the caesura which in retrospect would have been a good literary device to analyze. I do agree though that the “perfect agony” summarizes the dance. I also like how you talked about the diction at the end of the poem because I agree with you saying it describes how beautiful life can be when someone set their mind free. I did notice you did not write about her achieving flight or at least asking if she had. I felt this was a very important part of the poem but perhaps you feel otherwise.
“Fox” is a very impactful poem that is very easily connected with society today. The poem discusses a woman who is happy and content with herself. She does not need what most women feel like they need in their life to be whole, a man. Repetition and anaphora in this poem really puts emphasis on how important she is and what is truly important in her life. By starting many sentences with the word “she”, help convey that herself is the main thing she needs in life to be happy and does not need to rely on others to bring her happiness. The words “was” and “which was” appear a lot to show that everything is always something. She makes the most of everything and what she has is truly enough for her. This contradicts a common issue in society of everyone wanting what they can not have. However in the poem it is stated “she loved nothing more than what she had”. Another issue in society is body image, particularly with girls. Research has proven, that after going through puberty, many girls on the western hemisphere are discontent and starve themselves because of their feeling about their body. The weight gain that occurs is often very unwelcome by girls and they therefore become very sad and disapproving of their body. A very powerful line in this poem states “she loved what she was”. Although this can be describing her mental and emotional state, I imagined it describing her physical appearance. This poem is a very meaningful piece that portrays a girl who has a lot of self pride and content unlike many other women in modern society.
Ammel, I thought it was very interesting how closely you contradicted the woman in the poem from teenage girls in today's society. Your interpretation made perfect sense to me, how teens in our society are often times unsatisfied for not having enough, whether it be worldly possessions or physical appearance. I interpreted the poem as a woman who is oppressed by the influence and superiority of men, and how she clearly stands up against such inequality. But personally, I think your interpretation makes much more sense in terms of context and literary features, and I also think the point you brought up about repetition and anaphora smoothly fit your interpretation.
I agree with both you and Joseph. Teenagers in modern day society and the women in the poem there are many things that can be related. I really liked the point you made about the use of the word "she" especially if we relate it to a teenager and how lost this ideal can be. I really enjoyed how you paralleled and contracted Dove's words with society. Do you think this is a structure and goal modern day teenage girls should strive for? Or do you think that this is an unrealistic goal for teenage girls?
Ammel, it is interesting that you viewed the girl in this poem as not needing a man in her life to be happy. Yes, it seems that she is content and confident without one, however I think that this is the reason she does not have a man in her life. Dove writes, “She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle”. It seems that this girl is not spoiled in possessions, however she is in love with herself. A relationship is not possible for her because she is so confident and focused on herself that she could not possibly show care and affection for another person for an extended period of time.
In her poem "Ta Ta Cha Cha", Rita Dove uses the title as an allusion to create a rhythm in her poem, as well as various other literary features within her poem to emphasize this. Throughout the poem, Dove uses visual imagery as well. She uses this imagery to create a real life application for the poem. This imagery includes things such as: "pluck his crackerjack prize," "a child's dropped gelato cone." and "face hidden by a dirty wingspan of the daily newspaper.". These quotes are used to allow the reader to make personal connections to the poem. Most people in our modern day society can visualize someone walking down the street with a newspaper sprawled across their face. Dove also uses heavy bird imagery throughout the poem. This bird imagery relates to the sense of freedom she feels while dancing. This also relates to one of our motifs, "Flight is freedom". This use of motif and imagery shows how though the dance Dove does not feel bound by earth's rules. These rules include "I'm American, besandaled and backpacked,". Even though many of those rules may not be recognized at surface levels, there are many societal rules that put pressure on any given person. This can relate to Dove's other poem in American Smooth called "Fox" which relates to a girl and her confidence despite everything else.
I agree with your interpretation of the poem and really like it. When reading your post, I noticed something in your quote that could further support your point. In the quote “I'm American, besandaled and backpacked," the terminology and allusion of “besandled” and “backpacked” could also prove the sense of freedom she feels when dancing. When you think of a backpacker, for example, you think of someone travelling without attachment to a certain place. Here this is used to exemplify that feeling- just moving forward, not attached to anything and feeling free.
The poem “Fox” by Rita Dove is a perfect example of how the form affects the meaning of a poem. In this poem, the repetition and anaphora, as well as the structure of the lines are the main, and perhaps only, identifiers to the meaning. Anaphora is demonstrated in this poem through the use of “She” at the beginning of every sentence. This use depicts how the woman being described here is the only subject of the poem. Showing how she is the only person that matters in her life, this emphasizes the importance of loving oneself, having confidence and ultimately being content with being alone. Repetition in this poem is another contributor to the meaning. There are two words, one in each stanza, which are repeated. One is “imagine”, which is used in the first stanza, and the other is “nothing”, used in the second stanza. The repetition of “imagine” is symbolic for how the only matter in her mind, the only imaginations or dreams that she has are of her succeeding in her life. This displays that she has high goals and confidence, which is also emphasized when Dove writes “ She loved what she was…”. This woman described is self-assured and self-reliant, further displaying why Dove repeats the word “imagine” to show that the only thing she imagines is herself. This concept is also the reason Dove uses the word “nothing” in the second stanza. “Nothing” is for showing how she doesn’t need anything else, or anyone else in her life to satisfy her. The last sentence says “ She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle”. This suggests how this woman was content with not having a man to love, that loving herself was the only love she needed. The last poetic device used by Dove is the line structure. She uses short lines to display a persistent, transparent and fixed tone. A line that is long with a lot of commas, usually gives the audience the impression that there's more to the meaning than what is described, but the short, bold, simple words used here, create a satisfying a lucid tone. Dove uses this to highlight how important it is in this society, for women to feel satisfied with themselves, and be independent of others’ acceptance and love.
In “Quick” Rita Dove uses a metaphor to compare people to foxes and the way they think. People are constantly looking for love, when many times it is not completely achieved or a distraction from what matters the most. In the poem, a baby fox is searching for his mother but she is hiding from him. She is leaving her child, to grow independently, as she continues her life without the stress of watching out for a child. Dove focuses on the fox’s tail as she writes, “ On the hill, there- crested in moonshine the fabled silhouette, sleek curve plumpening into a tail waving its flamboyant afterthought”. The fox’s tail symbolizes independence as it waves goodbye to it’s child. Rather than sleeping in a den, red fox’s obtain warmth by curling up with their fluffy tail during winter. This creates a tone of sadness and confusion because the reader has a hard time understanding how someone can walk away from their child so easily and without hesitation. The fact that the reader has a hard time understanding this proves Dove’s point; people become too attached and focused on their children that they forget to live their own life. Dove is not suggesting that mothers leave their kids behind to fend for themselves, instead she wants the reader to recognize that at some point the child needs to learn independently. Dove ends the poem by writing, “O to be gone like that, no grief nor thought of love- pure purpose poured into flight”. The maxim “flight equals freedom” is used in this passage in order to stress the idea of giving children the opportunities to learn through independent experience rather than holding their hand through each step in life.
In Rita Dove’s poem “Fox Trot Fridays,” there is a certain rhythm that is similar to the dance the fox trot as well: long and flowing. Dove creates this effect by having the lines spread out upon many stanzas with a consistent structure to elongate the poem, as well as make it flow smoothly. Dove also uses enjambment throughout the whole poem. There are only two instances of caesuras in the whole poem, and only one sentence end, although there are a few endstops. This style of poetry makes the poem flow well without a lot of pausing, more like one full motion, similar to the dance the fox trot. Her word choice furthers the idea of the style of the writing reflecting the style of the dance with her use of words like “lift,” “smooth,” and “sweep.” These are all words that could also be used to describe people who are dancing the fox trot dance. Not only does Rita Dove use style and structure to depict a fox trot dance, but the idea of the poem is rather romantic, in that it is a man and a woman dancing the fox trot together. The fox trot is often considered a romantic dance, and Dove uses this with her diction and language to create an intimate feel much like the dancers are feeling whilst they dance this beautiful dance.
In “American Smooth” by Rita Dove is about her and another person ballroom dancing. She uses exaggeration, personification, and oxymoron to create a happy tone. Dove uses exaggeration because it brings attention to an important point in the poem catching the reader's attention. She writes, “we had done it (for two measures? four?)-- achieved flight”(Dove). The exaggeration of her achieving flight portrays to the reader a sense of freedom. Flight is associated with freedom and flying for the first time would be a moment of happiness. The tone of happiness is shown through this happiness and freedom created by her short first flight. Dove also uses an oxymoron because they help show that there are two sides to one word. She also writes, “such perfect agony”(Dove). This is an oxymoron because perfect and agony are contradicting words. Even though there is agony which is not a happy feeling the agony is perfect because she is accomplishing her goal of dancing beautifully. There is agony and hard work in nearly everything humans do to succeed but in the end there is still happiness. The reader understands how the hard work she is putting into the poem may cause her agony but in the end will bring her joy. She also uses personification to help create the happy tone. She writes, “before the earth remembered who we were and brought us down”(Dove). Although it may seem sad for the earth to bring her back down it seems to be something that she expected. It is almost a challenge to fly again. The earth is their adversary and they have to fight it to achieve flight again. The reader gets the impression that she could fly again with enough effort creating a happy tone. Overall this challenge may seem sad but could still bring joy.
I really like your interpretation of this poem. The idea of flight and freedom was really interesting. I also wrote about the oxymoron or paradox of "such perfect agony". I disagree that it's about the reader seeing how hard Dove worked on the poem, I think it's about dancing itself. Countless hours of practice are put in for mere minutes of performance that must be perfect. I believe that's the perfect agony she talks about. I do however agree with the happy tone of the poem, I discussed that as well in my post.
In "Lady Freedom Among Us", Rita Dove establishes a commanding tone to remind her audience how hard victories in civil rights were worked for, and how the country must continue to strive for freedom. This is seen in the consistent use of enjambment throughout the poem. It flows less, making the poem seem harsher. It also contains no punctuation, and is in all lowercase letters. This is done to make the poem not flow as well and less smooth. When one commands someone else to do something, it isn’t smooth, it tends to be more choppy and harsh. This is why Dove chooses to omit punctuation and get rid of capital letters. Another example is the repetition of “don’t” throughout the poem. This warns the reader not to forget how hard we must work for civil rights. This is especially shown in, “don’t cross to the other side of the square/ don’t think another item to fit on a tourist’s agenda”. The previous stanza alludes to the Statue of Liberty, a long-standing symbol of freedom for America and the rest of the world. Dove warns the reader to not ignore it, and to remember what it stands for. In the eighth stanza, Dove directly tells the reader, “don’t think you can ever forget her/ don’t even try”. Again, the anaphora of “don’t” adds to the commanding tone, and contributes to her message about the constant fight for civil rights.
The poem’s title, “Lady Freedom Among Us” is an allegory for the Statue of Liberty. It symbolizes freedom, a very important theme in the “Civil Rights Movement” poems. The repetition of “with her” in the third stanza helps to emphasize the important of this in the poem. It also adds to the idea that the poem is speaking of her, “with her old-fashioned sandals/ with her leaden skirts”. The Statue of Liberty wears sandals and heavy skirts. Including this monument in the poem adds to the idea of freedom that Dove stresses as well.
In her poem "The Abduction", Rita Dove uses many different literary features and methods to tell her story. In this poem Dove tells the story of a Black who as can be inferred by the title, was abducted. But the catch is that this person did have "free papers". This means that the person who ended up in captivity was by law considered a free person. Dove uses a lot of allusions in the first stanza. She references Solomon Northrup, Brown, and Hamilton. All people who had been severely effected by slavery in their lifetime. When the citizen such as these very important and notables "clotted" the avenue, the audience can assume Dove is talking about Pennsylvania avenue, the address of the White House. This somewhat upbeat tone in the first three stanzas, turns as the poem progresses, which is also reflected in the structure of the poem. The first stanza is a quintet and then the next is a quatrain, each decreasing until the last line of the poem stands on its own. This last line reads: "I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains." Dove uses this change in tone to show how while many may have a very full and happy quality of life, this can change. Especially when slavery works its way into someones life.
I also had similar views about this poem. I like your analysis of the structure of the poems (quintet, quatrain, etc.). This was an excellent device that Dove employed to show the changing tone that you mentioned. I also believe the added anaphora/repetition of "I" statements from the third stanza on helped to show the tone shift. Phrases such as “I floated on water I could not drink. Though the pillow/ was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep”. I also believe that this tone shift was associated with waking up from his dream of freedom from slavery.
Rita Dove expresses the point of view of Belinda in the year 1782 and her argument for a petition. Belinda was enslaved by the Royall family, in Medford, Massachusetts. In Isaac Royall Jr. will she proposed that his daughter shall have the right to have Belinda if she doesn't choose her freedom. If she does choose her freedom she gets security and will not be charged by the town to Medford. He then instructed Willis Hall (Isaacs friend) to give Belinda 30 euros for 3 years in 1768. In 1781, Isaac dies and then she started to get paid. Then in 1783, Belinda presented a petition to Massachusetts general court, which requested her and her daughter to receive a pension from the proceeds of Isaac's estate. Massachusetts legislature approved an annual pension of 15 pounds and 12 shillings to be paid from the estate. In the first stanza, irony and alliteration is used. The irony is used when Belinda said “ I will not take too much of your time” because in reality she's the one who's been working so hard and deserves all the time she needs because of her rights back then. After this alliteration is used with the words “ plead”,” place”, and “pitiable". This is a way Rita Dove's chooses to emphasises Belinda desperateness to have a say. Overall Rita Dove is conveying in the first stanza that Belinda wanted to just have a say because of all she's been through. In the second stanza, Rita Dove is saying that the countrymen had been easing the oppression of blacks lately and she hopes they can alleviate the oppression with her too. Belinda is hoping she can talk all she wants about her current condition. Rita does capitalizes air and advantage to emphasise the freedom of speech here. In the last stanza, she talks about the accusation that she is ignorant by the conception of whites, Rita Dove then uses the phrase from the actual petition "on the Banks of the Rio de Valta”. The banks of the Rio de Valta in Ghana and she is expressing how she existed there. Then in a sarcastic tone Rita Dove exclaims Belinda view of her being ignorant fo them because she didn't expect them coming and taking her. Finally with the use of a simile Rita Dove expresses how else could I know these white men (faces like the moon because the moon is white) were going to take her up for 12 years. So to summarize this stanza she is asking why is she ignorant if in the first place she didn't expect this to happen and that is it wasn't even her choice for this event to even happen.
Daniel, I really appreciate your analysis because it includes many points that I have not realized before as I was color marking them. One of them was the phrase, "I will not take too much of your time". I interpreted that sentence literally, without bothering to dig deeper into it. However, after reading your analysis, her claim sounds rather sarcastic and bitter, as Belinda is mocking the fact that she won't take very long to express her pleas, as opposed to the title of slavery that had oppressed her for the past years. But one thing that I might add to your analysis is the part about "Lately your Countrymen have severed the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope you would consider the Same for me". You analyzed it as countrymen easing the oppression, but I had a different interpretation on it. I thought it was referring to the fact that the colonies were finally freed from British control, and that now it's America's turn to let go of its control over slavery.
In the poem “The situation is intolerable” Rita Dove discusses the brutal and difficult times the blacks went through. It seems that they are unable to act the same as whites because they are uncivilized. However they are just as civilized, if not even more civilized than whites. When stated “but the stars- tiny, missionary stars-” I thought the stars described the stars on the national flag. Even throughout all the flames and tragedy, the stars representing the “unified nation” kept everyone civilized. Later in the poem it states “if we ain't got a pot to piss in and nowhere to put it if we did?”. This shows how whites are arrogantly forcing them to be uncivilized by not giving them the opportunity to be sanitary, yet complain that they behave in an uncivilized manner. This is a still problem that occurs in society today. Another main issue is evident when Dove stated “Our situation is intolerable, but what's worse is to sit here and do nothing.” This is very similar to society today when people complain of others actions yet do nothing to stop or help the issue. In this situation, blacks feel very helpless and almost at the point where they just want to give up because they don't know how to help benefit their situation. This poem clearly conveys the miserable thoughts that went through the blacks mind when going through this traumatic time.
Ammel, your interpretation of the poem is really well! I agree with what you said about the representation of the stars. I believe the stars are also a symbol of hope, a symbol of how the stars on our flag are representative of hope, but they are questioned here because the narrator doesn't see much hope or justice. Where you said that whites don't give blacks the opportunity to be sanitary yet they complain about this issue and how it occurs in society today, how is it evident in society today? Maybe giving a couple examples of its similar effect on society would make your point stronger:) The next part, where you talked about doing actions and not doing actions, was really interesting for me because I hadn't thought about it that way. You make a strong point here by explaining how blacks feel about this situation.
