Used is an interesting example of Mother Love. Again, from the perspective of Demeter, Rita Dove uses several symbols to portray the guilt and dread Demeter feels when her daughter, Persephone, falls to the goddess of the underworld. The modern language used in the third section of the poem draws a parallel between today and the time of the god(desses). One of the symbols Rita Dove uses is the silk sheets. I find it curious that silk sheets are used, but makes sense in a mythological context (with the gods and goddesses wearing the finest silk). The silk sheets represent the guilt felt by Demeter, "persuaded by the postnatal dread" she experiences due to her daughter falling to the underworld. She feels guilty for not protecting her enough. There is also some contrasting diction used at the end of the first and second sections of the sonnet. The dichotomy between "clean" and "used" is apparent, and creates the effect of time passing. The first section of the sonnet is a kind of subtle commentary about the image of women at the time, and how women are supposed to maintain the image of "every man-child's preadolescent dream" (Dove 3). I find the contrast interesting between the modern commentary and the ties to mythos. On the sonnet itself, it is indefinable. This poem has a rhyme form of: aabc dde fghh'ii'j. It is not akin to any other sonnet form we've learned about, though communicates its message clearly through the division of the sections of the sonnet. The end of the poem says that she can no longer hold on to herself and the quilts, having enough of the guilt she feels. Overall, the deeper mythological message of the poem is complimented by the modern commentary on the surface.
Kara Loutzenhiser I find it interesting that you feel that Demeter is the center of this poem; and the consequences she must be feeling because of her past. I also like how you spoke about what type of sonnet it is as well as the rhyme scheme.
The poem “Exit” uses modern language and situation to create a scene from ancient Greek mythology. It portrays Persephone as she leaves hell to return to the outside world and to her mother Demeter. In this sonnet, Dove uses color imagery, structure, and symbolism to reflect Persephone’s emotions. The first thing that I noted was in the very beginning, where it says that a “reprieve” has been granted and later in the fourth line where this is repeated almost exactly. The word reprieve means that a punishment has been postponed or delayed. Persephone has been temporarily released from the underworld. It is ironic that this word is used because usually prisoners are ecstatic to be on reprieve but throughout this poem, the reader sees that Persephone is extremely sad to be leaving her “prison”. The color imagery comes in when the color pink is used to describe that which Persephone is leaving behind and grey is the color of her current situation. These can both be seen in the lines: The windows you have closed behind you are turning pink...here it’s gray. Dove also used symbolism, describing Persephone's suitcase as “the saddest object in the world.” It represented what Persephone saw as the most miserable thing ever: leaving Hades. In addition, the structure of the sentences contributes to the overall mournful tone of poem. There are many commas and full stops, making the words plod along. When one is reading it aloud, it feels like it should have sighs at every pause or almost as if it is one long sigh.
Dora Jolivet Hey, we both did Exit!! Group buddies :) I think it's interesting that you bring up that it's almost like Persephone is sighing at the thought of having to go home. I never thought about the sentence structure as expressing her reluctance to leave. I also think the color imagery is really important; before being kidnapped, Persephone probably would have seen the two different worlds opposite, the one she came from as pink and the underworld as gray. It seems like Dove, using colors, is expressing that a daughter's views on the world change when she is free from her mother, who has sheltered her from things she is afraid of or perceives as bad. In this case, Demeter has conditioned Persephone to think the underworld is a bad place, but Persephone's opinions change as she grows to love her role as queen and her husband. In Demeter's world, she is stifled by her mother's constant presence, which almost no adult woman wants.
Dora Jolivet "Exit" has quickly become one of my favorite poems in Mother Love because there is so much within so few lines, and it is so open to interpretation. I think that when I first read it, my preconceived notions about the relationship between Persephone and Demeter caused me to think about it almost... backwards. In the first stanza, Dove writes twice about Persephone's return to the world that "a reprieve has been granted". Knowing the myth, the fact that Persephone was kidnapped, and Demeter's feelings on the matter stated in previous poems, it is assumed that Persephone is happy to go back to her mother. However, upon closer examination, the reader gets the sense that that might not be the case; in fact, Persephone is upset to leave the underworld. Persephone, looking at her suitcase, claims it is "the saddest object in the world"--not something you would expect someone who is excited to go home to say. Dove forces the reader to take into account that Persephone, despite being kidnapped, has created a life for herself in the underworld, and not a bad one, considering she has power as the queen and may even love Hades. Though this poem is in the context of the myth, it can easily be applied to mother-daughter relationships in the real world. When a daughter leaves, she is starting a life of her own, but the mother may be reluctant to let her do so. Demeter, in this case, puts a strain on their relationship by loving Persephone to the point of being overly attached, and that change in their relationship is what "Exit" is exploring.
Rita Dove's "Wiederkehr" essentially exploits the most popular phrase: "MEN OBJECTIFY WOMEN". Dove utilizes syntax, diction, as well as allegory to convey how women feel in the eyes of men; to appeal to the pleasures and demands a man has for a woman through the relationship of Persephone and Hades. Dove writes ridged sentences signifying Persephone was restrained from speaking because of how short and powerful her outbursts of emotions were. Word choice here also pertains to a certain emotion of disgust from Persephone: "he only wanted me for happiness... he didn't want me to think so much... wanted me to watch as he manipulated my body for his pleasure." and later writing "I sat hold of the rain untouched inside of me, he never asked if I would stay. Which is why, when the choice appeared, I reached for it". Hades was very abusive towards Persephone. She felt molested and in no control over her life. She kept the new freshness of spring untouched from Hade's hands of death. And in the end she came to terms with where she was and who she had to become. This leads us into allegory where many women in today's society that resemble Persephone to an extent. Women today allow men to objectify them for a multitude of reasons. The first is that simply women do not feel worthy of good men. Or that they do not deserve to be treated like women for no other reason than that they had made mistakes. Additionally women believe it is okay for men to objectify them because for as long as time, Men have consistently been the superior gender and women must obey and respect them, just as Hades expected of Persephone. He abducted her from her home because of her distinguished beauty, and practically enslaved her to be obedient towards his demands of pleasure to be fulfilled and lastly she felt like she couldn't go anywhere because that is all she ever knew; her life purpose was to serve Hades. This serves the title of this poem as RECURRING because Persephone is constantly in a battle with herself to decide 'should I leave and not know what is ahead of me' or 'should I stay because that is all I already know'. All of this regards to men objectifying women, and the role society expects them to play.
Savannah Houston Rita Dove uses symbolism and imagery in her poem, Used, to bring out the negatives of growing up. In the first stanza, Dove uses a lot of childhood relating imagery, “...Skirts ballooning above twinkling knees…” One thing about this quote that really stood out to me were the words “ballooning” and “twinkling,” both of which really brought out my childhood memories. As a kid, almost everything you experience is new, which can tie into the word “twinkling” since new things are often said to be “sparkly” or “shiny” when they are new, but for the word “ballooning,” most kids love balloons, so that part is a given. This part of the poem is contrasted with the idea of growing up and how things don’t stay new forever. The second stanza goes to display the growing negative feelings of a child that has used up their childhood and have grown out of it, coming to a state of grief. The first stanza, which talks of more child-like things, ends with the word, “clean,” and the second stanza, which is more of the opening to all the negative emotions, ends with, “used.” Each of these words are very different, but just goes to show the start of growing up and leaving your childhood. Finally, the third stanza is a mother talking to her daughter and addressing, in a modern way, how she could deal with all of these negative feelings her daughter feels. This is where symbolism comes into play, the mother talks about getting silk sheets, which can be interpreted to symbolize the daughter’s current state of growing up. The mother states, “We couldn’t hang on, slipped to the floor and by morning the quilts had slid off, too. Enough of guilt-...” I thought this was like the mother saying that “this too shall pass” in a sense, because the daughter is wrapped in guilt (the silk sheets) and that she won't have to experience this forever (“We couldn’t hang on…”).
Mackenzie Miller In Rita Dove’s poem Narcissus Flower, specific diction and allusions are used to portray Persephone’s feelings and emotional state as she is taken and held captive. In this poem Persephone recounts how she felt as she was being taken prisoner and the ground of the earth “unzipped” when Hades stole her away as his bride. Specific diction is used in the first two couplets that reveal her emotions during this time period, and an example of this would be when Persephone refers to herself as a ‘frightened bird’. This means that she feels as though she has been entrapped and her freedom or independence has been wrongfully taken away from her, which scares her immensely. Another usage of diction can be seen when Dove uses a contradiction to further explain her emotional state. She finds herself at “the center of a calm so pure it was hate”, with calm and hatred being the two things compared. Also, in the second couplet Persephone uses specific diction once again to compare her situation to a flower. The word blossom in this comparison is used because it represents Persephone's innocence and purity which is being “incinerated” or unjustly taken. The word ‘blossom’ could also be an allusion to the title, and how Hades describes Persephone in Dove’s poem Persephone, Falling. A narcissus flower is beautiful on the outside (which represents Persephone’s facade and how she tries to show her emotions on the inside) but deep down in the bulb the flower is poisonous and rotten (which represents her dead, scared, overall negative emotions that she feels). The last allusion in this poem would be the overall message of the poem which is how Persephone feels as though she was forced to grow up quickly and change in her new environment due to her being kidnapped and having her innonce taken away. This alludes to how many young girls go through situation in their childhood where they are forced to act older than they are and shut off their emotions in order to “become a queen whom nothing surprises”.
Response to Haley's analysis of Narcissus Flower in Group 3
Mackenzie Miller
I agree with the importance of the title in regards to Dove's portrayal of Persephone and how the specific flower used in the title can allude to how Persephone feels about herself and how she is contaminated with evil. I had never thought about how the title could also relate to the pomegranate in the original myth, but it does make sense because of how the original myth plays out and how closely it follows this poem. Overall I really like your interpretation and how you explained yourself and the literary devices used!
Rita Dove’s poem “Canary” uses specific diction, syntax, and allusions to describe Billie Holiday’s struggles and career. In the first few lines of the poem, Dove give insight into the real Holiday with her usage of words. She writes that Holiday’s voice had, “...as many shadows as lights, a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano, the gardenia her signature under that ruined face”. She is giving us an understanding early on that Holiday is not exactly who she seems to be, and that her pretty voice could be disguising real problems that she is facing. The second example of literary device that can be seen in this poem is the use of syntax and how the poem is arranged to present the reader certain information. The first quatrain gives us background information with very melancholy language, and is basically just one long sentence. Next, the second quatrain is written in the form of advice or reassurance (with the use of parentheses), almost as if someone is talking to Billie Holiday. She writes, “Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of a song”. The sentences in the second quatrain are shorter than the first (there are two of them) which starts to shorten the syntax and give the sentences more meaning and tone. The poem’s sentences continue to shorten in length, with the last sentence being the shortest, which stresses importance on the end of the poem and the message given. Finally, Dove alludes to Holiday’s drug abuse problems in “Canary”, as she writes, “Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass, magic spoon, magic needle”. The ‘magic needle’ is used as reference to her extreme addiction to heroin in her final years living. Dove uses more allusions to her career and her struggles in that career when she describes her signature gardenia and her ‘ruined face’ as well. Overall, these allusions and literary devices help the reader comprehend Holiday’s struggles and how those struggles may have affected her life.
The points you make about Canary are very enlightening (and ones I didn't think about while writing mine). As I mentioned in my post, the final line about being a mystery helps tie together the struggles Holiday experienced. The shortened lines in the second quatrain help emphasize the struggles Holiday faced, connecting the metaphors of her ruined face, the allusion of drug use, and the life she had to keep under wraps to prevent her from losing it all until eventually she did. This was definitely my favorite poem out of the Historical Figures section, and I enjoyed the points you made about it.
Canary has several deep metaphors that make it interesting to analyze. This poem tells about the famous jazz singer Billie Holiday. The narrator speaks of her sultry tones and mentions a brief comment about her "ruined face", alluding what is behind the façade of her singing and her voice. The line "Now you're cooking, drummer to bass…" refers to the groove set in by the rest of the band while she sings, as in a jazz setting the groove comes from the drummer and bassist while vocals carry the melody. The last line is somewhat of a… "mystery". Quite literally, in fact. The line reads "If you can't be free, be a mystery". During the time of Billie Holiday, the civil rights movement was still a pipe dream in the eyes of African Americans. Since she could not be "free" she had to put on a mask to the public, being under the pseudonym "Billie Holiday". Her true name was Eleanora Fagan. The word "Canary" itself has the slang definition of "A female singer", which could be one of the reasons Dove titled the poem after it. The "invention of women under siege" may refer to her living under this pseudonym for her entire life, working under the guise of other people, getting her solo name out only several times. This poem is an interesting mix between Historical Figures and Civil Rights, two of the categories we're studying from Rita Dove.
I am fascinated by your analysis of Canary I also find it interesting that Rita Dove quite explicitly titled this piece "Canary" referring to a little song bird. Again referencing the line "if you can't be free, be a mystery" Billie Holiday was indeed a caged singer that decided that if her life was to be oppressed and deprived of freedom, nobody could see her face hence hiding her face within "shadows and lights". This is very impactful and quite a beautiful piece.
Rita Dove's "Tou Wan Speaks to Her Husband, Liu Sheng" is a very riveting and emotional connection between husband and wife. Within the first line Tou Wan is sincerely saying "I will give you the world, as you have given me". The life that she builds for him is prestige and glorious, with a dozen horses and chariot; Liu Sheng is a warrior as expressed "my only conqueror". This can be perceived in multiple views. It can be seen as Liu Sheng is widely respected and/or decorated for his service, or he quite literally has tamed Tou Wan and that is his only accomplishment where she is his prize. This would make sense because of how she has devoted her life to him, giving him everything where she expects nothing from him. This is also supported by the line "my constant emporar" and "when darkness oppresses, I will set you a lamp." This poem explicitly represents the relationship between a man and a woman. It can be represented by how much Tou Wan loves her husband, that she will do anything for him as well as protect him at his lowest point, because she truly loves him.