The Abduction In this poem, Rita Dove tells the story of former slave, who had been freed, but put back in chains. Through use of allusions of specific historically significant people, Dove tells this story. One of these figures, Solomon Northup, was a famous abolitionist, who is very known for writing the memoir “Twelve Years a Slave”. The content of this memoir are about a slave, who was freed, but then again sold into slavery, even though he had his free papers. Northrup is used in this poem, therefore, to give the similar situation to the subject of the poem. The other historical figures, Brown, Hamilton and Harrison, are also very well known abolitionists, and are referred to further highlight the narrator's desire for freedom. In the first two stanzas, Dove writes about how glorious and successful these abolitionists’ work has been, therefore creating a joyous tone for the readers, but this feeling is contradicted in the second stanza, when Dove writes “ The wages were good. While Brown’s tall hat collected pennies at the tent flap, Hamilton’s feet did a jog on a tightrope” (Dove). This creates an ironic tone since, “the wages” described as being “good” don’t appear to be so good by the jobs of Hamilton and Brown. This portrays how the narrator sees the works of the abolitionists as nothing more of an act, that seems to appear like a philanthropic motion, but is really not making a significant difference on the lives of the slaves. The form of this poem also gives a significant depth to the meaning, as it really is an epitome of how the form of the poem affects its meaning. The number of lines in the stanzas decrease from a quintet all the way to the last stanza being one sentence only. This is to show how the hope of the narrator is somewhat disappearing as he/she gets closer to their reality. The last line depicts this by saying,” I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains”.
Golbon, your interpretation of this poem was great. When I read this I didn't even notice the significance the stanzas decreasing in lines until I read your blog. I also liked how you pointed out the irony in this poem as well. When I blogged about Belinda petition I also found iron so maybe it is a style Rita Dove uses to convey slavery? But when I read this I interpreted a bit differently. Of course, I agree with this being about these three famous abolitionists, but when Rita dove asked Why should I have doubted them? and then at the end said her wold up alone to find her self in the dark and in chains it made me think she was trying to convey that back then it was hard to trust anyone and that nothing was guaranteed.
I really like the poem you chose because I have seen the movie 12 years a slave and the poem lines up with the plot of the movie. I like how you talk about how the mood changes in the poem, because in the movie the mood changes so fast form happy to sad. I also like how you pointed the decreasing lines because it it definitely does seem like his hope is disappearing. I think if the poem continued to when he got released the stanzas would continue to get bigger and bigger because of his new hope for a happy life. I really like the last line which you talked about because it is so moving. The reader feels so bad for him. He just went from having everything to having nothing.
Golbon, you viewed this poem as the story of a man who was freed and then later put in chains for the second time. This is an interesting thought. I viewed it as a man who lived on the streets for years as a free man and then was captured as a slave for the first time. The first time reading the poem, I instantly thought of money when Dove wrote about Northrup;s “free papers” because this is something he would lose when he became a slave, showing his lack of freedom. However, your interpretation makes a lot of sense too. Also it seems that you did much more research on Solomon Northrup than I did. For this reason I trust your idea of Northrup’s free papers being papers that confirm he is no longer a slave, more than I do my own idea.
In the poem “The House Slave”, Rita Dove clearly illustrates the difficulty of living as house slaves. The main hardship that the poem focuses on is the early morning task given to them, or forced to the slaves. The poem opens up with the phrase, “The first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass”, signaling the wake-up call for the house slaves in sleep. Dove uses personification to describe the simple, everyday routine, for the purpose of dramatizing the event along with the suffering that follows. Moving along, another interesting point that follows is the juxtaposition that Dove uses in comparing the situations for the house slaves and their masters. First the rich and comfortable life of the slave owners is described as, “Mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick” and “Massa dreams of asses, rum and slave-funk.” The luxurious and lavish diction used in the phrases such as “ivory”, “asses”, and “rum” clearly represents the rich and comfortable life that masters enjoy. In addition, these descriptions also clarify the fact that the slave owners are still asleep, as opposed to the house slaves who wake up even before the sunrise. After such comfortable and luxurious description owners, what follows is the descriptions of suffering that the house slaves are forced to endure in the early morning. In the third stanza, Rita Dove writes, “At the second horn, the whip curls across the backs of the laggards”. Those who did not wake up at the blow of the first horn are met with harsh punishment, which is clearly depicted in the description. Such description is clearly miles away from what it had been for the owners, and they rather contradict and juxtapose each other. The last interesting literary element that I discovered is the use of enjambment throughout the poem. This particular poem consists of multiple enjambment, especially at the beginning. Enjambment may be simply defined as the running-over of the line or the continuation of thoughts, yet it delivers much influential effects for the readers. For example, in this scenario, enjambment is used in order to enhance the feeling of rush in the morning. Because enjambment drags the readers to the next line without a proper stop for each line, it can rather cause confusion, bafflement, or rush for the readers. This can be effectively tied back to the idea of busy and cumbersome morning that house slaves encounter, as they are forced and rushed to shake off their sleepiness with harsh punishment such as whipping.
In “The Abduction” by Rita Dove, the subject is in a dream in the first two stanzas, then he wakes up and remembers he is on a boat, and on his way to a new life, albeit a horrible one. In the first stanza, Dove writes, “my new friends Brown and Hamilton by my side”. John Brown was an abolitionist who believed rebellion was the only way to win freedom. Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers, was also an ardent abolitionist, and published writings on slavery before his death. Brown was born just four years prior to Hamilton’s death, so only in the narrator’s dreams could he meet them both, and fight for freedom with them. The poem also mentions Solomon Northrup, another abolitionist who was the main author of “Twelve Years a Slave”. Northrup was born an additional four years after Brown, so he would never have had any interaction with Hamilton either. The juxtaposition of all these abolitionists that would likely never meet helps prove that the poem is a description of a dream. The second stanza also alludes to a circus, “Hamilton’s feet did a jig on a tightrope”. This could be a connection to the minstrel shows that made fun of African-Americans commonly performed post-Civil War. The shift in tone to the narrator waking up from the dream begins in the last line of the fourth stanza, “…and I fiddled”. The repetition of “I” statements shows the reader where the shift to waking up is. In the final three stanzas, there is a lot of anaphora of “I”. This is where the narrator wakes up from his dream of the abolitionists bringing freedom, and realizes the reality of his situation, likely on the middle passage, alluded to by, “I floated on water I could not drink”, which is probably seawater. “I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains”. The conditions on the middle passage were horrific, and the slaves were chained very tightly together in the darkness.
Belinda's Petition In 1780 the Massachusetts constitution was approved and it took until 1783 to abolish slavery. Belinda had been born in Africa and was kidnapped into America. In 1783 she petitioned for her freedom because slavery was abolished in the state she was in. She uses alliteration, capitalization, and a simile to create a strong tone. She uses alliteration because it helps the words flow and brings attention to them. She writes, “but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation”(Dove). The use of alliteration brings emphasis to the words. Also the repeated alliteration almost creates a sound of desperation. It is desperation in a strong way. Even if they say no she will keep fighting because she is strong. Her willingness to keep fighting creates a strong tone. She also uses capitalization throughout the sentences when not normally needed. She writes, “...pure Air being the sole Advantage of which I can boast in my present Condition”(Dove). It almost seems like those are the words she raises her voice at if the poem was being said aloud. They are also all words that it would be important to bring emphasis to because they are the main point of what she is talking about. This portrays a strong tone to the reader because she is loud and proud when advocating for her rights. She also uses a simile to describe a group of people as if she had just heard them for the first time in Africa. Dove writes, “I have known of the Men with Faces like the Moon”(Dove). Obviously they are seen as having faces like the moon because they are white, but it seems like she would make a simile to something more scary. Perhaps in her culture the moon is seen differently. The way she phrases the whole sentence especially the “I have known” part creates a very strong tone because it seems like she is talking from her past and current hatred of what they have done.
I too thought that this poem was very interesting. I noticed that the poem used a lot of diction that almost mocked the government. The tone of the poem was seemingly sarcastic. Dove also used a lot of diction that reflected on enslavement, but contrasted this with words that showed freedom. To me, this represented that fact that although she was not under the control of the Royall family any more, she was still far from true freedom.
In the poem “The Abduction” Dove writes about a captured slave and the way his captivity affects the way he views the life he had prior to his abduction. While Solomon Northrup was a free man, he was upset with his lack of success and possessions. Dove gets this point across as she writes, “The wages were good. While Brown’s tall hat collected pennies at the tent flap, Hamilton’s feet did a jig on a tightrope, pig squealed invisibly from the bleachers and I fiddled”. Dove uses a hyperbole here in saying Northrup’s fiddling was not even worthy of the pig’ ears. It seems that the pennies Brown collects would be a fortune for Northrup. However, after researching Northrup I know that he made his money when he was free as a musician. As he looks back at his life as a free man, he becomes less ashamed of the small fortune he received from performing and wishes he could live this life again and play his fiddle for the invisible pigs. This creates a tone of sympathy because the reader realizes that this man’s life as a slave is so terrible, he misses the days he walked the streets as a poor man. In the end of the poem, Dove writes, “I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains”. Often times when people think of slavery, they think of the awful things plantation owners did to their slaves. This list includes starving, whipping, or pulling slaves away from their families. I’m sure Northrup’s owner made his life very painful and I’m sure he missed his friends Brown and Hamilton. However, in this poem Dove writes not about the physical pain slaves had to deal with. Instead Dove believed the main problem with slavery was the idea of being owned by another person. Northrup wakes up almost overnight in chains, and he would stay locked up for the next twelve years. The chains symbolize a lack of freedom or control a slave has over their life during this time period.
I think you interpreted and analyzed this poem very well. I agree that Dove’s purpose of the poem was to get sympathy because of the emotional trauma that these slaves went through. Often times the mental trauma is much more overpowering than the physical trauma done to these slaves. It makes me wonder if the whites were truly satisfied with the damage they intended to do since the blacks were more disturbed emotionally instead of disturbed physically by the abuse that happened. This poem also very clearly symbolizes the chains as a lack of freedom that the blacks had.
I had previously read about the atrocities of Trujillo in “In the Time of the Butterflies”, by Julia Alvarez. However, the article, “The Farming of Bones”, by Edwidge Danticat delved even more into it. I had never heard of the parsley killings that Rita Dove’s poem, “Parsley” delves in to. In the article, it describes Trujillo’s men as beating up the Dominicans, and force-feeding them parsley. The Dominicans can never tell when it will happen, and live in constant fear. “Parsley” illustrates this fear through the refrain of , “out of the swamp, the cane appears”. Swamps have the connotation of being dark and mysterious, and can provoke a sense of foreboding. Dove’s use of ‘swamp’ helps to show how the Dominicans could never tell when their next beating could appear, and lived in constant fear. Trujillo ran a dictatorship based on fear, so he relied on that to keep his people in line. Dove shows this fear through the anaphora of “we lie down”. It’s used in both the third and final stanzas to show how the Dominicans were submissive to Trujillo’s rule, because their only other option was death or imprisonment. She successfully shows hard hard it was to live like this. Negative imagery is also used to establish a fearful tone. “as rain punches through”. The word punch references the beatings the Dominicans may receive, and personifies the violent nature of the rain. These both have negative connotations, adding to the fearful tone. Other words such as, “drop of blood”, and “gnaw their teeth to arrowheads” also create an atmosphere of death and fear.
In “The Situation is Intolerable” by Rita Dove, many interesting themes including race, poverty, wealth, and looks can be found. This poem shows Rita Dove’s portrayal of a view of African-American experience during the time that the poem represents. There is a feeling of tension and division through Dove’s use of the word intolerable which is something that is unable to be endured. This is connected to the lack of rights that the African-Americans were given. Surprisingly, Rita Dove uses a calm tone throughout the poem This could be to show that although there is a lot of chaos, and unfairness happening, the people who want rights do not want to be brought down to the level of the people committing these injustices. The poem shows that between the two groups of people (privileged and not), there was a clear divide and an unresolved problem between how they behave around each other, as well as how they think of each other. Rita dove relates these poems to our lives today where people are still treated differently due to their differences, and makes the poem as relateable as possible to things that still occur in our everyday society to help the reader understand what it was like. This poem’s message is that no matter what your differences are, it shouldn’t matter and everyone should be treated the same and not oppressed, specifically referring the the civil right’s time period.
The poem, “American Smooth”, by Rita Dove includes lots of allusions to dance. American Smooth is a group of social partner dances including the fox trot, waltz, and the tango. It being a partner dance shows how Rita Dove relies on her husband, especially following the loss of her home. Dove uses a mixture of caesura and enjambment throughout the poem to show the contradictions of dance. There’s both stiffer movements (enjambment), and softer more flowing movements (caesura). Dove also uses paradoxes to illustrate this, “such perfect agony/ one learns to smile through”. Dancing is painful and a lot of ridiculously hard work, but the end result is beautiful. The most important thing is to smile and make it seem as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. Dove also discusses this serenity, “that swift and serene magnificence,/before the earth/remembered who we were/and brought us down”. When dancing, it can seem as if the world disappear, which is shown by Dove. She also discusses being brought down. Dove used dance as an escape from her sorrow after her house burned down. She felt temporary serenity and bliss, and she expresses this in her poetry. Another example of this serenity she feels when she dances is the anaphora of “smiling”. It’s repeated twice in a row to really get her point across, and add to the poem’s blissful tone. Parentheses are also used in “American Smooth” to show the reader Dove’s internal thoughts. The repetition of “smiling” falls within one of the sets of parentheses, which also demonstrates how serene dancing makes Dove feel.
This one is about “Demeter, Waiting”. In most of the “Mother Love” poems, Rita Dove uses both enjambment and caesura relatively equally, with maybe a slight emphasis on one or the other depending on the tone of the poem. One key exception to this however, is “Demeter Waiting”. All of the lines but three use enjambment. “is to put love into her pocket-“, “philosophers, or a war-bound soldier.” and, “over. Then I will sit down to wait for her. Yes.” both use caesura. Enjambment generally gives off a more negative or harsh tone, which fits well with the mood of the poem. Demeter describes the pain and loss she feels while her daughter whiles away the fall and winter in Hades’ realm. “She is gone again and I will not bear/ it, I will drag my grief through a winter/ of my own making” (Dove). Without Persephone, Demeter can’t be happy, so she creates a winter out of her own grief. Using evocative language such as ‘bear’, ‘drag’, and ‘grief’ also helps create the negative tone, along with Dove’s frequent use of enjambment.
ReplyDeleteThe two lines that Dove uses caesura as opposed to enjambment on are very important as well. “is to put love into her pocket” uses caesura because it talks about love. Since the whole collection of poems is titled “Motherly Love”, this is very significant. Demeter is remembering her love for Persephone, which adds a positive tone to an otherwise negative poem. The juxtaposition of this is crucial as well, because the line after next, she talks about “a war-bound soldier.”. That line uses enjambment as well, emphasizing the juxtaposition between a mother’s love and a mother’s wrath. The final line of the poem is, “over. Then I will sit down to wait for yer. Yes.”. The period and enjambment at the end of the line is a symbol for Demeter’s determination at letting the earth suffer in winter while her daughter wastes away in Hell, and ensuring the reader has no doubts about the negative tone of the poem.
I definitely agree with your analysis on this particular poem, and I think this poem is very straightforward in terms of context and tone/mood. However, it was very interesting for me to see your analysis on Dove's use of enjambment and caesura, because many of us hardly pay attention to them, and for me personally, they were forgotten in the back of my head. Also, one part that I found very interesting in this poem was when it said, "Then I will sit down to wait for her" towards the end of the poem. I found it a little incongruent how after clearly depicting the rage of Demeter with the use of imagery and vulgar diction, the poem suddenly becomes calm and tranquil. This made me wonder why Dove chose to apply such technique to the poem; the sudden, capricious change in the mood at the end of the poem.
DeleteHeroes, by Rita Dove, clearly illustrates a complex relationship between mothers and daughters. When interpreted literally, the story goes like this: the speaker picks up a fading flower that is about to perish, and delivers it to the nearest house in an effort to save it. However, the lady at the house screams realizing that it was the particular flower that gave her hope and strength to live each day. Acknowledging the situation, the speaker strikes the lady, which results in a brutal death. Now as a fugitive, the speaker flees through villagers’ eyes, with excessive uneasiness and guilt. That was the literal interpretation, yet there are so many more elements and insights to the poem when interpreted figuratively.
ReplyDeleteBefore any further figurative interpretation, one crucial element in the poem is that each character and object in the poem contains a metaphorical meaning. Dove does this through figurative language such as extended metaphor, in order to provide a deeper meaning within simply a flower, the woman, or the speaker. Even though there are many different possibilities in interpreting them, I saw the woman on the porch as the mother, and the speaker as the daughter.