I thought it was really interesting that this poem was all about the tomb that Tou Wan built for her husband upon his death. It really gives insight into the burial customs of some other cultures in other times that we (American teenagers) have almost no experience with. She created a place with multiple rooms, supplies for traveling into the afterlife, an incense burner to drive away some of the stench of death, a lamp for the darkness, and gold. I like your analysis of these things having to do with Tou Wan's love for Liu Sheng. I feel like this poem also shows her arrogance and it almost seems like part of the reason why she went to such extravagance was to showcase her/their wealth. I think this is evident where it says she will include "two bronze jugs, worth more than a family pays in taxes for the privilege to stay alive, a year, together..."
I like the points you made about her love for Liu Sheng and how Dove uses her writing to show how powerful of a ruler he must have once been. While I was reading this poem however, I thought that the tone of this poem was more patronizing than that of a tone of complete devotion. Parts where Tou Wan (or the voice of Tou Wan) says things like, "...but you're bored. Straight ahead then, the hall leading to you, my constant emperor." I feel like she is giving tones of sarcasm as well. Or like when she references to giving him a figurine of "the palace girl you most frequently coveted". I think the poem could be taken both ways, and I enjoyed your interpretation/view of it!
Rita Dove’s poem, “Sonnet in Primary Colors,” describes Frida Kahlo, a Mexican self-portrait painter, using descriptive language to reveal insight into her personal life and her art. It elevates and enhances her to the reader. The title begins with an allusion to Kahlo’s profession as an artist (primary colors = painting). Then the sonnet starts with a description of Kahlo herself: “This is for the woman with the one black wing perched over her eyes…” This was a reference to Kahlo’s unibrow, which was one of her well-known and striking physical characteristics that she exaggerated in her self-portraits. The next part of the sonnet talks about her artwork, indicating some of the themes in Kahlo’s paintings by using imagery such as “erect among parrots”and “wildflowers entwining.” The line “each night she lay down in pain” talks about the physical pain she endured, having been disabled both from having polio as a child and a car accident when she was young adult. A few lines later, Kahlo’s husband, Diego, is discussed and it says that his love is a skull, signifying that the love between them has died. This sonnet romanticizes Kahlo’s life and expresses Dove’s respect and admiration for her.
Dora Jolivet I just realized I totally posted and replied on Group 1's page on accident, so I'm going to put mine here too just in case. Sorry!!
Sonnet in Primary Colors was the first poem in Historical Figures that really stood out to me. Though the title has the word "sonnet" in it, upon further examination, it only has 13 lines, making it not a sonnet by definition. This poses the question: Why did Dove call it a sonnet at all? The poem is about artist Frida Kahlo's life, experiences, and characteristics. She was a woman who defied cultural norms of her time, such as beauty standards that still stand today. Dove uses her brow to emphasize that, calling it "one black wing perched over her eyes" and later describing it as "immutable". Her brow, rather than bringing her down, was a source of power for Kahlo, even though it set her apart from others. Throughout Historical Figures, this sort of power from being different is characteristic; every woman Dove writes about was important to the feminist movement, and used their differences as strengths. Additionally, Dove uses nature imagery throughout Sonnet in Primary Colors because Kahlo loved nature and painted it all the time. For example, she writes that Frida had "wildflowers entwining the plaster corset" she wore, implying she kept nature close to her. This poem is very much a love poem from Kahlo to the world around her, for despite the hardships in her life--"Each night she lay down in pain"--she continued to love the world and the people in it. Both Kahlo's defiance of convention and her love of life contribute to the poem's title: it is a love poem that is different from the others.
For anyone who might respond, I have 2 questions I have yet to find answers for. 1. What do you think Dove means by "Beloved Dead" in line 8? 2. Why does Dove include "Primary Colors" in the poem's title? After a quick Google search of her paintings, I noticed that they're all pretty dull and rarely use red, yellow, or blue, rather more neutral tones like grays and dark greens, so I'm not sure.
For your first question I believe that in the part of the poem where Dove references Frida's Beloved Dead, she is referencing the communists that Frida believed in. I thought this just because of how the sentence she references them is structured. She writes, "...of her Beloved Dead, Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead". I know there could be many interpretations of this reference, but this was mine!
Rita Dove’s poem “ ‘The situation is intolerable’ “ uses syntax, language, and symbolism to illustrate the struggle of African Americans and the issues they were facing during the time of the Civil Rights movement. Dove begins the poem with a single word, “Intolerable”. This word sets the tone for the whole poem, and the specific syntax and structure of the beginning makes you focus on that one word in particular (which means “unable to be endured”). More usage of syntax is seen as Dove starts the second stanza with, “Hush, now”. This is another way that she makes the reader focus on what she is writing. Shortened sentences are used in the last paragraph as well to conclude the poem and leave you thinking. The language Dove uses is also integral in this poem as it provides some background on racial stereotypes. For example, Dove writes, “So what if we were born up a creek and knocked flat with the paddle, if we ain’t got a pot to piss in and nowhere to put it if we did?”. By writing this and switching from a higher level of language to a lower one, Dove is emphasizing how some people gave African Americans the stereotype of being less educated and so on and so forth. Symbolism is also present throughout the poem in many ways. An example of this would be when Dove refers to a pleated trouser leg as a “righteous sword advancing onto the field of battle in the name of the Lord…”. This “battlefield” or (as seen later) “perimeter of flames” are symbols for the civil rights movement as a whole. The last example is seen when she uses stars as a symbol for hope; stars could be something to look up to while in this metaphorical battlefield. Overall, these literary devices give the reader a deeper sense of understanding, and they illustrate in multiple ways the struggles and strifes of African Americans during the time this poem was written.
The point you made about the switch from deeper language to more attainable language really struck me, as I would have not realized that on the second or third read. I think the contrast in language is the biggest point here, especially the last three lines being a hail to the lines in the second stanza. When Dove says "to sit here and do nothing", it drives the point home that African Americans must do something to make their situation tolerable.
As I read your post, I thought that the point you made about the changing of language style was really insightful and I decided I would comment on it....Then I looked down and saw that Michael had already commented almost exactly what I was thinking:) Nevertheless, I still wanted to commend you on this observation myself. I really like how Dove included that bit because the tone is so sassy and mocking. It's quite amusing. Throughout this whole poem I can hear the voice of an African American person at the time indignantly responding to some comment made by an ignorant person. I also enjoy the imagery which you talked about (the pleats in the trousers).The way it is described creates into my mind the idea of a bold fashion statement (even though I don't really think that was what it was meant to be, that's just what it makes me think of).
When looking at Civil Rights, the name Rosa Parks cannot be forgotten. The poem "Rosa" by Rita Dove tells of what Rosa Parks did - or rather not did - to spark a new movement for Civil Rights. Looking at the first stanza, the lines "How she sat there, the time right inside a place; so wrong it was ready" (Dove 1-3) paint the scene on the bus in Alabama. The time was right referring to the timeframe of when the bus incident occurred, at a low point where African Americans were still subject to much segregation, and the place wrong referring to the white man's seat on the bus she occupied. "It was ready" signifies that change needs to happen, that a boiling point was reached where something needed to happen. Skipping down to the third stanza, the point of not doing is commented on by the narrator: "Doing nothing was the doing" (Dove 7). She was going to make a point by refusing not to comply. There is a similarity between two lines in the poem, the very first one "How she sat there" and the first line of the fourth stanza "How she stood up". When Dove says Rosa stood up, she isn't referring to her physically standing up, she is referring to her standing up for the rights and the dignity of African Americans in the face of discrimination. The contrast in actions exemplify the common cause. This poem is a multi-faceted commentary at an event that shaped Civil Rights forever.
This poem was so short but so impactful and I liked how you analyzed Dove's way of getting her message across. I was kind of confused on the section of the poem where it said, "Doing nothing was the doing", but your point makes complete sense! Overall I thought your description was spot on and very good!
Rita Dove often involved issues of political and historical significance in her poetry. In the poem, “QE2. Transatlantic Crossing. Third Day,” she compares her crossing of the ocean in an ocean liner to that of her ancestors that were brought across as slaves. She begins the poem by using metaphorical comparisons of the ocean: “Panel of gray silk. Liquefied ashes. Dingy percale tugged over the vast dim earth…” This imagery creates a picture of vast grayness extending as far as the eye can see. She emphasizes the luxury of the Queen Elizabeth by describing it using words like “hush of trod carpet” and “cocktail piano.” She writes that she floats “on the lap of existence.” All this serves to highlight the great contrast to the miserable voyage that thousands of African slaves had endured crossing the same ocean. Near the end of the poem, Dove reflects on her emotions. She longs to have a connection with the slaves, feel something of what they did, but she acknowledges that even her own grandmother would think it was foolish for her to look for misery. The lines of this poem are quite long which reflects the far-spreading ocean that the cruise boat floats on. The tone is descriptive, contemplative, and a little bit self-mocking/ sarcastic when Dove writes “I can’t erase an ache I never had” and “Well. I’d go home if I knew where to get off.”
Through the usage of capitalization, allusions, and imagery, Dove conveys the inhumanity of the institution of slavery and the mental and physical struggles that slaves experienced. The poem “Belinda’s Petition” uses these literary devices to show the importance of recognizing this inhumanity. Firstly, capitalization is used throughout the entire poem on specific words, some that are meant to be capitalized and some not. Examples of this can be seen when Dove is speaking through the voice of Belinda and says, “I am Belinda, an African, since the age of twelve a Slave. I will not take too much of your Time, but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation”. This is only one quote of many that uses this form of capitalization to emphasize certain words and this emphasis can especially be seen when reading this poem aloud. Dove does this because she wants to stress the importance of words in a sentence in a way that is clear to the reader (‘Time’, ‘Life’, etc). Also, this poem is alluding to the life of a slave named Belinda and how she petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature in 1783 for her freedom. Dove speaks for her and explain how Belinda pleaded for her freedom to the “Father of this Nation”. Lastly, Dove uses imagery and descriptive words in the last stanza of the poem. She writes, “How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years”. Comparing the white men who enslaved her to having faces like the moon gives the poem a less harsh tone and a tone more filled with regret and sadness.
In the poem “Parsley,” Rita Dove describes a historical event involving the persecution of black people, as she does in many of her poems. It is about the Dominican Republic and the dictator, General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, who in 1937 ordered 20,000 Haitian blacks to be executed. He decided their fate based on their ability to say the Spanish word for parsley: perejil. If they properly rolled the r, they lived, but if they pronounced it like an l, they were killed. There’s so much that could be examined in this poem, but I am only going to write about the mother of the general and how she is used(so that there are some subjects left for others to explore:). In the first section of the poem, Dove describes the train of events from the perspective of the Haitians. In the second part of the poem (The Palace), Dove tries to make Trujillo more human in way. She attempts to put a face to his evil by exploring his inner thoughts and feelings. In the first stanza, he thinks about the death of his mother, then in the immediately following stanza, he ponders who he should kill. His pain is eased when he distracts himself by murdering and killing as can be seen in the lines: “As he paces he wonders/Who can I kill today. And for a moment/the little knot of screams/is still.” A few stanzas later is the disturbing image of Trujillo’s mother with her “teeth gnawed to arrowheads.” This imagery reflects the violent and angry emotions of the general. Dove also uses some contrasting ideas as the general compares how his mother rolled her r’s and even how a parrot rolls r’s to the Haitians. He views an animal above the people to justify to himself their deaths. To him, they’re of even less value than a parrot. Lastly, I would like to mention that Trujillo’s mother was half-Haitian. Just a little detail to nibble on...
I find it very interesting that Trujillo's mother was half-Haitian. Do you think that had any influence on what he did to the Haitians? In a sense, he was killing his own people. Also, I like your commentary on how he dealt with the pain, distracting it with thoughts of murder and genocide. He was looking for a way to release his anger and pain.
I agree with the fact that Trujillo has inner anger against Haitians and that Rita Dove tries to show his feelings and thoughts through the second stanza to humanize him more, but I also thought that she did this because she wanted to give him so back story and add depth to the poem. I really enjoyed your interpretation (and also the fact about his mom)!
There are many things interesting about the poem "Parsley" by Rita Dove. Most striking to me is the symbolism of the Parrot. From the very beginning we are introduced to the "parrot imitating spring". The symbol morphs throughout the poem from being a symbol of beauty, described by the line "its feathers parsley green.", to something associated with death and dying, exemplified by the line "For every drop of blood, there is a parrot imitating spring." When looking at the historical context of this poem, we are dropped into the Dominican Republic, where Haitian slaves are being murdered since they cannot pronounce the word "Parsley". The general takes the lives of all who can "sing without R's". The parrot with its wings of parsley green go from symbolizing the beauty of the plant and of the bird, to being associated with the genocide committed due to the plant. I find it interesting this poem is included with all of the others, due to its stark contrast compared to the themes of other poems. Of course there are more details to look at not just involving the Parrot, but what role the general's past plays into the mass murder…
I thought it was ironic that although the season of spring, the color green, and birds are generally used to convey ideas of renewal, birth and song, in this poem they are associated with the slaughter of the Haitian people. Instead they portray destruction, death, and screaming in pain. In a way, this actually makes the image of the green parrot much more ominous and disturbing (similar to the way in which clowns, although they are supposed to be comical and fun, can be very frightening and their "fun" face paint and costume makes it even scarier). Another place in the poem where a parrot is mentioned is when the general visits his mother's room to feed the parrot that is kept in there. It seems as if that the parrot is the only thing left of his mother. The line specifically says that there aren't even curtains in the room but there is the bird. I'm not sure what it means exactly, but it does seem significant. Maybe parrots are always present throughout death and the only thing left after death?
Throughout Rita Dove’s life there were many personal struggles that can be seen reflected in her poetry. Foxtrot Fridays and the other poems in the American Smooth category showcase her background in ballroom dancing, which is a hobby she took up after her house burned down. The poems have names related to dancing, and contain allusions to dance, music, etc. Poems like “Fox Trot Friday” and “Ta Ta Cha Cha” both have titles that are related to dance as well. Before the works of American Smooth, there is also a note written by Dove that can provide further background to the meaning of these poems and help with the analysis. The note says, “A form of dancing derived from the traditional Standard dances (e.g. Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango), in which the partners are free to release each other from the closed embrace and dance without any physical contact, thus permitting improvisation and individual expression”. The poem “American Smooth” specifically relates to the category of American smooth ballroom dancing, which is a form of ballroom dancing with exciting steps, and all of the basic techniques and principles of ballroom dancing apply, but partners to not need to make continuous contact. You can lose yourself in the dance and lose yourself in the moment with your dancing partner. In the poem, Dove writes that she works through the dance to find, “perfect agony” and she detaches from the world for a moment while she is dancing. This poem (and the others) I think describe how you can lose yourself in dance, feel free or feel more confident through dancing.