The first thing we notice is the critical condition of the woman, or the mother. Dove writes, “…Gave her the strength every morning to rise” and “she wouldn’t live to read, anyway,” suggesting the weakness and the fragility of the woman. Clearly, the woman could not live without the flower, or the poppy. As I was analyzing the poem, I wondered why Dove specifically chose to use poppy as the flower that the women had dearly desired. So I searched up the language of the poppy, and I found that it means eternal sleep, oblivion, comfort, and solace. Then I came to a conclusion, that maybe what the woman, or the mother, had truly desired was the eternal comfort and solace that would come after her death. Thus, there is a clear irony there, as the flower that gave the woman strength to live each day could only be achieved once her life ended.
Another interesting point to notice is that the speaker, or the daughter, actually picks up the flower with a positive intention to save and deliver it to the mother. Yet her positive intention turns out to be a disaster, as the daughter ends up killing her own mother. In a real life situation, this could be interpreted as a daughter bringing her mother what she had desired, not knowing what that truly means. In the end, whether it was intended or not, the daughter in fact ends up taking away her mother’s pain, and delivers her eternal sleep and comfort.
The last interesting interpretation I wanted to share is the flower’s whereabouts. First it belonged to the mother, and served as a reminder and energizer that kept her living. If we pay close attention, we realize that the flower is now in the hand of the daughter, who had to conceal all the evidence and clues. Even though the poem does not extend beyond her escape, a prediction can be made that the daughter may possibly face the same fate as her mother, strengthened and reinvigorated by the flower.
I like how you talked about the meaning of the flower, speaker, and the women, you did not talk about the meaning of the “miserable garden” which I felt was an important aspect of the poem. The poppy in the garden is described as “A flower in a weedy field”. Due to the poppy being something the women (most likely the mother as you said) can not live without the weeds most likely represent the reasons she does not want to live. Also as you talked about the poppy represents solace and comfort, and perhaps the the women was ignoring how the poppy was wilting. The wilting of the flower representing her comfort going away which is probably caused by her age. When the speaker brings the flower to the women she realizes that her time left with poppy(comfort) is short.
DeleteThis is a very interesting view of the story, and similar in some ways to the meaning I found in the poem "Heroes." When I read this poem I too placed the mother as the woman on the porch who relies on the flower. But when I interpreted the poem I determined that the flower had represented the daughter in this story. I labeled the speaker as a man. I found these roles because I applied the Greek Myth of Hades and Persephone to the poem. The mother is very similar to Demeter, the daughter represents her daughter Persephone, and the man in the story represents Hades. In the poem the speaker picks the poppy flower (a flower sacred to Demeter), with the idea that he is saving the flower from the “miserable garden.” Hades is the god of the underworld, so when he picks the flower it clearly will die, similar to the myth that when people die they go to the underworld. The poem goes on to explain that by him picking the flower, he is writing history that Demeter “wouldn’t live to read.” This is significant because in the stories, it is said that Demeter was so upset about her daughter Persephone being taken into the underworld, she creat winter, which causes plants to die. Since Demeter is the goddess of harvest this is similar to her own death for the season. Shortly before, the poem says that the flower is “the one that gave her the strength every morning / to rise,” this represents the idea that Persephone loved her daughter and grieved her loss, and it was hard for her to produce crops during the time that Persephone was away due to her sorrow.
DeleteI agree that this poem was an extended metaphor. You saw much of what I saw when it came to the flower, speaker, and women. But I do agree with Baylor that you did not address the importance of the garden. The garden can be seen as a major symbol as to why the woman living or is having a desire not to. The flower represents essentially a sense of hope or solace for the women in her "weeded" life. This is something that enables the reader to connect with the woman in the poem. The sense of hope and solace can be instrumental in someones life. Some people take things like these as signs from a higher power even.
DeleteThe poem I chose was "Golden Oldie" by Rita Dove. This poem really stood out to me because it reminded me of a movie from the 1950's. Perhaps it is due to the title, which gives an impression of a jazz album. There is a lot of powerful imagery used in this poem. In the first stanza, Dove uses a simile to stimulate the readers. The simile is," swaying at the wheel life a blind pianist caught in a tune meant for more than two hands". This simile portrays how the narrator's feelings were out of her hands, uncontrolled by her. This makes the narrator feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Uses of the negative motion words, such as " swaying" and "caught" support this point of reminisce. Later, the poet writes that the narrator is looking for " a pain majestic enough to live by". I believe this "pain" is the pain of love. It is to portray how love is painful but, undoubtedly, without it, one cannot live. Although the subject is said to be a young girl, she seems to know more than shown about the concept of love. If she didn't know what love is like, she wouldn't find it painful. For one who has never experienced love, it appears fulfilling and satisfactory, when in reality, when one has loved, they know that it mean s to carry around a pain caused by love. In the third stanza, the narrator is listening to her thoughts saying " Baby, where did out love go?". At this point, I noticed maybe the love she is looking for, she had, at one point found, but that love ceased to exist. She is looking for a re blossoming of a love she once had.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of "pain" is being the pain of love. When I read this poem I tried to relate to the whole concept of motherly love. And I thought this was trying to get at is that when one gets older they tend to forget the importance of their mother. This is why the young girl is finding a pain majestic enough at an early age. She is beginning to search for love that will slowing take her away from her mother. And finally in the end Rita Dove says : ”Baby, where did our love go”. I believe that's the reason why it's called Golden oldie because it was golden with the love, but then it got old when the young girl got older. Therefore, the mother is looking for the love she once had with her daughter.
DeleteIn the poem "Used" by Rita Dove, Dove addresses the influences of society on the average person. She references short skirts, waist sizes, and the loss of all "interior light". But I think the most important part of this particular poem is the metaphor of the silk sheets. Dove talks of the influence and pressure of initially buying the sheets. And then later the consequences of those sheets. But the sheets have a deeper meaning. When Dove writes about the pressure of the Macy's clerk, she is showing how society as a whole pressures people int the material world. The strong desire of material wealth and having luxuries that others do not. Dove uses the slickness of the sheet as well. She writes, "We couldn't hang on, slipped to the floor and by morning the quilts had slid off, too"(Dove). Here Dove is addressing the consequences of giving into the material world. Hanging on or staying afloat in the world of influence and greed is terribly difficult. Many slip and fall short. And things others rave about do not turn out how they are expected to(ex:the sheets). Dove also writes: "It's hard work staying cool". And as a teenager this is found to be very relatable. Material items and wealth are so heavily valued in that world that "staying cool" is hard to do. This does not necessarily mean popularity either. "Cool" can also be interpreted as level headed or even authentic. Staying true to one's self in the face of all the material influence.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting take on this poem. I liked how you focused on material wealth as I do think it had a large impact on the feelings pervading this girl. One thing that I thought was very interesting in this poem was the use of juxtaposition. At the start of the poem it states "...every man-child's preadolescent dream". The term man-child clearly can contradict itself as it is shows that there is pressure for every child to feel grown up, and essentially as a man. The other use of juxtaposition in this poem was in the last line when Dove states "It's hard work staying cool". This may seem confusing to some people as usually people work hard in order to achieve something greater than they already have. However in this poem it is saying that it takes hard work not to differ from others and stay within the ordinary. This clearly relates to current high schoolers as it takes a lot of effort for many to fit in and be "normal".
Delete“Primer” by Rita Dove is a poem that conveys the relationship between a mother and daughter as one that is necessary yet unappreciated. In this poem, a girl is constantly made fun of due to to her size and participation in school. After repeatedly being bullied her mother has learn to come and get her out of trouble after school. This is a very thoughtful deed however the daughter neglects to appreciate the mother’s actions towards her. She takes her anger out on her mom by refusing to ride home with her and instead walking home. It is uncertain if the mother understands or is hurt by the actions that the daughter takes in order to prove to her peers that she truly can fight for herself against them. Rita Dove uses literary and stylistic devices to portray the true meaning of this poem in the most appropriate way. Imagery is used to create a visualization of the three sisters that are doing the harm to the daughter. Dove states “...three skinny sisters in rolled-down bobby socks.” It is ironic that they are making fun of her for being small when the description of them states that they are skinny. Rhyme was also evident in the poem when it states “...and Mrs. Stringbean!, they trod my heel. I knew my body was no big deal”. Rhyme helps identify that this truly is a poem and helps the poem flow with more ease. Lastly, when the mom comes to help the daughter it says “...drove up in her Caddie yo shake them down to size”. This is personification as you do not actually shake humans down to size. This literary device implies that, although the mother was small, she was still able to put the girls in their place. If the daughter took a minute to admire and learn from her mother rather than be embarrassed by her, then maybe she too could fight off the Gatlin kids.
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DeleteI agree with your idea that the girl walks home rather than riding with her mom to show the bullies she can fight for herself. However I saw the relationship between the mom and the daughter a little differently. I think we can both agree that the mom drives up to the school and scares the bullies away because she wants to keep her daughter away from physical abuse. However, after seeing her daughter is out of harms way, she is fine with her walking home rather than riding with her. She understands her daughter is learning how to become more independent and growing up in the process and this is why she does not force her into the car. In addition, I do not think the girl is frustrated with her mom jumping in because she says that her mom is the reason she survived the bullies shoves.
In the poem ‘Golden Oldie’, Rita Dove describes the relationship between teenage girls and love as impulsive and near impossible to find. To bring this idea across, Dove writes, “Baby, where did our love go?- a lament I greedily took in without a clue who my lover might be, or where to start looking”. In this song, the artist is singing about a relationship that is starting to fall apart and they want it to be the way it used to be. Although the artist of this song is clearly heartbroken and struggling with the end of a relationship, the girl wants to experience this feeling in order to first feel love. Dove uses the word “greedily” to describe the effect this song is having on the girl. The girl is showing an intense and selfish desire to find love although it is out of her reach because she has no one to find it with. Therefore, she is thinking impulsively because she is thinking through desire rather than common sense. After hearing this song, she has her eyes set on finding love. She is so solely focused on this that she is ignoring what the song is truly about: the heartbreak that follows love. In addition, Dove writes that the girl does not know where to start looking for love. She uses the word “looking” to show that even if the girl finds someone she thinks she can love, she will need to continue looking because love cannot be found through impulse. These couple stanzas create a serious tone because the reader realizes the girl is setting herself up for failure. It is ironic that the girl knows this but is ignoring the fact because of the impulse she has to find love.
ReplyDeleteI think your take on this poem is very interesting. It is interesting how you thought the last couple stanzas create a serious tone, because when I read it, it created more of a hopeful tone, that one day the girl will find the love that she is desiring. Because of your interpretation, I reread the poem to reevaluate the meaning. I do agree that she is acting out of impulse and greed, rather than logic and patience. The word "looking" does give that interpretation that she is only trying to find love, regardless of the quality. By " a lament I greedily took in", I believe she meant the nature of the love would be all-consuming, for that reason it would be greedy, but your interpretation is that the concept of love, itself is portraying the use of the term greedy.
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ReplyDeleteThe Poem "The Narcissus Flower" by Rita Dove can be seen as a metaphor for when Persephone falls into the underworld from her life on earth. The poem seems to be from Persephone’s point of view, although Dove does not explicitly mention that is the intent. The Greek myths say that for 4 months every year she must go down into the underworld, causing winter for the earth above. The first thing I noticed in this poem was the title. The narcissus flower is one that is very important to Greek mythology. One of the stories it is involved in was when Zeus was trying to get his daughter Persephone out of the underworld, he had Gaia plant narcissus flowers to draw her attention and get her away from her guides so that she could escape. Another connection I found was the frequent use of words that had negative connotations such as “frightened,” “incinerated,” “hate,” and “fear.” This can be linked to the darkness and pessimistic nature of the environment that Persephone is drawn into when she visits the underworld In the poem when she mentions “this man,” it is in reference to Hades, and how nothing could “chasten,” or lighten the “plunge” of him bringing her back into the underworld. The second to last stanza says that “you can eat fear / before fear eats you.” This ties into Persephone accepting her fate for the four winter months of the year, and adapting to the circumstances rather than letting them get the best of her. This follows perfectly into the next stanza where she speaks about how “you can live beyond dying,” which is another reference to her thriving in the underworld, and she mentions that you can “become a queen.” This is very obviously a reference to Persephone’s title as the “Queen of the Dead,” which is a title that many know her by. It is said that when newcomers come into the underworld they are welcomed by Persephone to help them adjust to new life, quite possibly so that they do not feel the same fear and angst that she felt the first time that she was in the underworld. The myths mention that when the messenger god Hermes visited the her in the underworld she had adjusted well to her new position and was thriving as a queen.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting take on the poem. I really like all the additional Greek mythology knowledge you included. I also think that the meaning of 'narcissus' plays a role in the story, and your mention of the negative connotations. There's another greek myth about Narcissus, who became so in love with himself/his reflection that he drowned in a mirror-like pond. You talked about the other meaning of the narcissus flower, and I think the double meaning of "narcissus" brings another depth to the poem.
DeleteParty Dress for a First Born
ReplyDeleteRita Dove expresses this poem by using alliteration, and similes. This poem is about Rita Dove talking to a young girl and relation to her about how she had a lot to think about and told her she had a mother that she went to during this time of crisis. She illustrated the occurrence as beautiful sight” and described it as “nothing else matters” This young girl is going to a party (hence party dress is in the title) where men will be at. Here Rita dove says she will step out disguised while the men are looking at her, but truly wishing them dead. Then she says is will be a secret. Alliteration is used when describing about how Rita Dove also had a full plate “ … full plate or unwittingly stepped on an ant.”. It was also used when she said “my mother” and “stood still ”describing when ran to mother. This use of alliteration is important because it gives a creative rhythm to associate with the mother and the experience she had with her mother. The use of similes gives a reader a good comparison of what is happening in the poem. In the poem is says “ waiting radiant as a cornstalk at the edge of the field” and the second simile used says “ tonight men stride like elegant scissors across the lawn to the woman arrayed there” the first simile was important because it gave a reader a unique comparison that describes the occurrence as a one of a kind or special type of bonding moment that happens with motherly love. The second simile used is extremely significant because it portrays the idea that the men are ready to “control the women” which clearly is not a good for the women which is why she said at the end “ it will be our secret” when talking to the young girl.
Exit, by Rita Dove, is a sonnet about a girl leaving her home for a better life, but she has mixed feelings about her journey. Over time she begins to feel more confident about her idea even though she is leaving behind her home. Dove uses imagery, repetition, and personification to portray this story to the reader and create a hopeful tone.
ReplyDeleteRita Dove uses imagery when describing the better life that the women is moving towards. She writes, “The door opens onto a street like in the movies…”(Dove). The description creates a relatable image for the reader of going to new place and walking outside and being overwhelmed by everything. The women is moving towards this place which helps create a hopeful tone that she will make it there. She also writes, “Well, the world is open”. The description of the world creates an image of a place with no limits. This helps create a hopeful tone because the reader wants the women to go into the open world.
Dove also uses repetition to portray the story to the reader and create a hopeful tone. She writes, “...clean of people, of cats”(Dove). The new place being clean of people (most likely bad people) and clean of cats(often associated with deception and being sly) shows that the new world is better than the old one. This creates a hopeful tone because the reader hopes the women will leave the old world.
The author uses personification to create a hopeful tone. She writes, “This suitcase, the saddest object in the world”(Dove). The suitcase being sad is personification because sad is human characteristic. The suitcase is the saddest object because it represents leaving an old place and going to a new unknown place. This adds to the story because it shows how the women is sad about leaving her home. She also writes, “the sky begins to blush”(Dove). The sky blushing is personification because blushing is a human characteristic. It happens as she is in a taxi cab to the new world which signifies a good event. The tone at this point is hopeful because the reader hopes it will turn out good for the women.
The poem I chose was “ Sonnet in Primary Colors” by Rita Dove. I chose this poem because I really admire Frida Kahlo and was interested in reading what this amazing poet, Rita Dove, wrote about her. The poem was full of nature and flower imagery which really contributed to the meaning of the poem, since Frida Kahlo uses a lot of flowers in her paintings. Also many exotic animals, such as parrots or monkeys are also elaborated in her paintings. In this poem, Dove is referring to her paintings. An Example of this is found when Dove writes, “ lovely Frida, erect among parrots”. This refers to her one of Frida’s paintings titled” Me and My Parrot”. The reference to her paintings, is a way for Dove to describe the unique nature of Frida and her blossoming of personality and life experiences through her artwork. She uses this to portray how Kahlo’s art is what made her stand out. Later, Dove writes, “ in the stern petticoats of the peasant, who painted herself a present”. This is a metaphor for how Frida, although poor, brought herself to fame by painting. The use alliteration of the sound “p” creates a musical tone to this stanza, making it sound more beautiful and emotional. Furthermore, Dove uses flower imagery to veil the true life of Frida. Rita Dove writes,” wildflowers entwining the plaster corset her spine resides in the romance of mirrors”. This is referring to the corset Frida had to wear to protect her spine, as a result of an almost fatal car accident she was in. The corset was painful beyond imagine, but the flower imagery makes it seem more natural, less arduous and more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI also wrote about “Sonnet in Primary Colors” by Rita Dove. I really liked how you connected her backstory to the sonnet. I especially liked the connection of the almost fatal car accident, because I missed that when I was reading about her. I also like how you saw the metaphor when she wrote “in the stern petticoats of the peasant who painted herself a present”. This is something I did not see until you pointed it out. You also lightly talked about the animals she talked about the animals in the poem. I personally found this very interesting and talked in depth about the parrot. You also connect the poem a lot to nature which is something I did not do but I now can see the very straight forward connection. I also found it interesting that you did not talk about her beloved dead which I though was a very central part of this poem. Her beloved death connects to Frida's life and how it connected to the painting. You talked a lot about connection between the poem, painting, and her life but you seemed to skip this.
DeleteCatherine of Alexandria
ReplyDeleteRita Dove describes Catherine of Alexandria legacy (early Christian martyr) in a poetic structure. In the first stanza, Rita Dove expresses how Catherine of Alexandria was deprived of learning and the chance to travel and because of that restraint she had to acquire sainthood through a voice. This is describing how Catherine of Alexandria did not know about Christianity because of the religion she was brought up with and because of that she had to have the vision to convert to Christianity. In the second stanza, Dove uses caesura to let the reader have time to attain the knowledge that the voice was a revelation and it doesn't just happen to anyone. Here she says show each night the what went on was not fit for nobody's ear and continues through the use of enjambment and says but Jesus. The enjambment from Rita Dove allowed to a reader to sense the idea that if was destined for her to become a saint with the separation of Jesus between the two stanzas. After that, Rita Dove notes that Jesus breath is like a lily in the use of a metaphor. Then she exclaims with the use of juxtaposition of Jesus “spiraling pain”. Then uses enjambment once again to say each night the nightshirt bunched about above her waist. What this is referring to the saying “God gives the toughest battles to the toughest soldiers” and that through the pain of the non-believers and prosecutors of Christianity and that she has fight through it because the breath of Jesus is the smell she can't ignore because it is what she is destined for. And going on the-the last stanza, again with enjambment for dramatic effect, she continues saying, “the nightshirt bunched above your waist”. Here what Rita Dove is referring to is that Alexandria is exposing her each day to the non-believers and that she might lose dignity from the people she once knew. Lastly, Rita Dove ends the poem using a metaphor saying “a kept promise, a ring of milk” which I think means that Rita Dove thinks that Alexandria promises Jesus something that that she is obliged to fight against of those who are prosecuting the Christians. In which she did by fighting against the roman Emperor Maxentius and protesting the persecution under him.
I also read this poem, and I think your interpretation of the caesura and enjambment was really interesting. It helped add to the idea that you also mentioned about needing pain to truly believe. I however had a different interpretation of your last line. You said the "a kept promise, a ring of milk" was about being obliged to fight. I thought that it rather symbolized her promise to stay virgin, likely forever as she was a saint. Milk is white, and white is the color of purity, and the ring could either be a ring to wear, or the hymen which traditionally shows virginity. This pledge of purity is also part of her devout religious beliefs, along with the fighting for her beliefs that you interpreted.
DeleteIn the poem “Nestor’s Bathtub” Rita Dove oftenly describes the viewpoint of Nestor’s wife. Nestor was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War so his wife actually spent most of the time in the house. This poem shows the effect of the fire on the house and on Nestor and his wife. Rita Dove uses a lot of consonance and personification to illustrate the extent of the traumatic fire. She states “...while his wife with her white hands scraped”. This shows all of the labor that the wife put into the house. Later in the sonnet Dove exclaims “...the shards scattered in the hall where jars spilled from the second floor, oil spreading in flames”. This consonance shows how extensive and damaging this fire truly was. Towards the end of the poem, Rita Dove uses consonance as well as personification many times to give objects in the house characteristics that make them seem as though they were alive. She states “drinking cups in the pantry-these, too, survived when the clay pots screamed and the stones sprang their sockets”. Clay pots “screaming” and stones “springing” shows once again how many things in the house were destroyed. However along with the bathtub, drinking cups too “survived”. After all the hardwork that the wife put into the house, the bathtub that belonged to Nestor, was one of the only things that survived the fire.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about Dove's use of personification and consonance. I wonder, however, if the fire is used metaphorically to display how how Nestor's wife felt because she constantly was to do housework, while her husband was known to be great and heroic. I believe the fire is to symbolize the anger and frustration felt by his wife, because she is a house wife that doesn't get any credit, but she ensures the comfort of Nestor. Maybe the shattering of the objects was her crying out her frustration. Also there was a lot of local color in this sonnet as well. I believe the use of local color enhanced the culture used in this poem. There is a lot of references to the Greek culture in this poem, and maybe the way women are treated, is one of them. The use of personification of household items, may, also, hint that Nestor's wife is so angry, alone and frustrated that these items are the only "company" she has.
DeleteIn the poem "Canary" by Rita Dove, she speaks of Billie Holiday. This ode to Holiday speaks of how despite her very challenging upbringing, Holiday broke music barriers. As a child, Holiday was forced to grow up very quickly. With money being an issue for her and her mother, Billie Holiday was into prostitution by the age of fourteen. This is a prime example of what Dove means when she writes "under than ruined face". Of course, there was so physical harm, yet emotionally Holiday was more experienced than most. The use of imagery throughout the poem creates a sort of sad tone.This tone is a reflection on the life and hardships of Billie Holiday. The images created are thing with negative connotations. Such as, "a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano". This image is one with connotations of its time. The jazz age in which Holiday lived was filled with club performances with saxophones and pianos. Holiday performed in these clubs which built her whole career. The "mournful candelabra" demonstrates that even something so simple can go through the worse hardships while not deserving it. Just as Holiday was, especially as a child. When Dove uses "you" or "you're" she is referring to Holiday. Throughout this section on historical figures, Dove uses "you" or "your" to refer to the person of which she is writing about. This makes the subject of the work more relatable for the audience. This figures being written about are very prestigious figures, which in turn makes it harder for the reader to form a personal connection.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with almost all of the points that you mentioned, especially when you connected the "ruined face" with the path of prostitution that Billie Holiday had to experience. I also thought it was very interesting and agreeable when you said, "even something so simple can go through the worse hardships while not deserving it" We all know that the African-American women during the early twentieth-century hardly received any education or respect from anyone. So even though playing instruments and singing in front of others are considered easy things to do in our society, these were regarded as privileges for the minorities group at the time. Lastly, I want to point out one more thing about the mournful diction that you mentioned in the post. I also thought it was a crucial part of this poem, but what I found in addition was that this negative and sorrowful diction slowly turns positive as the poem progresses. Towards the end of the novel, there aren't many negative diction to be found, but it's rather filled with positive diction such as "love" and "free". I personally thought this could be talking about the achievements that minority groups made in the midst of all the opposition and difficulties, or possibly the slowly improving situation for the group. Regardless, your blog post was generally filled with amenable points and insights for this particular poem, and I found some of it very interesting!
DeleteIn “Catherine of Alexandria”, Rita Dove paints a romantic relationship between Catherine of Alexandria and Jesus to show her deep belief in religion. This is accomplished through a multitude of ways, including consonance in the third stanza in ‘lily’ and ‘spiraling pain’. Lilies are a beautiful flower and tend to evoke a more positive tone. White lilies are also a symbol of modesty and virginity, . This is then contrasted with ‘spiraling pain’. Dove uses consonance to contrast these two phrases, proving that pain is needed for beauty and love. Seeing as this series of poems is based on heroes, it is near certain that Dove had some background on Catherine of Alexandria, which adds another level of depth to the consonance. Catherine of Alexandria, or Saint Catherine, was an extremely devout Christian and a man named Maxentius tried to dissuade her and many others from that religion. After torture failed, he proposed to her. She declared Jesus was her spouse and she would remain forever a virgin. Maxentius was enraged and put her to death via a spiked wheel, and finally beheaded her. The pain Saint Catherine went through to prove her faith was true proves the earlier point about pain being necessary for love and beauty.
ReplyDeleteAnother way Dove shows Saint Catherine’s religious beliefs is through metaphors. She writes, “a kept promise,/ a ring of milk”. In traditional Catholicism, virginity until marriage is a big deal. This is likely the ‘promise’ that Dove alluded to. The second line also ties into the idea of virginity. The ring part is significant because one of Saint Catherine’s attributes is a ring. Also, milk is a metaphor for white, which symbolizes purity. The ring of purity could either mean a physical ring worn as a vow to stay a virgin until marriage, or as the hymen, usually seen as a true indicator of virginity. Either way, Dove chooses Saint Catherine as a historical figure and topic for her poem because of her devoutness to her religion, even if it means suffering pain.
In her poem Canary, Rita Dove clearly illustrates the unfortunate situation that Billie Holiday and the entire minority group of African-American women encountered during the early 20th century. Billie Holiday came to be known as one of the most influential African-American jazz singers of all time, yet she faced difficult childhood at an early age such as financial difficulties, discrimination, and even prostitution. Rita Dove, in order to clarify such struggles due to inequality, uses figurative language (hyperbole and metaphor) and disconsolate diction throughout the poem Canary.
ReplyDeleteRita Dove uses figurative language like hyperbole and metaphor in order to convey her message. In the first line of the first stanza, Dove describes Holiday’s singing as “burned voice”. Clearly one’s voice cannot burn, yet it is exaggerated in order to show Holiday’s powerful impact and domination over the audience. Also, an example of metaphor can be found when Dove writes, “…as many shadows as lights”. This metaphor extends beyond simply describing her voice, but it represents Holiday’s life. What shadows and lights really represent are the highs and lows in her life, thus enhancing the message of the difficulties and successes that African-American women received during the time period.
Another crucial literary element Dove uses is the disconsolate diction. Throughout the poem, especially in the beginning, a handful of negative diction can be found such as, “shadows”, “mournful”, and “ruined”. This type of diction creates depressing and disconsolate mood for the readers, and speaks to the audience of the difficulties that certain minority groups encountered at the time. Especially the word like “ruined”, has deeper meaning that discusses what Holiday has physically experienced as a child. Billie Holiday stood in the miserable path of prostitution due to financial problems and lack of education, and this is referred to as “that ruined face”. The uncontrollable condition that the society has created for the African-Americans pushed them off to such degrading conditions, and Dove clearly exposes this to the readers through the use of gloomy diction.
In summing up her message, Dove concludes the poem with a powerful statement: “If you can’t be free, be a mystery.” The African-American women during the early 20th century could not fully and freely express themselves. Rather, they were excluded, discriminated, and segregated of their opportunities as legal American citizens. In response, Doves leaves a clear message and tells the minorities to wear a mask, ignore the surrounding situation, and become a mystery. For this will allow you to do what you love despite the oppositions around you. Just like what Billie Holiday has done.
I agree with your interpretation of Canary by Rita Dove. What I also noticed in this particular poem by Rita Dove is the use of parenthetical (words inserted into parathesis). I believe while using your interpretation of this poem, that this part of the poem is what Rita Dove is saying to Billie Holiday personally as if she is still alive. When it says "Now you're cooking, drummer to bass" I believe this marks the beginning of her career and how she began to become a hit and get recognized. Then it says " magic spoon, magic needle" which I think represent her drug addiction after her mother had died in 1945 and her setback in her career. After that, it finally says, " Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of song". This is about how Holidays can take drugs all day but the older she get the more serious it will become. For example when she actually got arrested for substance abuse. I just thought it was important to note the parenthetical this poem to further your analysis on how Rita Dove touched on the struggles of Billie Holiday's life.
DeleteIn “Nestor’s Bathtub” by Rita Dove, Dove tells about the legend of Nestor, a king during the time of the Trojan War, and his wife. Via her opinion, the “legend got it all wrong.” This brings an interesting point. The bathtub is the only thing left standing in the ruin of Nestor’s home, which was destroyed by a fire, only even considered Nestor’s home without much credit given to his wife. Dove is trying to display that Nestor’s wife is the one who did most of the labor, and spent most of the time inside their home. Through depictions of the wife’s labor when she described the water that she “poured until the room steamed,” and how she “scraped the dirt from a lover’s back,” shows the hard work that she did in their home. Dove uses lots of imagery and destructive diction (especially in the second stanza) such as “blasted,” “exploding,” and “shards scattered,” to paint a picture of demolition and wreckage that was done to the house. Another piece of the poem that emphasizes the wife’s importance to the matter was the lack of mention of Nestor aside from the beginning. Dove mentions who he is, and his absence from their home. To contrast this she often shows the wife’s parts in the home but not her husbands, saying “to the lady’s throne,” with no mention of Nestor’s.
ReplyDeleteI did the same poem and it seems like we came up with very similar interpretations of this poem. I also noticed how Rita Dove stated "the lady's throne". This really showed how the house should truly belong to the wife as she put all the intense labor into the house. This may go along with the idea that women do not have very much representation. Although they are increasingly having more of a say, they are still very limited in other countries and definitely were back in later times of history. I think this poem is trying to make a point that women need more appreciation and acknowledgement for all the work that they do. Often times their good deeds go unnoticed and this poem raises awareness that their needs/needed to be a change made in society.
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DeleteI agree with your look on the story. However, I did not catch that the way Dove wrote the story may be different than the initial legend. They way you wrote about it made it sound like in the old legend, the wife was blamed for the burning down of the house and the end of Nestor’s empire. However, Dove thought it was important to remind everyone that Nestor was not a good king and although the house was destroyed, his wife had kept it afloat for a long time with no help at all from Nestor. Dove adds the section about how the bathtub was the only thing that remained “for the sake of the legend” to give the reader the idea that although the man may have more power and be known by more people, the wife works just as hard (in this case harder) and plays just as important of a role in the family.
“Sonnet In Primary Colors” by Rita Dove is written about a painting by Frida Kahlo. Dove describes how she is pained to look more beautiful than all the peasants, and how Frida is mourning the death of the people she loved. The poem is named “Sonnet in Primary Colors” but the only color mention is black which is not a primary color. Perhaps this is because primary colors can make all other colors which is supposed to represent the changing mood. The mood changes when she switches talking about how beautiful she is to go someone she loved died. She is described as having a black wing but later Dove writes, “wildflowers entwined the plaster corset”(Dove). Wild flowers are bright, colorful, and made from the primary colors. It's weird that she has very colorful clothing and a black wing. Perhaps she can't see her own beauty because the black wing is over her eyes even when she is in the crowd of peasants.
ReplyDeleteThere is also lots of bird imagery. She writes, “This is for the women with one black wing perched over her eyes: lovely Frida, erect among parrots…”(Dove). Generally bird imagery is associated with freedom, but it seems that her “one black wing” is blocking her view of freedom. She also seems trapped by the death of her beloved dead.
Dove also writes about three important communists Lenin, Marx, and Stalin who are her beloved dead. This is due to Frida being communist. These were all very important leaders in leaders which is perhaps why she is mourning there death even though she never met Stalin. She even continued to worship Stalin after it became common knowledge he was responsible for millions of deaths. Also Marx and Lenin died before she was even born. This portrays how devout she was to the idea of communism.
I think that this is an interesting take on the poem. I had a similar approach when looking at this poem and thought that Dove did a good job of separating Frida Kahlo from her peers with the use of similes and metaphors such as saying she was "like children," and "erect among parrots," meaning she stood out. Another comparison of her to her peers was when Dove described she "painted herself...corset," saying that she was beautiful in clothing no matter what she wore. The piece was a praise to Frida Kahlo, and the title paid tribute to her through the structure of a sonnet and the mention of primary colors which relates to art which is what Kahlo was known for. Primary colors stand out among the other colors, similar to the message Dove was trying to portray about Kahlo and how she was outstanding among her peers.
Delete“Nestor’s Bathtub” by Rita Dove is about how Nestor was away from home while his wife was the one keeping the house afloat. Although in the end the house is destroyed, her hard work is still recognized while there is nothing left to remember Nestor for. To an outsider it may seem that Nestor is the one doing the important work. However Rita Dove writes, “But where was Nestor- on his throne before the hearth, counting jars of oil in storeroom 34, or at the Trojan wars while his wife with her white hands scraped the dirt from a lover’s back with a bronze scalpel?”. Notice how it says he was “on his throne” or “at the Trojan wars”. This gives the reader the idea that he had a lot of power but while he was at these places, he was not doing anything important. All he was doing was taking up space or filling the role of a king rather than taking action like his wife was doing back home. During this time period, the king was born into his power. Thus it was common to have a leader not fit for the job. This is why when the house burned down killing Nestor and all his possessions, no one remembered him. Dove writes, “For the sake of the legend only the tub stands”. Although we know it is not true that the tub survived the fire since Dove writes “For the sake of the legend”, the author adds it to the story to reward Nestor’s wife for her work. In addition it explains that while her husband was forgotten, she was remembered forever for her hard work despite help from her husband.