“Parsley” explores the idea of what evil really is and the face that we put on evil throughout history through the usage of repetition, emotional imagery, and structure/syntax. The poem is split into two sections: Part 1: The Cane Fields and Part 2: The Palace. Part one is told from the perspective of the Haitians as they are being persecuted. Dove repeats the phrases, “there is a parrot imitating spring”, and “out of the swamp, the cane appears” throughout the first passage. These phrases can be interpreted many ways. The parrot could be a symbol for freedom, and it obviously can imitate the word perejil (because parrots imitate human speech) and save its life while the Haitians cannot. The cane could also mean many things, but in my opinion it represents the violent destruction of the Haitians under the command of Trujillo. This passage overall is not as emotionally connected to the reader, while the reader can sympathize, it is not emotions or experiences they have ever gone through so the reader could feel removed from how evil this genocide actually was. On the other hand, the second passage give us an inside look to Trujillos psyche and how psychotic of a man he truly was. Genocides happen throughout history, and the persecution of races, religions, etc occurs over and over again. Doves’ portrayal of General Trujillo shows us how we can relate to evil (even if it is very bad) and why that may affect the repetition of history and why history repeats itself in the first place. Dove makes us sympathize with both sides in a way, the Haitians (obviously because of their persecution) and with Trujillo (because of his mother), which creates an interesting emotional parallel for the reader.
In “Fox Trot Fridays,” Rita Dove paints the picture of someone who carries burdens throughout the week but finds respite in dancing every Friday night. The poem is constructed of couplets which could be representative of couples dancing. The rhythm of the dance can be felt with the rhythm of the words. It begins quickly, picking up with the literal activity in the first few lines (“tuck in the grief,” “lift your pearls”) and then several short lines (“stride brush stride/quick-quick with a/heel-ball-toe”). Then the rhythm slows down with the description of the music. One can almost hear the silken voice of the famous crooner as Dove uses the alliteration and imagery of a “slow satin smile.” Throughout the poem, Dove uses rich and celestial diction with words such as “stars,” “pearls,” “satin,” and “Paradise.” The use of these words emphasize the valuable interlude in life that is brought by dancing on Friday evenings, the happiness and wonderfulness of it. The poem begins talking about grief of the week and ends with the imagery of “no heartbreak in sight.” A brief moment of relief has been found (in the “space of a song”) where there is no sadness, just quick glimpse of Paradise and wonder.
Dora Jolivet I love the tone this poem creates because you can totally understand why Rita Dove found dancing to be so beautiful and relaxing. Taking a break from life was important to her, especially at that time, and the poem lets the readers feel the same passion she feels, especially because of the celestial diction you're talking about. I just think it's beautiful!!
I love your interpretation of this poem and how you explain the diction used. Dove really makes an important choice in the words used to describe how people can go to a different place when they're dancing and how dance can be a symbol for happiness and joy. I really liked it!
Dora Jolivet "American Smooth" by Rita Dove is a poem about losing yourself in an activity or another person. American smooth is a type of ballroom dance, and Rita Dove describes a performance where she and her partner see the ephemeral beauty of the dance and lose themselves in it, expressed through enjambment on most of the lines. This implies a rapid tone--Dove does not detail the specifics, and it all leads up to one moment where she feels something she hasn't felt before, if only for a moment. Her book, American Smooth, was written after her house burned down. That event gives some insight into why Dove felt a need to escape at all, and how she found it in dancing. The poem expresses her negative feelings toward the universe and how she feels that it is against her, writing that she and her partner achieved flight "before the earth remembered who we were and brought us down." She resents fate, and her way of defying it is dance.
I feel there is a great similarity to the end of Quick and American Smooth. Both end remarking how something she held close was torn away so quick without a thought. I wonder if the cat in "Quick" is a metaphor for this ephemeral beauty of dance, as Dove describes it as fleeting away quickly, only being a "fabled silhouette." Both poems also make use of the metaphor of flight, though with seemingly different meanings. The similarity between these poems is very interesting and enticing to a critical reader!
Quick is a poem written by Rita Dove about a stray cat found in the middle of the night. This cat is a gray cat who "peers from the culvert", meaning that the cat is peaking its head out of the sewer, most likely. The cat appears briefly before it disappears in a "red swish." The narrator then remarks on the feeling of leaving without any thought or grief of love, only "pure purpose poured into flight." The poems from American Smooth were written after Dove's house burnt down due to a lightning strike. In the fire, she lost a lot of original manuscript and nearly everything she owned. The last lines in this poem describe what she felt, that everything was gone so quickly without a thought of love. The cat is also an interesting symbol throughout the poem, and I am curious as to what its meaning is, besides it leaving without a trace. The syntax and layout of the poem - divided into short, two line stanzas - helps establish the tone of the poem. The quick blurts of speech give a rushed feel, as if there is a bit of anxiety felt by the narrator. This would make sense with the title "Quick". Overall, this poem left more questions unanswered to me, like what further meaning does the cat hold? I'm curious as to your perspectives on it.
It's really interesting that this poem represented a cat to you because the animal that I envisioned immediately was a fox. I never even considered another animal. I was probably influenced by reading the poem "Fox" about two minutes before this one and having seen the title of "Fox Trot Fridays" on the next page but the lines describing the mother ("sleek curve plumpening into a tail/waving its flamboyant/afterthought, she disappears:/red swish) also really evoked the image of a fox to me. Now as for the significance of the symbol, whether cat or fox, I can't really say, but it strikes me that they can both be very mysterious and secretive creatures and it's ironic that Dove ends the poem with the animal's purpose because who really knows what that is? I think the main message of the poem is contained in the lines: O to be gone/like that, no grief nor thought/of love—pure purpose/poured into flight. It seems as if Dove is longing after the idea of flying away after your own purpose, pursuing your own goals without caring about anything else, without being held back by anything, like a mother fox/cat that sees it's cub/kitten and leaves anyway. I'm not sure why this is a thing to long after and I have a lot of unanswered questions as well.
Through the usage of capitalization, allusions, and imagery, Dove conveys the inhumanity of the institution of slavery and the mental and physical struggles that slaves experienced. The poem “Belinda’s Petition” uses these literary devices to show the importance of recognizing this inhumanity. Firstly, capitalization is used throughout the entire poem on specific words, some that are meant to be capitalized and some not. Examples of this can be seen when Dove is speaking through the voice of Belinda and says, “I am Belinda, an African, since the age of twelve a Slave. I will not take too much of your Time, but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation”. This is only one quote of many that uses this form of capitalization to emphasize certain words and this emphasis can especially be seen when reading this poem aloud. Dove does this because she wants to stress the importance of words in a sentence in a way that is clear to the reader (‘Time’, ‘Life’, etc). Also, this poem is alluding to the life of a slave named Belinda and how she petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature in 1783 for her freedom. Dove speaks for her and explain how Belinda pleaded for her freedom to the “Father of this Nation”. Lastly, Dove uses imagery and descriptive words in the last stanza of the poem. She writes, “How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years”. Comparing the white men who enslaved her to having faces like the moon gives the poem a less harsh tone and a tone more filled with regret and sadness.