ReplyDelete“The House Slave” by Rita Dove conveys the agony that the typical slave would have to go through everyday in order to survive. Rita Dove uses powerful imagery and similes to get her point across to the reader very clearly. A powerful example of imagery was “At the second horn, the whip curls across the back of the laggards-”. This shows the brutal mistreatment that the slaves had to go through everyday. Shortly after that sentence, it states “...sometimes my sister’s voice, unmistaken, among them”. For one to have to hear people they know or even love squealing of pain is a task no one should ever have to go through. Towards the end of the poem it states “and as the fields unfold to whiteness, and they spill like bees among the fat flowers, I weep”. My interpretation of this imagery was that the fields were white because they were stripped of the crops that the slaves picked. Also the bees among the fat flowers were the many slaves putting in hard work in the fields. This shows how many of them there are, which shows that they should not truly be a minority. Even if they were a minority they should still be able to have equal representation and say as the majority. The segregation between blacks and whites has clearly disappeared for the most part. However, to this day, issues and debates still occur on whether or not blacks and whites are truly being treated equal everywhere in the United States. Cases such as Ferguson and Trayvon Martin make issues depicting racial equality come up again. It is argued that these black people were treated poorly and wrongly by white policemen and that they would have been treated differently if they had been white. This is a powerful and impactful poem by Rita Dove that shows how blacks were treated and how the cruelty towards blacks truly needs to stop.
ReplyDeleteAmmel, I really like the perspective you took on this poem. I thought that Rita Dove did a great job through diction such as "bundled into aprons," and "the whip curls across the backs of the laggards," to really try and depict to the reader what slavery is like. Often times, it can be hard to get a true feeling for what slavery was like as someone who has never experienced it, so through great details and imagery Rita Dove was able to do this much better than we can on our own. Another technique Rita Dove used was a constant use of punctuation. she used a lot of end stops and caesuras to may the ideas short, and to the point. It showed that they did not go on and on about how their lives were, but it was more matter-of-fact. I thought this brought an interesting tone to the poem and almost made it seem more sad, because when you were reading the poems, the stopping due to the sentence breaks cause the reader to think at those points in the poem, Leading them to really get more of an effect on what the slaves Dove is portraying in this poem felt.
Delete“The situation is intolerable”
ReplyDeleteI believe this poem by Rita Dove is touching on the topic of poverty in society. I think particularly its about poverty in the US throughout history. I thought this because she used the term intolerable, which reminded me of the intolerable act in which was one of the acts that made the colonists angry which then created a revolution thus creating the United States. In the first stanza, it is describing how one can think they are being civilized but they're not seen as civilized and that their appearance (wealth) is what they bring to the battle. In the second stanza, Dove changes tones. She changes from an irritated tone (because of questioning the word “intolerable”) to a calm, soothing tone in the way to tell the reader “ now listen carefully”. This part of the poem is talking about society is surrounded by people who want more wealth (rich get richer) with the imagery of dark and flames, and then uses positive diction like “serene” and “heaven” to convey in the center of the flames there are people who know what to do but can't escape the perimeter of flames because the wealthy. The last stanza is portraying how poverty is intolerable and in reality it is an issue and a struggle for people. She describes this by saying “born up a creek and placed flat with a paddle” and “ if we ain't got a pot to piss in...” indicating the struggle of the poor. What is Dove asking here is that what will America do about it? Since doing nothing will help they must do something. That's why at the end she pleads mercy for America has mercy in a lyrical way by using alliteration.To summarize Rita Dove is conveying how poverty in America is an intolerable situation and that being think that it's alright because of their perception of being civilized.
Daniel, I really appreciate the different approach you took in analyzing the poem. I assumed that this poem was about the struggle of the African-Americans, simply because the section is titled, "Civil Rights Movement". But you interpreted the main argument of the poem as the poverty throughout the U.S., which gives it a broader opinions and context. One interesting point I discovered though, is how Dove presents the intolerable situation in a question format. She asks "So what if...?", and I wondered how you would interpret this as in terms of poverty and deprivation throughout the country. In general, I thought your interpretation was very fresh and original, and I liked the way you supported it with multiple sources of evidence such as tone, diction, and imagery.
DeleteRita Dove's poem "Belinda's Petition" is in honor of a real person, Belinda Sutton, who was a slave to the Royall family. Belinda’s owner in his will stated Belinda should recieve ￡30 for three years. The person who was supposed to carry this out did not follow to his word that he would, because he assumed that because Belinda likely could not write or write, that she would not notice. Twice, Belinda petitioned for the appropriate amount of money be given to her by this man, and both times, Belinda’s petition went through.
ReplyDeleteMany of the words in the poem have a connotation that is related to the government, specifically the US government. These references, along with her use of words that relate to her terrible condition such as “please,” and “pitiable,” and “boast,” poke fun, and use sarcasm to mock the government, and shows that although she may not be able to read nor write, she is still an intelligent being. Much of Dove’s diction relates to slavery, showing off her condition and displaying the tragedy of the situation, but also words that have to freedom, to show the contrast and how far from freedom she really was. A constant use of time in the poem shows the lengthy years that Belinda has spent as a slave, and shows that although time is limited, to a slave it is not a matter of concern in their lives, saying that she (Belinda) “expects nothing,” and explains to the officials that she “will not take too much of [their] time,” again mocking them as if the members of the government’s time was more important than her own.
I thought Belinda’s story was very eye opening and intriguing. It shows how one can be taken advantage of just for being incapable of society. In one of my other classes we talked about how mental illnesses would not be seen as so weird or frightening if more people were educated and knew the reasoning behind some of their actions. Similarly. the man should was too arrogant and selfish to take the time to acknowledge that Belinda was actually an intelligent person who deserved to be treated equally. This is still an occurring issue in society where people make stereotypes, which leaves people neglected of their deserving rights. Rita Dove is trying to show how if our society was not so uneducated and arrogant, people would be treated equally and get what they deserve.
DeleteIn her poem “The situation is intolerable”, Rita Dove gives an inspirational advice to the fellow minority group (African-Americans) to stand up against the injustice and prejudice of the society. The living and working conditions for the African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights movement were absolutely degrading and devastating. However, while Dove fully recognizes this discrimination and inequality, she also presents the responsibility that the minority group bears in such case: to stand up and fight against the intolerable situation. The three individual stanzas support her claim with the elements of imagery and metaphor.
ReplyDeleteIn the very first stanza, Dove describes the condition that the African-Americans seem to be living in. First she poses a question, “Aren’t we civilized, too?” then answers it in a rather positive manner. She describes the fine clothes and shoes that the particular group wears, thus enhancing the idea that the African-Americans may not be so inferior as the society suggests. Following up, she metaphorically describes the situation that African-Americans are required to face. Dove writes, “a righteous sword advancing onto the field of battle in the name of the Lord…” This metaphor represents the people of color fighting to survive each day in an unfamiliar and hostile environment. They were faced with disenfranchisement, segregation, and even lynching, occasionally.
Then Dove extends the metaphor to the next stanza, and uses it to describe the hope that can be discovered in the midst of hopelessness. She first uses imagery to describe the degrading condition, “all around us dark and the perimeter in flames”. Often times, darkness involves negative connotation, such as depression, desperation, and hopelessness. Also, the perimeter in flames is associated with the upcoming troubles and challenges, causing the readers to imagine the glance of fire over the horizon. Yet in contrast, Dove brings in the metaphor of tiny stars, the missionary stars. In the midst of such hopelessness and turmoil, stars represent hope and optimism that the minority group can hold on to.
Finally in the last stanza, Dove presents a solution, what the group can and must do in this hostile and intolerable society. Notice that Dove starts the stanza by questioning, “So what…?” So what if the conditions of the African-Americans are so degrading? So what if they are so poor and underprivileged? These are the questions that Dove asks, which represents the idea that these problems should not stay as clueless problems, but something must be done and some kind of action must be taken to fix them. In concluding the poem, Dove clarifies her position and solution by saying, “Our situation is intolerable, but what’s worse is to sit here and do nothing.”
Our interpretations of this poem are similar. I liked how you pointed out the metaphors and imagery in this elements to support your interpretation. I thought your interpretation of this poem about it being advice for the minority group (African group). When I read this I thought it was just talking about poverty in general. I was wondering what key elements in this poem made you suggest that it is about African Americans. Although I didn't talk about it in my blog I agree with you interpretation on the last stanza about Dove posing the question "So what if...? about how she is saying this should not stay as clueless problems. But in terms of poverty in general because I was thinking Rita Dove was trying to talk about poverty throughout US history by just using the term "intolerable" as its starting point (just before America was created).
DeleteIn the poem "Freedom Ride" by Rita Dove, there is a heavy use of allusion and bus imagery. Despite Dove never outright saying anything about the freedom ride, the expects the reader to know what it is. Thus making the title an allusion and setting the tone for the poem. Personally other than the title, I think the allusion to Malcom X is the most important. Due to the freedom ride being administered by Martin Luther King JR, Malcolm X was a very important reference and person associated with this. Due to the heavy use of bus imagery, this aids the reader in coming to the conclusion that this poem is about the freedom ride that occurred in the civil rights era. These references include "pull the cord" and "pick any stop". But the most important imagery associated with the freedom ride is the fire imagery. The bus on the ride was burnt down and torched. This is demonstrated in the poem when Dove writes, "where you sit is where you'll be when the fire hits." This is not only representative of the bus in general referencing a seat but also talking about the fire that occurred on the bus of the freedom ride.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your explanation of how the poem is about the freedom riders. How do you think, however, the imagery creates that concept? Also what kind of tone does the imagery poetic devices used create?
DeleteIn the poem "Rosa", Rita dove uses poem structure and use of punctuation to create an affirmative tone. On the last line of each stanza, there is a period. That is, however, mostly the only place in the poem that has punctuation. This makes the story told in the poem sound more affirmative and creates an more picaresque setting, where different aspects of the situation are examined, but they all connect to one thing at the end. Dove also uses personification in this poem. For example, when she writes," the clean flame of her gaze carved by a camera flash", personification is used to create a more intense, vivid imagery in the minds of the readers.
ReplyDeleteThis prom, evidently, is about Rosa Parks. The story for which Parks was used and cherished for raising awareness and action towards the civil rights movement. This poem, therefore, must me written in a format that will make the readers feel almost scared, to make sure the lesson sticks in their minds. The use of personification of her actions and body movements is used to intensify this effect.
I do agree that is has somewhat of an affirmative tone, but I would argue that based on the historical importance of the poem is has more of a reminiscent tone. She talks about everything in a very cohesive calm way as if someone was telling an old happy story. Also everything is in past tense, and to be reminiscent about something it has to have happened in the past. I also think that for it to be affirmative it has to be hopeful and supporting. I would say it is supporting of her action but I get the sense that they already know what is going to happen like they are telling the story after is has happened. If the are telling the story after it has happened it would be reminiscent. I do like how you talked about the importance of the event because in my poem I also talked about the importance of the Lady Freedom.
DeleteI agree with with the point that you made. But when it comes to the tone I do agree with baylor that it is a more reminiscent tone. The historical importance of the Rosa Parks incident is huge. This is why I think she chose to only talk in past tense. I also would've liked if you were to have given an example or two about the personification used.
DeleteIn Lady Freedom Among Us”, Rita Dove uses imagery, repetition, and personification to create a proud tone. Lady Freedom also know as the statue of freedom is on top of the capitol building. This is the building where national laws are passed for the betterment and freedom of the american people. She uses imagery to create a proud tone. Dove writes,”Don't lower your eyes or stare straight ahead to where you think you ought to be going”(Dove). The author is trying to tell the reader using imagery that they should not look nowhere but they should also not look at only one place. With freedom someone should look to many places and choose which one is best for them. This message of freedom of choice through imagery creates a proud tone. She also uses a combination of imagery and repetition to portray a proud tone. She writes, “with her oldfashioned sandals with her leaden skirts with her strained cheeks and whiskers”(Dove). The clothing described is Greek and roman which symbolizes freedom and democracy which in american society is something to be proud about. The repetition of “with her” emphasis the importance of what she is wearing to the reader. This description of her outfit which represents freedom creates a proud tone. Dove also uses personification of the statue to create a proud tone. She writes, “she who has brought mercy back into the streets and will not retire politely to the potter's field”(Dove). The personification of the statue that represents freedom shows how freedom has taken away fear from brutality from police on the streets. A potter's field is a graveyard so her not retiring to the graveyard is her not politely dying. This means she will fight for the freedom of Americans. This creates a proud tone because the freedom of america is being protected.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of the proud tone of the poem, but I also believe that it's commanding as well. You mentioned the repetition of "with her", but I think the repetition of "don't" in the beginning of lines throughout the poems contributes more to the aforementioned commanding tone. Dove uses the repetition of "don't" to inspire others to be proud, and to remind them of the freedom they have achieved. You also said Lady Freedom was the statue atop the capitol building, but it could also be interpreted as the statue of liberty. This is supported by "don't think 'another item to fit on a tourist's agenda'". The statue of liberty is a tourist destination, and a symbol for the freedom that this poem demands its reader to remember.
Delete“Lady Freedom Among Us” by Rita Dove talks about something everyone has had to fight for at one point or another: freedom. Therefore, this poem creates a tone of understanding, but also determination with the reader. The last two lines say “for she is one of the many and she is each of us”. Dove is referring to Lady Freedom and saying that she is part of all of us. This poem also talks about how we do not have all the things we want, but we work hard to make it work. Dove writes, “she has fitted her hair under a hand-me-down cap and spruced it up with feathers and stars” Lady Freedom is working hard to make something out of the little resources that have been given to her. In addition she is wearing feathers which suggests the maxim, ‘Flight equals freedom’. The word “plumage’ is also used which refers to feathers. By the end of the poem, the reader understands that the poem is actually about them and all the people around them. Dove writes, “don’t think you can ever forget her don’t even try she’s not going to budge”. This is referring the Lady Freedom but also the reader himself. It is saying that American’s will continue to fight for their freedom forever and they won’t give up. This creates a tone of determination because the reader understand the passage is directed at them and it says that receiving freedom comes only after relentless work.
ReplyDeleteWhen comparing the excerpt from "The farming of bones" by Edwidge Danticat and "Parsley" by Rita Dove, the audience can find that they both refer to the time of Trujillo's rule in the Dominican Republic. While both are on the same time period and focus on the same thing, parsley, both have very different points of view. While the story looks at the perspective of someone who is trying to escape Trujillo, the poem looks at how Trujillo or "el general" feels. Dove does this through symbolism in the first setting of "The Cane Fields". In this section of the poem, the parrot would be "el general" and the "cane" is symbolic of his mother, who is dead. This title of the cane field is also ironic. It is ironic because as the audience reads in the next, they learn that "el general" has buried his mothers cane and that this has the connection to his word: Parsley. There is a ritual in his village where a mother wears parsley when son is born. He uses this parsley as a way to show "love and death" in his time as a adult. This connects to the short story because the main character and the people around them, are forced to eat parsley by the handful. Which would be for lack of a better saying, "In memory" of his mother. Yet many, would rather eat the parsley than be beaten or killed.
ReplyDeleteTabby, I think the element of symbolism that you brought up is a very interesting interpretation of the poem. You interpreted the parrot as the general and Trujillo's mother as the cane, which gives a whole new perspective to the poem. But one question I had was, if the cane symbolizes the mother of Trujillo, why does it create such a degrading and menial tone to the poem? Another interesting point I found in your interpretation was the traditional village ritual. I wasn't aware of such tradition, and I thought the connection you made to "love and death" of the general was very congruent and agreeable. But once again, if parsley illustrates love and death, why is it such a horrifying and disturbing experience for the characters in The Farming of Bones?
DeleteWhen I read the expert from The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat and the name “Trujillo” showed up it instantly rung a bell because I read a book back in freshman year called “In Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez involving the name Trujillo. From that book, I got a perspective of how these sisters from a family each lived under the regime of Trujillo and how their family was associated with him somehow. But yet an I never knew till now that the Parsley Massacre was taken place and that Trujillo was genocidal. It was a fictional novel, but still made me aware of who Trujillo was and that was was capable of killing. I just don't have the background knowledge that he was genocidal when I read this novel by Julia Alvarez. Connecting this book and the excerpt given allowed me to have an idea of what Rita Dove might be conveying in her poem Parsley. From the except one can tell that the word “perejil” and how you say it can cost your life. Pereliej means parsley and the excerpt revealed the cruelty of how it was used to try to succeed in a genocide against the Haitian population. Now using these ideas I thought I could analyze the last two stanzas of “the cane fields”. Rita Dove says how the general found the word “perejil”. Here it is evident that Rita is connecting this to the parsley massacre. When Doves says “he laughs, teeth shining out of the swap”. Knowing that the general is Trujillo I could imagine this as some sort of evil laugh because I thought this was his key to killing the Haitians so it gives him pleasure. In the last stanza, rita dove talks about the cane being in their dreams. I could imagine that the Haitians had to work in cane fields and that they were probably forced into that labour since it is “haunting” them. Then Rita Dove uses profanity diction like” lashed” and “streaming”. By using these words I thought Rita dove was referring to whipping since the Haitians were basically enslaved. After this reputation is used by saying they are lying down but for every drop of blood... This gives the reader the idea that since the general settled on a word (Trujillo word “perejil”) they are lying down and dead already. Finally refrain is used in the last two lines of the passage. I think what Rita dove is trying to say is that for every killing that is unfair there is still wealth going to general. Wealth is symbolized by the parrot because it is imitating spring (green is the color of money) which is the advantage for Trujillo.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the poem I knew that I had read about Trujillo previously before and it was not until I read your blog post that I realized it was from In Time of The Butterflies from freshman year! I too was aware that he was capable of massacring but did not know about the parsley executions. With all the imagery that Rita Dove uses, it makes people quick to make connections between the article and the poem. Especially the imagery of Trujillo makes one understand how capable of cruelty he is.
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ReplyDeleteIn the powerful article “The Farming of Bones” by Edwidge Danticat, it is shown the extent of desperation that will lead to poor decision making. This article describes the time when the Dictator of the Dominican Republic (Trujillo) wanted to twenty haitians executed. He did this by making them pronounce perejil with the spanish accent instead of the french that they were used. Perejil means parsley and if they failed to say it properly then they were executed and brutally tortured. In this article Amabelle tells us of the brutal punishment that her and her countrymen went through. At the start of the article she states “At that moment, I did believe that had I wanted to, I could have said the word properly, calmly, slowly, and they way I often asked “Perejil?””. A little later she proceeds to saying “But I didn’t get my chance”. Although it says she didn’t have a chance to say it properly it seems as though there is a sense of internal rebellion within Amabelle. She states that she has said it the correct way before so even though she did not have the chance she probably could have said it as she was about to get tortured if she was that desperate. There was an extreme sense of rebellion at the last line of the article when stated “You ask for perejil, I give you more”. This shows that no matter the hardships that they face, they will never succumb to the power and cruelness of Trujillo. They will always have self pride and the urge to fight against the autonomy.
I liked how you analyzed this expert and coming up with the overall impression that no matter what hardships they face they will never succumb to Trujillo. My question, however, is how Rita Dove poem "Parsley" conveys what is being told in "the Framing of Bones"?
DeleteIn the first part (“The Cane Fields”) of the poem “Parsley”, Rita Dove effectively illustrates the suffering that Haitians encounter, and poses a clear connection to the novel The Farming of Bones. Before any explication, the main event throughout the poem must be identified: The Parsley Massacre conducted by General Rafael Trujillo. Trujillo was a dictator of the Dominican Republic, who attempted to increase the influence of the Dominicans by eliminating the Haitians. Estimated 20,000 Haitians were massacred in the process, and the poem “The Cane Fields” visibly illustrates their grief and persecution.
ReplyDeleteThe very first thing to notice is the use of allusion in the poem. There are multiples allusions that connect back to the Parsley Massacre, and one of them is “El General”. Without a doubt, the general refers to the cruel and merciless dictator Trujillo, who took the full charge in every little step of the tragedy. As we continue, there is another interesting allusion that appears, “We cannot speak an R”. Haitians, who spoke French and Creole, were incapable of pronouncing ‘r’. Haitians’ inability to pronounce ‘r’ flows smoothly to our next allusion, “El General has found his word: Perejil. Who says it, lives.” General Trujillo, noticing Haitians’ incapability, decides to sort out the race by forcing them to pronounce the word. This connects to one of the scenes in The Farming of Bones. The soldiers that caught the Haitian fugitives question, “‘Tell us what this is,’ one said. ‘Que diga Perejil.’” This scene of interrogation clarifies the allusion, as well as the punishment given to those who were identified as Haitians: death.
Another interesting pattern that occurrs throughout the poem is the use of refrain. One very clear refrain was, “There is a parrot imitating spring”. Unlike many of my peers, I personally interpreted this refrain with positive connotation. The first reason why I did so is because spring generally contains a feeling of fresh start, brightness, and cheerfulness. I assumed that the same could be applied for the spring that the parrot imitates, which is a clear sign of upcoming hope. Another evidence was by actually looking at the start and the end date of the massacre. September of 1937 marked the beginning of the Parsley Massacre, and it came to an end around January of 1938. The time period in which the massacre broke out appears to be during fall and winter, usually the symbols of suffering and pain. On the other hand, the genocide came to an end as it approached spring, which enhances the idea that the “parrot imitating spring” signals the upcoming optimism and hope.
Throughout the poem, Dove clearly creates an oppressive and harsh scene through the use of allusion, which reveals the meaningless deaths of thousands due to one dictator’s wrongdoings. However, at the same time, the use of refrain reveals the hidden hope beneath the surface, which gives the Haitians something to hold on to in the midst of such darkness. This universal message extends beyond the Parsley Massacre to the readers: There is always hope and optimism to look up to, despite the degrading and menial situation that we are currently in.
Joseph, I also blogged about the repetition of the phrase "There is a parrot imitating spring." I think the point that you bring up about the parrot, and its correlation to spring, representing hope and is interesting because I never considered that. In my blog post I talked about the progression of the parrot as a symbol of violence, which is quiet the opposite of how you saw it. I thought that your point made valid arguments, and I can see where both interpretations come form. From the side of the bird representing violence I think that it is important for you to realize the multiple references to the bird which were in the same sentence as allusions and mentioning of the Parsley Massacre and the mass-murder that is the subject of this poem. At the beginning of the poem, the bird is supposed to symbolize peace, beauty, and optimism as many birds do. But later in the poem, there is a sense of irony because the bird is the pet of a cruel dictator, and though the bird is still beautiful and peaceful, it is used in a context where it is associated with many horrible things.
DeleteIn the poem “Parsley” Rita Dove writes about a leader in the Dominican Republic who treats his people unreasonably by killing them because they cannot pronounce a word correctly. He does this in order to release the anger he has regarding the sudden death of his mother. Dove uses symbolism and irony to explain the gruesome and unfair rule of El General over the Haitians. The poem talks about a parrot that imitates spring each year and cane that consistently appears in the swamp. The parrot symbolizes El General and the cane symbolizes El General’s deceased mother. We know this because Dove writes, “The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming. And we lie down. For every drop of blood there is a parrot imitating spring”. The cane haunts the Haitians in their sleep because it is what makes El General kill them. The general looks at the cane and it reminds him of his mother which makes him want to kill. It is saying that for each person that is killed, the parrot is the cause, which means the parrot symbolizes El General. Dove uses irony when she writes, “Ever since the morning his mother collapsed in the kitchen while baking skull- shaped candies for the Day of the Dead, the general has hated sweets. He orders pastries brought up for the bird”. Recall that the bird symbolizes the general. Thus, it is ironic that he is ordering sweets for himself although they remind him of his mother and he says that he hates them. He reminds himself of his mother’s tragedy in order to find a place to release his anger: the Haitian people. This is similar to him using the Haitian’s poor grammar as an excuse to kill them and avenge his mother’s death.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I agree with your representation of the symbols and the anaphora. I also agree with you on what eat means and their connections you made to the main characters in the story. For example how the cane makes the general want to kill. But I was wondering to what extent you say the hatian grammar effecting this? If there was a more in depth explanation?
DeleteI also wrote about “Parsley” by Rita Dove. I wrote about the cane and the people's fear of the cane. I did not write about the connection between the cane and Trujillo's mother. I definitely agree with your interpretation of how the death of his mother makes him want to kill. I found it very interesting how he described his mother's teeth as having arrowheads. This is weird because she is very well fed and is not starving. The people of the children of the Dominican Republic also gnaw their teeth to arrow heads. Perhaps the sugar rotted her teeth. I’m not exactly sure how his mother was in a situation where her teeth were gnawed to arrowheads. Maybe her death happens before Trujillo ruled.
DeleteRita Dove’s poem “Parsley” is about in a time in the Dominican Republic when their dictator, Rafael Trujillo, ordered 20,000 Haitian blacks to be executed if they could not roll their R’s in the spanish word for parsley (“perejil”) correctly.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, something that really stood out to me was the motif of the parrot, and the repetition of the phrase “a parrot imitating spring,” which was repeated four separate times. This poem starts out with imagery involving a parrot.This is important because it relates to one of the maxims that we learned in class: if something is important that you want to use later, introduce it early. This is likely why the first thing that Rita Dove mentions is the parrot. By telling us that the parrot is green, Dove could be trying to tell the reader many things. When I read this I first recognized that green was the color of parsley, which is significant as it is the title of the poem. But after further thinking about the significance of Dove choosing to mention this, I associated green with nature or growth, which is often what the season Spring stands to represent. Coincidentally (or not), this is what the parrot is meant to symbolize in this poem. Later, in the simile: “like a parrot imitating spring,//we lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green,” the parrot and spring is compared to the Haitian cane workers (“we”) “lying down screaming,” which is an early reference to violence. This simile again brings up the color green, signifying how important it really is to the poem. The parrot is mentioned the next two times in progressively worse situations, transforming the image of the bird from something beautiful and peaceful, into an image associated with violence. The first is in relations to arrows, but the last reference to the parrot is accompanied in the same sentence by “every drop of blood” which is an allusion to part two of the poem, and the mass-murder of the Haitian workers.
I like your analysis of the changing meaning of the parrot, I hadn't even noticed that. I saw the refrain of "a parrot imitating spring", but I had difficulty deciphering the meaning. You mentioned the comparison the the Haitian cane workers, I wonder if you saw any significance in Dove's refrain of the word "cane" throughout the poem in conjunction with them being cane workers? I think this double meaning was intentional.
Delete“Parsley” by Rita Dove is about the dictator of the Dominican Republic Trujillo, also known as El Jefe. As a high ranking military leader he overthrew the leader at the time and brought pain and sadness to the lands of the Dominican Republic. His leadership ended up causing a rebellion.
ReplyDeleteRita Dove uses Spanish, symbolism and exaggeration to create a sad tone and portray the awful situation to the reader. She writes, “El General has found his word: perejil”(Dove). Perejil means parsley which is also the title of the poem. It is believed that parsley grow for the wicked and not for the good. Also if parsley grows in a garden there will be death before the year is over. The symbolism represents how El Jefe is a wicked man which creates a sad tone because of what he will do to the Dominican people. Also the death before the year is over could represent his assassination or the killing of many others because of him. Dove writes, “The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads”(Dove). The exaggeration shows the reader how the children are chewing on their teeth due to hunger, or phrase they are sharpening their teeth to bite El Jefe. She also writes, “ He laughs, teeth shining out of the swamp” (Dove). His teeth being in a swamp represents how his mouth is a swamp. The swamp teeth symbolizes how he is a liar. The tone is sad because he is lying to the people of the Dominican Republic. Dove writes, “ The cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming” (Dove). The Dominican people fear the cane season, a plant that is one of the main exports of the Dominican republic because they will be forced to work in the fields. The tone becomes sad because of the description of the workers being forced to work the cane fields.
Baylor, I agree with your Interpetation of this poem. In addition to the points you made, the poetic structure of the poem could further support your point. The use of causura and end stop in this poem supports the point you made about the Spanish symbolism of parsley. If parsley grows in a yard and death is sure to follow within a year, then the punctuation and pauses in the poem could represent the death of each worker. I really like your explanation and looks like you did some extensive research.
DeleteBaylor, I completely agree with your ideas on the general and how the cane affects his decisions. However, I made a connection between the cane and the general’s deceased wife that you did not write about. I believe this is an important connection to make to clearly understand “Parsley” because it seems that the anger the general carries after the death of his mother is what gives him the motive to kill so many innocent Haitians. Without the incident with his mother collapsing in the kitchen, El General may have still been a harsh ruler, but I doubt he would carry his anger to the extent of killing the Haitians because they could not pronounce the letter “R”.
DeleteIn her poem "parsley" Rita dove uses repetition and irony to depict the cruelty and injustice acts committed on many Haitians. There's a big allusion in the poem in which the readers should know and that is the historical event caused by Rafael Trujillo( Dominican Republic dictator) to kill 20,000 blacks in Haiti, simply because they were unable to pronounce the letter "r". The first part of the poem " The Cane Fields", represents the situation in the point of view of a Haitian farm worker. Here, repetition and harsh negative imagery used by dove, portray the point. An example of negative and harsh imagery is " we lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green". Here, "screaming" and "punching" have a literal meaning and create a tone in which the readers are disturbed by the situation. Later dove writes, " Th cane appears in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming". Here, there's another allusion, the cane. This probably represents the cane the general carried. The use of negative nature imagery in this phrase, displays how the workers felt helpless and hopeless. The use of repitition also creates a tone, in which the audience grows worried.
ReplyDeleteThe phrases" there's sparrow imitating spring" and " the cane appears" are repeated throughout this part of the poem. Rita dove begins the first stanza by using these phrases, in fact the very first line states, " there's a parrot imitating spring". The last line of every stanza has one of these phrases written. The phrases Switch on every other stanza, to portray how the thoughts and mind of the workers jumped from place to place, but really they were only focused on these two phrases. The phrase" the cane appears" is used to portray how, the general, whom has the power to kill them, could appear anywhere. The second repeated phrase, "like a parrot imitating spring" is a metaphor to show the hopelessness of the workers. The parrot( itself an allusion, since the general had a parrot) is a bird. This bird could be free and fly far away but is caged inside the general's palace and repeated what he hears. Similarly the workers are slaved to the general and have no one escape. "Imitating spring" is to show how spring, a symbol for beauty and Happniess, is only imitated through the parrot and never actually found. The hope of a better life the workers posses, will never be found as a result of their condition. Also Rita dove structures this poem with caesura and end stops. This poetic structure further pushes on the tone of the poem. The constant stops and pauses, create a tone of hopelessness in the readers' minds, since similar to line, the workers' lives will soon come to end or be destructed.
In her poem “Quick”, Rita Dove uses an exemplary situation of ballroom dance in order to send a universal message on the importance of grasping an ephemeral opportunity. I interpreted and divided the poem into three sections, each containing different features and stages.
ReplyDeleteThe first three stanzas can be grouped as the first section of the poem, with their common distinctive qualities. What ties the first three stanzas together is the clear illustration of the calm and shy boy at the ballroom dance. The boy finds a beautiful lady at the dance, too beautiful that he cannot even dare to directly stare: “Wink of fuzz in the headlights”. Yet he does not attempt to make any further movement than to stare at her from the dark and hidden corner, as Dove writes, “he peers from the culvert, all bobble and twitch, vacant eyes”. The boy feels completely drawn into the majestic lady whom he has discovered, yet he cannot dare to make any sort of movement, thus clearly depicting his shyness and stillness. One poetry device that enhances such illustration is the use of end-stops. Five of six lines in the first section pause with the end-stop, which causes the readers’ thoughts to pause as well. This connects to the calmness, stillness, and slow progression that the boy experiences at the ballroom dance.
The next two stanzas (fourth and fifth) paint a mysterious and secretive picture in readers’ minds, and associate the lady as a symbol of opportunity. First, Rita Dove uses metaphor in order to accomplish this goal. In the fourth stanza, Dove describes her as, “On the hill, there crested in moonshine the fabled silhouette”. The lady at the ballroom dance is described as a secretive yet appealing creature, allowing the readers to interpret her figuratively in many different ways. One of the options was to interpret and associate the lady as a symbol of opportunity. Such association comes from the fact that the appealing and attractive chances in people’s lives do not come so directly, but it is rather concealed and shines even brighter for that reason. Also, the use of magnetic diction delivers a similar impact. Words like “fabled”, or “flamboyant” present in the stanza are often used in the occasions when something or someone is highly appealing or charming. Therefore, the use of magnetic diction adds to the previous interpretation of opportunity, and causes it to appear ever more appealing.
Finally, the last four stanzas are considered a third section, with a common theme of ephemeral opportunities. Even thought the boy sights such an attractive lady at the dance, he’s too shy to approach her and hesitates to make movement toward her. And soon, the far-too-long hesitance causes the woman (opportunity) to disappear in front of his eyes. Rita Dove depicts, “she disappears: red swish or gray, too quick to tell”. In addition, Dove enhances this quick disappearance through the use of enjambment. Four of seven lines in the final section continue on to the next line with enjambment, creating a non-stop and rapid pace. Therefore, despite the wonderful experience of sighting an opportunity, the boy simply stands there and watches it rapidly disappear, which clarifies Rita Dove’s message to grasp and cling on to the opportunity that you encounter.