I think that Rita Dove may have been emphasizing certain words and she definitely thought about which words to capitalize and which not to, but I also believe that she was imitating the writing style of the time (1780's). I doubt this is related, but I remembered that in German all nouns are capitalized even when they are in the middle of a sentence. In the poem (line 7), it struck me that when she says that she is pleading to the "Fathers of this Nation," she was pleading to the actual founding fathers of the nation as this letter was written only six years after the American Revolution. Her ideas were quite revolutionary as she equated slavery with the "Binds of Tyranny.
The poem “The Abduction” tells the story of Solomon Northrup, an American abolitionist and primary author of the book Twelve Years A Slave. He was born free but when working as a traveling musician, he was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery. This poem, as can be seen from the title, tells the tale of his abduction. The opening stanza sets the context for the event which will occur, stating that it was happening after the death of President William Harrison, which informs that reader that it was 1841. From the first stanza, the reader also gathers that his abduction occurred in or near Washington DC (where slavery was still legal at the time). The second stanza evokes the image of a circus or traveling roadshow as can be seen in the word choices like: “tall hat,” “tent flap,” “jig on a tightrope,” and “fiddled.” This cheerful diction builds a contrast with the following stanza, in which everything changes and he is betrayed by his so-called friends. There is an abundance of movement diction when Northrup is drugged and kidnapped as it says things were “rattled,” “tipped,” lifted,” “swivelled,” and “clicked into place.” The reader can envision abrupt and disorienting movement and can almost see it with blurry vision like someone who has been drugged. Shortly after, Northrup finds himself in a dream state (“I floated on water I could not drink,” 13) and Dove once includes a biblical reference, alluding to the story of a man who slept using a stone as a headrest and dreamed of a ladder going up to heaven with angels ascending and descending. However, Dove uses this allusion ironically because Northrup did not dream of heaven nor was he in a heavenly situation. The poem ends with a dramatic line: I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains (15). This line is a quote from the book, Twelve Years A Slave, and creates a great contrast to reverie in the first stanza, where Northrup had been so proud to be a free citizen, not knowing what tragedy would soon befall him.
I think the very musical and cheerful diction you described really helps define who Northrup was. The dichotomy between the beginning and ending of the poem also is a very powerful point. Another detail that stands out to me is the structure of the stanzas. As the poem progresses on, the number of lines in each stanza decrease, eventually leading to the last line, along on its own like Solomon in chains. It is an interesting detail to note along with the other commentary you provided.
"The House Slave" by Rita Dove is a powerful view into a community of African American slaves who not only work and live together but are like family. Dove uses natural imagery and metaphor to convey this to a broader audience. The first line in the first stanza helps set the scene, the community being awoken by a horn call bellowed "over the dew-lit grass" (1) The image of the grass implies another morning in the life of these slaves where they must begin again. Their daily routine of the children being "bundled into aprons, cornbread\ and water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken." (3-4) instills the regimentation of their lives as completely without freedom, and with little to no consideration of their life in mind. When looking at the last stanza, a powerful metaphor is found about not only the fields of work, but of the captors themselves. The line reads "and as the fields unfold into whiteness, \ and they spill like bees among the fat flowers, \ I weep. It is not yet daylight." (12-15). While not only being about the cotton fields slaves poured themselves over, there is an inference to the captors of the slaves, the white Americans. Their lives are controlled by the whiteness on the fields, and the whiteness living beyond the fields. When the narrator states "It is not yet daylight" (15), it is because they have not found their freedom, the light that guides them home. This poem is a powerful statement about a dark chapter of our past, sometimes the darkest hour of all isn't the hour just before the dawn after all.
Dora Jolivet I think it's very interesting that Dove chose to use a lot of passive voice in this poem. For instance, "water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken" (4). There's no question about who's in power in their situation, and it's not them. It really expresses the point that the slaves do nothing by choice, and that they are seen as the lowest in the hierarchy.
Dora Jolivet "Belinda's Petition" by Rita Dove is a poem that highlights the injustice of slavery using the perspective of an African woman, Belinda, who stands up to the institution that binds her. Using information from the poem and background research, the reader can piece together the life of Belinda Sutton, a former slave who, shortly after the American Revolution, petitioned the Massachusetts legislature and received a pension for her time in slavery. Dove writes from her perspective: "I received Existence on the Banks / of the Rio de Valta*. All my Childhood / I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance... How might / I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, / who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?" Belinda was not born in a position of power, and she never had the ability to choose the direction her life went in. Dove expresses that Belinda felt as though her fate was sealed the moment she was born--whether or not she was sold into slavery, she did not expect anything from her life. Additionally, Dove uses capitalization in seemingly sporadic places in the poem. This could be mostly for accuracy in terms of the time period this poem is set in, but I also noticed that the words capitalized are the most important to Belinda and her cause: Slave, Life, Binds of Tyranny, and more throughout. Not only that, but they are words that the white men she is pleading to will empathize with, since she speaks of the Revolutionary War that was so important to them and connects it to her slavery. Finally, one part in the first stanza really stood out to me and spoke volumes about Belinda and who she was: "I will not take too much of your Time, / but to plead and place my pitiable Life / unto the Fathers of this Nation." When the speaker describes her life (with a capital L, so it's really important) as pitiable, the reader immediately gets the sense that Belinda is placing the white men above her in terms of value, even though she is the one who has been wronged. In the society Belinda lives in, she has to do this to get a chance at being heard, and this exhibits the injustice of slavery in a way that is quick and easy to understand and impacts the rest of the poem immensely. *The Rio de Valta, or the Volta River, is a river in Ghana.
I liked how you found more background information about Belinda and used that in your analysis to help describe her struggles on a deeper level. Also, I agree with your statement that Belinda puts the “Men with Faces like the Moon” as above her in terms of power and in society's standpoint. Good job!
Michael McCann
ReplyDeleteUsed is an interesting example of Mother Love. Again, from the perspective of Demeter, Rita Dove uses several symbols to portray the guilt and dread Demeter feels when her daughter, Persephone, falls to the goddess of the underworld. The modern language used in the third section of the poem draws a parallel between today and the time of the god(desses). One of the symbols Rita Dove uses is the silk sheets. I find it curious that silk sheets are used, but makes sense in a mythological context (with the gods and goddesses wearing the finest silk). The silk sheets represent the guilt felt by Demeter, "persuaded by the postnatal dread" she experiences due to her daughter falling to the underworld. She feels guilty for not protecting her enough. There is also some contrasting diction used at the end of the first and second sections of the sonnet. The dichotomy between "clean" and "used" is apparent, and creates the effect of time passing. The first section of the sonnet is a kind of subtle commentary about the image of women at the time, and how women are supposed to maintain the image of "every man-child's preadolescent dream" (Dove 3). I find the contrast interesting between the modern commentary and the ties to mythos.
On the sonnet itself, it is indefinable. This poem has a rhyme form of: aabc dde fghh'ii'j. It is not akin to any other sonnet form we've learned about, though communicates its message clearly through the division of the sections of the sonnet. The end of the poem says that she can no longer hold on to herself and the quilts, having enough of the guilt she feels. Overall, the deeper mythological message of the poem is complimented by the modern commentary on the surface.
Kara Loutzenhiser
DeleteI find it interesting that you feel that Demeter is the center of this poem; and the consequences she must be feeling because of her past. I also like how you spoke about what type of sonnet it is as well as the rhyme scheme.
The poem “Exit” uses modern language and situation to create a scene from ancient Greek mythology. It portrays Persephone as she leaves hell to return to the outside world and to her mother Demeter. In this sonnet, Dove uses color imagery, structure, and symbolism to reflect Persephone’s emotions. The first thing that I noted was in the very beginning, where it says that a “reprieve” has been granted and later in the fourth line where this is repeated almost exactly. The word reprieve means that a punishment has been postponed or delayed. Persephone has been temporarily released from the underworld. It is ironic that this word is used because usually prisoners are ecstatic to be on reprieve but throughout this poem, the reader sees that Persephone is extremely sad to be leaving her “prison”. The color imagery comes in when the color pink is used to describe that which Persephone is leaving behind and grey is the color of her current situation. These can both be seen in the lines: The windows you have closed behind you are turning pink...here it’s gray. Dove also used symbolism, describing Persephone's suitcase as “the saddest object in the world.” It represented what Persephone saw as the most miserable thing ever: leaving Hades. In addition, the structure of the sentences contributes to the overall mournful tone of poem. There are many commas and full stops, making the words plod along. When one is reading it aloud, it feels like it should have sighs at every pause or almost as if it is one long sigh.
ReplyDeleteDora Jolivet
DeleteHey, we both did Exit!! Group buddies :)
I think it's interesting that you bring up that it's almost like Persephone is sighing at the thought of having to go home. I never thought about the sentence structure as expressing her reluctance to leave. I also think the color imagery is really important; before being kidnapped, Persephone probably would have seen the two different worlds opposite, the one she came from as pink and the underworld as gray. It seems like Dove, using colors, is expressing that a daughter's views on the world change when she is free from her mother, who has sheltered her from things she is afraid of or perceives as bad. In this case, Demeter has conditioned Persephone to think the underworld is a bad place, but Persephone's opinions change as she grows to love her role as queen and her husband. In Demeter's world, she is stifled by her mother's constant presence, which almost no adult woman wants.
Dora Jolivet
ReplyDelete"Exit" has quickly become one of my favorite poems in Mother Love because there is so much within so few lines, and it is so open to interpretation. I think that when I first read it, my preconceived notions about the relationship between Persephone and Demeter caused me to think about it almost... backwards. In the first stanza, Dove writes twice about Persephone's return to the world that "a reprieve has been granted". Knowing the myth, the fact that Persephone was kidnapped, and Demeter's feelings on the matter stated in previous poems, it is assumed that Persephone is happy to go back to her mother. However, upon closer examination, the reader gets the sense that that might not be the case; in fact, Persephone is upset to leave the underworld. Persephone, looking at her suitcase, claims it is "the saddest object in the world"--not something you would expect someone who is excited to go home to say. Dove forces the reader to take into account that Persephone, despite being kidnapped, has created a life for herself in the underworld, and not a bad one, considering she has power as the queen and may even love Hades. Though this poem is in the context of the myth, it can easily be applied to mother-daughter relationships in the real world. When a daughter leaves, she is starting a life of her own, but the mother may be reluctant to let her do so. Demeter, in this case, puts a strain on their relationship by loving Persephone to the point of being overly attached, and that change in their relationship is what "Exit" is exploring.
Kara Loutzenhiser
ReplyDeleteRita Dove's "Wiederkehr" essentially exploits the most popular phrase: "MEN OBJECTIFY WOMEN". Dove utilizes syntax, diction, as well as allegory to convey how women feel in the eyes of men; to appeal to the pleasures and demands a man has for a woman through the relationship of Persephone and Hades. Dove writes ridged sentences signifying Persephone was restrained from speaking because of how short and powerful her outbursts of emotions were. Word choice here also pertains to a certain emotion of disgust from Persephone: "he only wanted me for happiness... he didn't want me to think so much... wanted me to watch as he manipulated my body for his pleasure." and later writing "I sat hold of the rain untouched inside of me, he never asked if I would stay. Which is why, when the choice appeared, I reached for it". Hades was very abusive towards Persephone. She felt molested and in no control over her life. She kept the new freshness of spring untouched from Hade's hands of death. And in the end she came to terms with where she was and who she had to become. This leads us into allegory where many women in today's society that resemble Persephone to an extent. Women today allow men to objectify them for a multitude of reasons. The first is that simply women do not feel worthy of good men. Or that they do not deserve to be treated like women for no other reason than that they had made mistakes. Additionally women believe it is okay for men to objectify them because for as long as time, Men have consistently been the superior gender and women must obey and respect them, just as Hades expected of Persephone. He abducted her from her home because of her distinguished beauty, and practically enslaved her to be obedient towards his demands of pleasure to be fulfilled and lastly she felt like she couldn't go anywhere because that is all she ever knew; her life purpose was to serve Hades. This serves the title of this poem as RECURRING because Persephone is constantly in a battle with herself to decide 'should I leave and not know what is ahead of me' or 'should I stay because that is all I already know'. All of this regards to men objectifying women, and the role society expects them to play.
Savannah Houston
ReplyDeleteRita Dove uses symbolism and imagery in her poem, Used, to bring out the negatives of growing up. In the first stanza, Dove uses a lot of childhood relating imagery, “...Skirts ballooning above twinkling knees…” One thing about this quote that really stood out to me were the words “ballooning” and “twinkling,” both of which really brought out my childhood memories. As a kid, almost everything you experience is new, which can tie into the word “twinkling” since new things are often said to be “sparkly” or “shiny” when they are new, but for the word “ballooning,” most kids love balloons, so that part is a given. This part of the poem is contrasted with the idea of growing up and how things don’t stay new forever. The second stanza goes to display the growing negative feelings of a child that has used up their childhood and have grown out of it, coming to a state of grief. The first stanza, which talks of more child-like things, ends with the word, “clean,” and the second stanza, which is more of the opening to all the negative emotions, ends with, “used.” Each of these words are very different, but just goes to show the start of growing up and leaving your childhood. Finally, the third stanza is a mother talking to her daughter and addressing, in a modern way, how she could deal with all of these negative feelings her daughter feels. This is where symbolism comes into play, the mother talks about getting silk sheets, which can be interpreted to symbolize the daughter’s current state of growing up. The mother states, “We couldn’t hang on, slipped to the floor and by morning the quilts had slid off, too. Enough of guilt-...” I thought this was like the mother saying that “this too shall pass” in a sense, because the daughter is wrapped in guilt (the silk sheets) and that she won't have to experience this forever (“We couldn’t hang on…”).