When I read this poem I was really confused about what was going on. Phrases like "look, a baby one" and "where's mother" (both italicized) thew me off, guard. After reading your interpretation of this poem, it really cleared this poem up of me. But I am still wondering why Rita Doves use those phrases and decide to italicize it. Since you didn't include it in your blog I want to ask you the reason you think she does this based off your interpretation.
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ReplyDeleteAmerican Smooth
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, I think that Rita Dove is expressing how the art of dancing is her escape when times are difficult. In the first line, it says, “We were dancing”. Rita Dove doesn't try to sugar-coat it and gets to the point that dancing is what she is going to be talking about. The she explains the process of the dance making it sounds very arousing, but it requires focus. After she says this Rita Dove uses caesura for a dramatic stop before she juxtaposes the two words “perfect” and agony” summarizing the feel of the dance. Then after this line, this is where Dove reveals that dancing is something special to her by saying "one learns to smile though ecstatic mimicry”. The juxtaposition of “ecstatic” and “mimicry” and gives the meaning that positivity can spread through interaction whether is through dancing or any sort of activity because if one smiles the other does too. She then says that this escape is what American Smooth is all about. After this Rita Dove conveys that doing an activity you like can allow you to escape from reality. She does by forgetting how still the person she was dancing with was (because she focused on the performing the dance). Using a parenthetical to give us an actual feel of forgetfulness, Rita Dove questions the past " for two measures? for?". After the parenthetical Dove finishes this poem with the use of positive diction including “achieved”, “swift”, “serene”, and “magnificence”. The positive diction helps describes how beautiful life is when you escape and set your mind free. She then ends it in a lyrical way by using alliteration “ before the earth remembered who we were and brought us down”. I think what Rita Dove means when saying this is that you're only happy and distracted for the time being before eventually low points reality strikes again.
I really liked your view on the poem as you really looked into the depth of the poem. The first thing that caught my attention was the imagery that she used in the poem. At first she states “into the next song without stopping, two chests heaving above a seven-league stride...”. Later in the poem she states “(the leftward lean, head turned just enough to gaze out past your ear and always smiling, smiling)”. The segments of imagery really show how truly happy and free from reality she feels when dancing.
DeleteI thought that this view of the poem "American Smooth" was very insightful. When analyzing this poem I wasn't quite sure what to thin, but I too noticed the juxtaposition of the phrase "perfect agony." I thought this poem was clearly about dancing not only because of her direct stating, but also because of the language she used, much of which relates to dancing. I really liked that you found a deeper meaning to this poem because before reading your blog post I was confused on how to interpret it, but this helped me a lot.
DeleteI also wrote about “American Smooth”. The only topic in the poem we both talked about was the “perfect agony”. I didn't write about the caesura which in retrospect would have been a good literary device to analyze. I do agree though that the “perfect agony” summarizes the dance. I also like how you talked about the diction at the end of the poem because I agree with you saying it describes how beautiful life can be when someone set their mind free. I did notice you did not write about her achieving flight or at least asking if she had. I felt this was a very important part of the poem but perhaps you feel otherwise.
Delete“Fox” is a very impactful poem that is very easily connected with society today. The poem discusses a woman who is happy and content with herself. She does not need what most women feel like they need in their life to be whole, a man. Repetition and anaphora in this poem really puts emphasis on how important she is and what is truly important in her life. By starting many sentences with the word “she”, help convey that herself is the main thing she needs in life to be happy and does not need to rely on others to bring her happiness. The words “was” and “which was” appear a lot to show that everything is always something. She makes the most of everything and what she has is truly enough for her. This contradicts a common issue in society of everyone wanting what they can not have. However in the poem it is stated “she loved nothing more than what she had”. Another issue in society is body image, particularly with girls. Research has proven, that after going through puberty, many girls on the western hemisphere are discontent and starve themselves because of their feeling about their body. The weight gain that occurs is often very unwelcome by girls and they therefore become very sad and disapproving of their body. A very powerful line in this poem states “she loved what she was”. Although this can be describing her mental and emotional state, I imagined it describing her physical appearance. This poem is a very meaningful piece that portrays a girl who has a lot of self pride and content unlike many other women in modern society.
ReplyDeleteAmmel, I thought it was very interesting how closely you contradicted the woman in the poem from teenage girls in today's society. Your interpretation made perfect sense to me, how teens in our society are often times unsatisfied for not having enough, whether it be worldly possessions or physical appearance. I interpreted the poem as a woman who is oppressed by the influence and superiority of men, and how she clearly stands up against such inequality. But personally, I think your interpretation makes much more sense in terms of context and literary features, and I also think the point you brought up about repetition and anaphora smoothly fit your interpretation.
DeleteI agree with both you and Joseph. Teenagers in modern day society and the women in the poem there are many things that can be related. I really liked the point you made about the use of the word "she" especially if we relate it to a teenager and how lost this ideal can be. I really enjoyed how you paralleled and contracted Dove's words with society. Do you think this is a structure and goal modern day teenage girls should strive for? Or do you think that this is an unrealistic goal for teenage girls?
DeleteAmmel, it is interesting that you viewed the girl in this poem as not needing a man in her life to be happy. Yes, it seems that she is content and confident without one, however I think that this is the reason she does not have a man in her life. Dove writes, “She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle”. It seems that this girl is not spoiled in possessions, however she is in love with herself. A relationship is not possible for her because she is so confident and focused on herself that she could not possibly show care and affection for another person for an extended period of time.
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ReplyDeleteIn her poem "Ta Ta Cha Cha", Rita Dove uses the title as an allusion to create a rhythm in her poem, as well as various other literary features within her poem to emphasize this. Throughout the poem, Dove uses visual imagery as well. She uses this imagery to create a real life application for the poem. This imagery includes things such as: "pluck his crackerjack prize," "a child's dropped gelato cone." and "face hidden by a dirty wingspan of the daily newspaper.". These quotes are used to allow the reader to make personal connections to the poem. Most people in our modern day society can visualize someone walking down the street with a newspaper sprawled across their face. Dove also uses heavy bird imagery throughout the poem. This bird imagery relates to the sense of freedom she feels while dancing. This also relates to one of our motifs, "Flight is freedom". This use of motif and imagery shows how though the dance Dove does not feel bound by earth's rules. These rules include "I'm American, besandaled and backpacked,". Even though many of those rules may not be recognized at surface levels, there are many societal rules that put pressure on any given person. This can relate to Dove's other poem in American Smooth called "Fox" which relates to a girl and her confidence despite everything else.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of the poem and really like it. When reading your post, I noticed something in your quote that could further support your point. In the quote “I'm American, besandaled and backpacked," the terminology and allusion of “besandled” and “backpacked” could also prove the sense of freedom she feels when dancing. When you think of a backpacker, for example, you think of someone travelling without attachment to a certain place. Here this is used to exemplify that feeling- just moving forward, not attached to anything and feeling free.
DeleteThe poem “Fox” by Rita Dove is a perfect example of how the form affects the meaning of a poem. In this poem, the repetition and anaphora, as well as the structure of the lines are the main, and perhaps only, identifiers to the meaning. Anaphora is demonstrated in this poem through the use of “She” at the beginning of every sentence. This use depicts how the woman being described here is the only subject of the poem. Showing how she is the only person that matters in her life, this emphasizes the importance of loving oneself, having confidence and ultimately being content with being alone.
ReplyDeleteRepetition in this poem is another contributor to the meaning. There are two words, one in each stanza, which are repeated. One is “imagine”, which is used in the first stanza, and the other is “nothing”, used in the second stanza. The repetition of “imagine” is symbolic for how the only matter in her mind, the only imaginations or dreams that she has are of her succeeding in her life. This displays that she has high goals and confidence, which is also emphasized when Dove writes “ She loved what she was…”. This woman described is self-assured and self-reliant, further displaying why Dove repeats the word “imagine” to show that the only thing she imagines is herself. This concept is also the reason Dove uses the word “nothing” in the second stanza. “Nothing” is for showing how she doesn’t need anything else, or anyone else in her life to satisfy her. The last sentence says “ She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle”. This suggests how this woman was content with not having a man to love, that loving herself was the only love she needed.
The last poetic device used by Dove is the line structure. She uses short lines to display a persistent, transparent and fixed tone. A line that is long with a lot of commas, usually gives the audience the impression that there's more to the meaning than what is described, but the short, bold, simple words used here, create a satisfying a lucid tone. Dove uses this to highlight how important it is in this society, for women to feel satisfied with themselves, and be independent of others’ acceptance and love.
In “Quick” Rita Dove uses a metaphor to compare people to foxes and the way they think. People are constantly looking for love, when many times it is not completely achieved or a distraction from what matters the most. In the poem, a baby fox is searching for his mother but she is hiding from him. She is leaving her child, to grow independently, as she continues her life without the stress of watching out for a child. Dove focuses on the fox’s tail as she writes, “ On the hill, there- crested in moonshine the fabled silhouette, sleek curve plumpening into a tail waving its flamboyant afterthought”. The fox’s tail symbolizes independence as it waves goodbye to it’s child. Rather than sleeping in a den, red fox’s obtain warmth by curling up with their fluffy tail during winter. This creates a tone of sadness and confusion because the reader has a hard time understanding how someone can walk away from their child so easily and without hesitation. The fact that the reader has a hard time understanding this proves Dove’s point; people become too attached and focused on their children that they forget to live their own life. Dove is not suggesting that mothers leave their kids behind to fend for themselves, instead she wants the reader to recognize that at some point the child needs to learn independently. Dove ends the poem by writing, “O to be gone like that, no grief nor thought of love- pure purpose poured into flight”. The maxim “flight equals freedom” is used in this passage in order to stress the idea of giving children the opportunities to learn through independent experience rather than holding their hand through each step in life.
ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove’s poem “Fox Trot Fridays,” there is a certain rhythm that is similar to the dance the fox trot as well: long and flowing. Dove creates this effect by having the lines spread out upon many stanzas with a consistent structure to elongate the poem, as well as make it flow smoothly. Dove also uses enjambment throughout the whole poem. There are only two instances of caesuras in the whole poem, and only one sentence end, although there are a few endstops. This style of poetry makes the poem flow well without a lot of pausing, more like one full motion, similar to the dance the fox trot. Her word choice furthers the idea of the style of the writing reflecting the style of the dance with her use of words like “lift,” “smooth,” and “sweep.” These are all words that could also be used to describe people who are dancing the fox trot dance. Not only does Rita Dove use style and structure to depict a fox trot dance, but the idea of the poem is rather romantic, in that it is a man and a woman dancing the fox trot together. The fox trot is often considered a romantic dance, and Dove uses this with her diction and language to create an intimate feel much like the dancers are feeling whilst they dance this beautiful dance.
ReplyDeleteIn “American Smooth” by Rita Dove is about her and another person ballroom dancing. She uses exaggeration, personification, and oxymoron to create a happy tone. Dove uses exaggeration because it brings attention to an important point in the poem catching the reader's attention. She writes, “we had done it (for two measures? four?)-- achieved flight”(Dove). The exaggeration of her achieving flight portrays to the reader a sense of freedom. Flight is associated with freedom and flying for the first time would be a moment of happiness. The tone of happiness is shown through this happiness and freedom created by her short first flight. Dove also uses an oxymoron because they help show that there are two sides to one word. She also writes, “such perfect agony”(Dove). This is an oxymoron because perfect and agony are contradicting words. Even though there is agony which is not a happy feeling the agony is perfect because she is accomplishing her goal of dancing beautifully. There is agony and hard work in nearly everything humans do to succeed but in the end there is still happiness. The reader understands how the hard work she is putting into the poem may cause her agony but in the end will bring her joy. She also uses personification to help create the happy tone. She writes, “before the earth remembered who we were and brought us down”(Dove). Although it may seem sad for the earth to bring her back down it seems to be something that she expected. It is almost a challenge to fly again. The earth is their adversary and they have to fight it to achieve flight again. The reader gets the impression that she could fly again with enough effort creating a happy tone. Overall this challenge may seem sad but could still bring joy.
ReplyDeleteI really like your interpretation of this poem. The idea of flight and freedom was really interesting. I also wrote about the oxymoron or paradox of "such perfect agony". I disagree that it's about the reader seeing how hard Dove worked on the poem, I think it's about dancing itself. Countless hours of practice are put in for mere minutes of performance that must be perfect. I believe that's the perfect agony she talks about. I do however agree with the happy tone of the poem, I discussed that as well in my post.
DeleteIn "Lady Freedom Among Us", Rita Dove establishes a commanding tone to remind her audience how hard victories in civil rights were worked for, and how the country must continue to strive for freedom. This is seen in the consistent use of enjambment throughout the poem. It flows less, making the poem seem harsher. It also contains no punctuation, and is in all lowercase letters. This is done to make the poem not flow as well and less smooth. When one commands someone else to do something, it isn’t smooth, it tends to be more choppy and harsh. This is why Dove chooses to omit punctuation and get rid of capital letters. Another example is the repetition of “don’t” throughout the poem. This warns the reader not to forget how hard we must work for civil rights. This is especially shown in, “don’t cross to the other side of the square/ don’t think another item to fit on a tourist’s agenda”. The previous stanza alludes to the Statue of Liberty, a long-standing symbol of freedom for America and the rest of the world. Dove warns the reader to not ignore it, and to remember what it stands for. In the eighth stanza, Dove directly tells the reader, “don’t think you can ever forget her/ don’t even try”. Again, the anaphora of “don’t” adds to the commanding tone, and contributes to her message about the constant fight for civil rights.
ReplyDeleteThe poem’s title, “Lady Freedom Among Us” is an allegory for the Statue of Liberty. It symbolizes freedom, a very important theme in the “Civil Rights Movement” poems. The repetition of “with her” in the third stanza helps to emphasize the important of this in the poem. It also adds to the idea that the poem is speaking of her, “with her old-fashioned sandals/ with her leaden skirts”. The Statue of Liberty wears sandals and heavy skirts. Including this monument in the poem adds to the idea of freedom that Dove stresses as well.
In her poem "The Abduction", Rita Dove uses many different literary features and methods to tell her story. In this poem Dove tells the story of a Black who as can be inferred by the title, was abducted. But the catch is that this person did have "free papers". This means that the person who ended up in captivity was by law considered a free person. Dove uses a lot of allusions in the first stanza. She references Solomon Northrup, Brown, and Hamilton. All people who had been severely effected by slavery in their lifetime. When the citizen such as these very important and notables "clotted" the avenue, the audience can assume Dove is talking about Pennsylvania avenue, the address of the White House. This somewhat upbeat tone in the first three stanzas, turns as the poem progresses, which is also reflected in the structure of the poem. The first stanza is a quintet and then the next is a quatrain, each decreasing until the last line of the poem stands on its own. This last line reads: "I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains." Dove uses this change in tone to show how while many may have a very full and happy quality of life, this can change. Especially when slavery works its way into someones life.
ReplyDeleteI also had similar views about this poem. I like your analysis of the structure of the poems (quintet, quatrain, etc.). This was an excellent device that Dove employed to show the changing tone that you mentioned. I also believe the added anaphora/repetition of "I" statements from the third stanza on helped to show the tone shift. Phrases such as “I floated on water I could not drink. Though the pillow/ was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep”. I also believe that this tone shift was associated with waking up from his dream of freedom from slavery.
DeleteBelinda's Petition
ReplyDeleteRita Dove expresses the point of view of Belinda in the year 1782 and her argument for a petition. Belinda was enslaved by the Royall family, in Medford, Massachusetts. In Isaac Royall Jr. will she proposed that his daughter shall have the right to have Belinda if she doesn't choose her freedom. If she does choose her freedom she gets security and will not be charged by the town to Medford. He then instructed Willis Hall (Isaacs friend) to give Belinda 30 euros for 3 years in 1768. In 1781, Isaac dies and then she started to get paid. Then in 1783, Belinda presented a petition to Massachusetts general court, which requested her and her daughter to receive a pension from the proceeds of Isaac's estate. Massachusetts legislature approved an annual pension of 15 pounds and 12 shillings to be paid from the estate.
In the first stanza, irony and alliteration is used. The irony is used when Belinda said “ I will not take too much of your time” because in reality she's the one who's been working so hard and deserves all the time she needs because of her rights back then. After this alliteration is used with the words “ plead”,” place”, and “pitiable". This is a way Rita Dove's chooses to emphasises Belinda desperateness to have a say. Overall Rita Dove is conveying in the first stanza that Belinda wanted to just have a say because of all she's been through.
In the second stanza, Rita Dove is saying that the countrymen had been easing the oppression of blacks lately and she hopes they can alleviate the oppression with her too. Belinda is hoping she can talk all she wants about her current condition. Rita does capitalizes air and advantage to emphasise the freedom of speech here.
In the last stanza, she talks about the accusation that she is ignorant by the conception of whites, Rita Dove then uses the phrase from the actual petition "on the Banks of the Rio de Valta”. The banks of the Rio de Valta in Ghana and she is expressing how she existed there. Then in a sarcastic tone Rita Dove exclaims Belinda view of her being ignorant fo them because she didn't expect them coming and taking her. Finally with the use of a simile Rita Dove expresses how else could I know these white men (faces like the moon because the moon is white) were going to take her up for 12 years. So to summarize this stanza she is asking why is she ignorant if in the first place she didn't expect this to happen and that is it wasn't even her choice for this event to even happen.
Daniel, I really appreciate your analysis because it includes many points that I have not realized before as I was color marking them. One of them was the phrase, "I will not take too much of your time". I interpreted that sentence literally, without bothering to dig deeper into it. However, after reading your analysis, her claim sounds rather sarcastic and bitter, as Belinda is mocking the fact that she won't take very long to express her pleas, as opposed to the title of slavery that had oppressed her for the past years.
DeleteBut one thing that I might add to your analysis is the part about "Lately your Countrymen have severed the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope you would consider the Same for me". You analyzed it as countrymen easing the oppression, but I had a different interpretation on it. I thought it was referring to the fact that the colonies were finally freed from British control, and that now it's America's turn to let go of its control over slavery.
In the poem “The situation is intolerable” Rita Dove discusses the brutal and difficult times the blacks went through. It seems that they are unable to act the same as whites because they are uncivilized. However they are just as civilized, if not even more civilized than whites. When stated “but the stars- tiny, missionary stars-” I thought the stars described the stars on the national flag. Even throughout all the flames and tragedy, the stars representing the “unified nation” kept everyone civilized. Later in the poem it states “if we ain't got a pot to piss in and nowhere to put it if we did?”. This shows how whites are arrogantly forcing them to be uncivilized by not giving them the opportunity to be sanitary, yet complain that they behave in an uncivilized manner. This is a still problem that occurs in society today. Another main issue is evident when Dove stated “Our situation is intolerable, but what's worse is to sit here and do nothing.” This is very similar to society today when people complain of others actions yet do nothing to stop or help the issue. In this situation, blacks feel very helpless and almost at the point where they just want to give up because they don't know how to help benefit their situation. This poem clearly conveys the miserable thoughts that went through the blacks mind when going through this traumatic time.
ReplyDeleteAmmel, your interpretation of the poem is really well! I agree with what you said about the representation of the stars. I believe the stars are also a symbol of hope, a symbol of how the stars on our flag are representative of hope, but they are questioned here because the narrator doesn't see much hope or justice. Where you said that whites don't give blacks the opportunity to be sanitary yet they complain about this issue and how it occurs in society today, how is it evident in society today? Maybe giving a couple examples of its similar effect on society would make your point stronger:) The next part, where you talked about doing actions and not doing actions, was really interesting for me because I hadn't thought about it that way. You make a strong point here by explaining how blacks feel about this situation.
DeleteThe Abduction
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, Rita Dove tells the story of former slave, who had been freed, but put back in chains. Through use of allusions of specific historically significant people, Dove tells this story. One of these figures, Solomon Northup, was a famous abolitionist, who is very known for writing the memoir “Twelve Years a Slave”. The content of this memoir are about a slave, who was freed, but then again sold into slavery, even though he had his free papers. Northrup is used in this poem, therefore, to give the similar situation to the subject of the poem. The other historical figures, Brown, Hamilton and Harrison, are also very well known abolitionists, and are referred to further highlight the narrator's desire for freedom. In the first two stanzas, Dove writes about how glorious and successful these abolitionists’ work has been, therefore creating a joyous tone for the readers, but this feeling is contradicted in the second stanza, when Dove writes “ The wages were good. While Brown’s tall hat collected pennies at the tent flap, Hamilton’s feet did a jog on a tightrope” (Dove). This creates an ironic tone since, “the wages” described as being “good” don’t appear to be so good by the jobs of Hamilton and Brown. This portrays how the narrator sees the works of the abolitionists as nothing more of an act, that seems to appear like a philanthropic motion, but is really not making a significant difference on the lives of the slaves.
The form of this poem also gives a significant depth to the meaning, as it really is an epitome of how the form of the poem affects its meaning. The number of lines in the stanzas decrease from a quintet all the way to the last stanza being one sentence only. This is to show how the hope of the narrator is somewhat disappearing as he/she gets closer to their reality. The last line depicts this by saying,” I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains”.
Golbon, your interpretation of this poem was great. When I read this I didn't even notice the significance the stanzas decreasing in lines until I read your blog. I also liked how you pointed out the irony in this poem as well. When I blogged about Belinda petition I also found iron so maybe it is a style Rita Dove uses to convey slavery? But when I read this I interpreted a bit differently. Of course, I agree with this being about these three famous abolitionists, but when Rita dove asked Why should I have doubted them? and then at the end said her wold up alone to find her self in the dark and in chains it made me think she was trying to convey that back then it was hard to trust anyone and that nothing was guaranteed.
DeleteI really like the poem you chose because I have seen the movie 12 years a slave and the poem lines up with the plot of the movie. I like how you talk about how the mood changes in the poem, because in the movie the mood changes so fast form happy to sad. I also like how you pointed the decreasing lines because it it definitely does seem like his hope is disappearing. I think if the poem continued to when he got released the stanzas would continue to get bigger and bigger because of his new hope for a happy life. I really like the last line which you talked about because it is so moving. The reader feels so bad for him. He just went from having everything to having nothing.
DeleteGolbon, you viewed this poem as the story of a man who was freed and then later put in chains for the second time. This is an interesting thought. I viewed it as a man who lived on the streets for years as a free man and then was captured as a slave for the first time. The first time reading the poem, I instantly thought of money when Dove wrote about Northrup;s “free papers” because this is something he would lose when he became a slave, showing his lack of freedom. However, your interpretation makes a lot of sense too. Also it seems that you did much more research on Solomon Northrup than I did. For this reason I trust your idea of Northrup’s free papers being papers that confirm he is no longer a slave, more than I do my own idea.
DeleteIn the poem “The House Slave”, Rita Dove clearly illustrates the difficulty of living as house slaves. The main hardship that the poem focuses on is the early morning task given to them, or forced to the slaves.
ReplyDeleteThe poem opens up with the phrase, “The first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass”, signaling the wake-up call for the house slaves in sleep. Dove uses personification to describe the simple, everyday routine, for the purpose of dramatizing the event along with the suffering that follows.
Moving along, another interesting point that follows is the juxtaposition that Dove uses in comparing the situations for the house slaves and their masters. First the rich and comfortable life of the slave owners is described as, “Mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick” and “Massa dreams of asses, rum and slave-funk.” The luxurious and lavish diction used in the phrases such as “ivory”, “asses”, and “rum” clearly represents the rich and comfortable life that masters enjoy. In addition, these descriptions also clarify the fact that the slave owners are still asleep, as opposed to the house slaves who wake up even before the sunrise. After such comfortable and luxurious description owners, what follows is the descriptions of suffering that the house slaves are forced to endure in the early morning. In the third stanza, Rita Dove writes, “At the second horn, the whip curls across the backs of the laggards”. Those who did not wake up at the blow of the first horn are met with harsh punishment, which is clearly depicted in the description. Such description is clearly miles away from what it had been for the owners, and they rather contradict and juxtapose each other.
The last interesting literary element that I discovered is the use of enjambment throughout the poem. This particular poem consists of multiple enjambment, especially at the beginning. Enjambment may be simply defined as the running-over of the line or the continuation of thoughts, yet it delivers much influential effects for the readers. For example, in this scenario, enjambment is used in order to enhance the feeling of rush in the morning. Because enjambment drags the readers to the next line without a proper stop for each line, it can rather cause confusion, bafflement, or rush for the readers. This can be effectively tied back to the idea of busy and cumbersome morning that house slaves encounter, as they are forced and rushed to shake off their sleepiness with harsh punishment such as whipping.
In “The Abduction” by Rita Dove, the subject is in a dream in the first two stanzas, then he wakes up and remembers he is on a boat, and on his way to a new life, albeit a horrible one. In the first stanza, Dove writes, “my new friends Brown and Hamilton by my side”. John Brown was an abolitionist who believed rebellion was the only way to win freedom. Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers, was also an ardent abolitionist, and published writings on slavery before his death. Brown was born just four years prior to Hamilton’s death, so only in the narrator’s dreams could he meet them both, and fight for freedom with them. The poem also mentions Solomon Northrup, another abolitionist who was the main author of “Twelve Years a Slave”. Northrup was born an additional four years after Brown, so he would never have had any interaction with Hamilton either. The juxtaposition of all these abolitionists that would likely never meet helps prove that the poem is a description of a dream.
ReplyDeleteThe second stanza also alludes to a circus, “Hamilton’s feet did a jig on a tightrope”. This could be a connection to the minstrel shows that made fun of African-Americans commonly performed post-Civil War.
The shift in tone to the narrator waking up from the dream begins in the last line of the fourth stanza, “…and I fiddled”. The repetition of “I” statements shows the reader where the shift to waking up is. In the final three stanzas, there is a lot of anaphora of “I”. This is where the narrator wakes up from his dream of the abolitionists bringing freedom, and realizes the reality of his situation, likely on the middle passage, alluded to by, “I floated on water I could not drink”, which is probably seawater. “I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains”. The conditions on the middle passage were horrific, and the slaves were chained very tightly together in the darkness.
Belinda's Petition
ReplyDeleteIn 1780 the Massachusetts constitution was approved and it took until 1783 to abolish slavery. Belinda had been born in Africa and was kidnapped into America. In 1783 she petitioned for her freedom because slavery was abolished in the state she was in. She uses alliteration, capitalization, and a simile to create a strong tone. She uses alliteration because it helps the words flow and brings attention to them. She writes, “but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation”(Dove). The use of alliteration brings emphasis to the words. Also the repeated alliteration almost creates a sound of desperation. It is desperation in a strong way. Even if they say no she will keep fighting because she is strong. Her willingness to keep fighting creates a strong tone. She also uses capitalization throughout the sentences when not normally needed. She writes, “...pure Air being the sole Advantage of which I can boast in my present Condition”(Dove). It almost seems like those are the words she raises her voice at if the poem was being said aloud. They are also all words that it would be important to bring emphasis to because they are the main point of what she is talking about. This portrays a strong tone to the reader because she is loud and proud when advocating for her rights. She also uses a simile to describe a group of people as if she had just heard them for the first time in Africa. Dove writes, “I have known of the Men with Faces like the Moon”(Dove). Obviously they are seen as having faces like the moon because they are white, but it seems like she would make a simile to something more scary. Perhaps in her culture the moon is seen differently. The way she phrases the whole sentence especially the “I have known” part creates a very strong tone because it seems like she is talking from her past and current hatred of what they have done.
I too thought that this poem was very interesting. I noticed that the poem used a lot of diction that almost mocked the government. The tone of the poem was seemingly sarcastic. Dove also used a lot of diction that reflected on enslavement, but contrasted this with words that showed freedom. To me, this represented that fact that although she was not under the control of the Royall family any more, she was still far from true freedom.
DeleteIn the poem “The Abduction” Dove writes about a captured slave and the way his captivity affects the way he views the life he had prior to his abduction. While Solomon Northrup was a free man, he was upset with his lack of success and possessions. Dove gets this point across as she writes, “The wages were good. While Brown’s tall hat collected pennies at the tent flap, Hamilton’s feet did a jig on a tightrope, pig squealed invisibly from the bleachers and I fiddled”. Dove uses a hyperbole here in saying Northrup’s fiddling was not even worthy of the pig’ ears. It seems that the pennies Brown collects would be a fortune for Northrup. However, after researching Northrup I know that he made his money when he was free as a musician. As he looks back at his life as a free man, he becomes less ashamed of the small fortune he received from performing and wishes he could live this life again and play his fiddle for the invisible pigs. This creates a tone of sympathy because the reader realizes that this man’s life as a slave is so terrible, he misses the days he walked the streets as a poor man. In the end of the poem, Dove writes, “I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains”. Often times when people think of slavery, they think of the awful things plantation owners did to their slaves. This list includes starving, whipping, or pulling slaves away from their families. I’m sure Northrup’s owner made his life very painful and I’m sure he missed his friends Brown and Hamilton. However, in this poem Dove writes not about the physical pain slaves had to deal with. Instead Dove believed the main problem with slavery was the idea of being owned by another person. Northrup wakes up almost overnight in chains, and he would stay locked up for the next twelve years. The chains symbolize a lack of freedom or control a slave has over their life during this time period.
ReplyDeleteI think you interpreted and analyzed this poem very well. I agree that Dove’s purpose of the poem was to get sympathy because of the emotional trauma that these slaves went through. Often times the mental trauma is much more overpowering than the physical trauma done to these slaves. It makes me wonder if the whites were truly satisfied with the damage they intended to do since the blacks were more disturbed emotionally instead of disturbed physically by the abuse that happened. This poem also very clearly symbolizes the chains as a lack of freedom that the blacks had.
DeleteI had previously read about the atrocities of Trujillo in “In the Time of the Butterflies”, by Julia Alvarez. However, the article, “The Farming of Bones”, by Edwidge Danticat delved even more into it. I had never heard of the parsley killings that Rita Dove’s poem, “Parsley” delves in to. In the article, it describes Trujillo’s men as beating up the Dominicans, and force-feeding them parsley. The Dominicans can never tell when it will happen, and live in constant fear. “Parsley” illustrates this fear through the refrain of , “out of the swamp, the cane appears”. Swamps have the connotation of being dark and mysterious, and can provoke a sense of foreboding. Dove’s use of ‘swamp’ helps to show how the Dominicans could never tell when their next beating could appear, and lived in constant fear. Trujillo ran a dictatorship based on fear, so he relied on that to keep his people in line. Dove shows this fear through the anaphora of “we lie down”. It’s used in both the third and final stanzas to show how the Dominicans were submissive to Trujillo’s rule, because their only other option was death or imprisonment. She successfully shows hard hard it was to live like this.
ReplyDeleteNegative imagery is also used to establish a fearful tone. “as rain punches through”. The word punch references the beatings the Dominicans may receive, and personifies the violent nature of the rain. These both have negative connotations, adding to the fearful tone. Other words such as, “drop of blood”, and “gnaw their teeth to arrowheads” also create an atmosphere of death and fear.
In “The Situation is Intolerable” by Rita Dove, many interesting themes including race, poverty, wealth, and looks can be found. This poem shows Rita Dove’s portrayal of a view of African-American experience during the time that the poem represents. There is a feeling of tension and division through Dove’s use of the word intolerable which is something that is unable to be endured. This is connected to the lack of rights that the African-Americans were given. Surprisingly, Rita Dove uses a calm tone throughout the poem This could be to show that although there is a lot of chaos, and unfairness happening, the people who want rights do not want to be brought down to the level of the people committing these injustices. The poem shows that between the two groups of people (privileged and not), there was a clear divide and an unresolved problem between how they behave around each other, as well as how they think of each other. Rita dove relates these poems to our lives today where people are still treated differently due to their differences, and makes the poem as relateable as possible to things that still occur in our everyday society to help the reader understand what it was like. This poem’s message is that no matter what your differences are, it shouldn’t matter and everyone should be treated the same and not oppressed, specifically referring the the civil right’s time period.
ReplyDeleteThe poem, “American Smooth”, by Rita Dove includes lots of allusions to dance. American Smooth is a group of social partner dances including the fox trot, waltz, and the tango. It being a partner dance shows how Rita Dove relies on her husband, especially following the loss of her home. Dove uses a mixture of caesura and enjambment throughout the poem to show the contradictions of dance. There’s both stiffer movements (enjambment), and softer more flowing movements (caesura). Dove also uses paradoxes to illustrate this, “such perfect agony/ one learns to smile through”. Dancing is painful and a lot of ridiculously hard work, but the end result is beautiful. The most important thing is to smile and make it seem as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. Dove also discusses this serenity, “that swift and serene magnificence,/before the earth/remembered who we were/and brought us down”. When dancing, it can seem as if the world disappear, which is shown by Dove. She also discusses being brought down. Dove used dance as an escape from her sorrow after her house burned down. She felt temporary serenity and bliss, and she expresses this in her poetry.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of this serenity she feels when she dances is the anaphora of “smiling”. It’s repeated twice in a row to really get her point across, and add to the poem’s blissful tone. Parentheses are also used in “American Smooth” to show the reader Dove’s internal thoughts. The repetition of “smiling” falls within one of the sets of parentheses, which also demonstrates how serene dancing makes Dove feel.