Mackenzie Miller
ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove’s poem Narcissus Flower, specific diction and allusions are used to portray Persephone’s feelings and emotional state as she is taken and held captive. In this poem Persephone recounts how she felt as she was being taken prisoner and the ground of the earth “unzipped” when Hades stole her away as his bride. Specific diction is used in the first two couplets that reveal her emotions during this time period, and an example of this would be when Persephone refers to herself as a ‘frightened bird’. This means that she feels as though she has been entrapped and her freedom or independence has been wrongfully taken away from her, which scares her immensely. Another usage of diction can be seen when Dove uses a contradiction to further explain her emotional state. She finds herself at “the center of a calm so pure it was hate”, with calm and hatred being the two things compared. Also, in the second couplet Persephone uses specific diction once again to compare her situation to a flower. The word blossom in this comparison is used because it represents Persephone's innocence and purity which is being “incinerated” or unjustly taken. The word ‘blossom’ could also be an allusion to the title, and how Hades describes Persephone in Dove’s poem Persephone, Falling. A narcissus flower is beautiful on the outside (which represents Persephone’s facade and how she tries to show her emotions on the inside) but deep down in the bulb the flower is poisonous and rotten (which represents her dead, scared, overall negative emotions that she feels). The last allusion in this poem would be the overall message of the poem which is how Persephone feels as though she was forced to grow up quickly and change in her new environment due to her being kidnapped and having her innonce taken away. This alludes to how many young girls go through situation in their childhood where they are forced to act older than they are and shut off their emotions in order to “become a queen whom nothing surprises”.
Response to Haley's analysis of Narcissus Flower in Group 3
ReplyDeleteMackenzie Miller
I agree with the importance of the title in regards to Dove's portrayal of Persephone and how the specific flower used in the title can allude to how Persephone feels about herself and how she is contaminated with evil. I had never thought about how the title could also relate to the pomegranate in the original myth, but it does make sense because of how the original myth plays out and how closely it follows this poem. Overall I really like your interpretation and how you explained yourself and the literary devices used!
Mackenzie Miller
ReplyDeleteRita Dove’s poem “Canary” uses specific diction, syntax, and allusions to describe Billie Holiday’s struggles and career. In the first few lines of the poem, Dove give insight into the real Holiday with her usage of words. She writes that Holiday’s voice had, “...as many shadows as lights, a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano, the gardenia her signature under that ruined face”. She is giving us an understanding early on that Holiday is not exactly who she seems to be, and that her pretty voice could be disguising real problems that she is facing. The second example of literary device that can be seen in this poem is the use of syntax and how the poem is arranged to present the reader certain information. The first quatrain gives us background information with very melancholy language, and is basically just one long sentence. Next, the second quatrain is written in the form of advice or reassurance (with the use of parentheses), almost as if someone is talking to Billie Holiday. She writes, “Take all day if you have to with your mirror and your bracelet of a song”. The sentences in the second quatrain are shorter than the first (there are two of them) which starts to shorten the syntax and give the sentences more meaning and tone. The poem’s sentences continue to shorten in length, with the last sentence being the shortest, which stresses importance on the end of the poem and the message given. Finally, Dove alludes to Holiday’s drug abuse problems in “Canary”, as she writes, “Now you’re cooking, drummer to bass, magic spoon, magic needle”. The ‘magic needle’ is used as reference to her extreme addiction to heroin in her final years living. Dove uses more allusions to her career and her struggles in that career when she describes her signature gardenia and her ‘ruined face’ as well. Overall, these allusions and literary devices help the reader comprehend Holiday’s struggles and how those struggles may have affected her life.
Michael McCann
DeleteThe points you make about Canary are very enlightening (and ones I didn't think about while writing mine). As I mentioned in my post, the final line about being a mystery helps tie together the struggles Holiday experienced. The shortened lines in the second quatrain help emphasize the struggles Holiday faced, connecting the metaphors of her ruined face, the allusion of drug use, and the life she had to keep under wraps to prevent her from losing it all until eventually she did. This was definitely my favorite poem out of the Historical Figures section, and I enjoyed the points you made about it.
Michael McCann
ReplyDeleteCanary has several deep metaphors that make it interesting to analyze. This poem tells about the famous jazz singer Billie Holiday. The narrator speaks of her sultry tones and mentions a brief comment about her "ruined face", alluding what is behind the façade of her singing and her voice. The line "Now you're cooking, drummer to bass…" refers to the groove set in by the rest of the band while she sings, as in a jazz setting the groove comes from the drummer and bassist while vocals carry the melody. The last line is somewhat of a… "mystery". Quite literally, in fact. The line reads "If you can't be free, be a mystery". During the time of Billie Holiday, the civil rights movement was still a pipe dream in the eyes of African Americans. Since she could not be "free" she had to put on a mask to the public, being under the pseudonym "Billie Holiday". Her true name was Eleanora Fagan. The word "Canary" itself has the slang definition of "A female singer", which could be one of the reasons Dove titled the poem after it. The "invention of women under siege" may refer to her living under this pseudonym for her entire life, working under the guise of other people, getting her solo name out only several times. This poem is an interesting mix between Historical Figures and Civil Rights, two of the categories we're studying from Rita Dove.
Kara Loutzenhiser
DeleteI am fascinated by your analysis of Canary I also find it interesting that Rita Dove quite explicitly titled this piece "Canary" referring to a little song bird. Again referencing the line "if you can't be free, be a mystery" Billie Holiday was indeed a caged singer that decided that if her life was to be oppressed and deprived of freedom, nobody could see her face hence hiding her face within "shadows and lights". This is very impactful and quite a beautiful piece.
Kara Loutzenhiser
ReplyDeleteRita Dove's "Tou Wan Speaks to Her Husband, Liu Sheng" is a very riveting and emotional connection between husband and wife. Within the first line Tou Wan is sincerely saying "I will give you the world, as you have given me". The life that she builds for him is prestige and glorious, with a dozen horses and chariot; Liu Sheng is a warrior as expressed "my only conqueror". This can be perceived in multiple views. It can be seen as Liu Sheng is widely respected and/or decorated for his service, or he quite literally has tamed Tou Wan and that is his only accomplishment where she is his prize. This would make sense because of how she has devoted her life to him, giving him everything where she expects nothing from him. This is also supported by the line "my constant emporar" and "when darkness oppresses, I will set you a lamp." This poem explicitly represents the relationship between a man and a woman. It can be represented by how much Tou Wan loves her husband, that she will do anything for him as well as protect him at his lowest point, because she truly loves him.
I thought it was really interesting that this poem was all about the tomb that Tou Wan built for her husband upon his death. It really gives insight into the burial customs of some other cultures in other times that we (American teenagers) have almost no experience with. She created a place with multiple rooms, supplies for traveling into the afterlife, an incense burner to drive away some of the stench of death, a lamp for the darkness, and gold. I like your analysis of these things having to do with Tou Wan's love for Liu Sheng. I feel like this poem also shows her arrogance and it almost seems like part of the reason why she went to such extravagance was to showcase her/their wealth. I think this is evident where it says she will include "two bronze jugs, worth more than a family pays in taxes for the privilege to stay alive, a year, together..."
DeleteMackenzie Miller
ReplyDeleteI like the points you made about her love for Liu Sheng and how Dove uses her writing to show how powerful of a ruler he must have once been. While I was reading this poem however, I thought that the tone of this poem was more patronizing than that of a tone of complete devotion. Parts where Tou Wan (or the voice of Tou Wan) says things like, "...but you're bored. Straight ahead then, the hall leading to you, my constant emperor." I feel like she is giving tones of sarcasm as well. Or like when she references to giving him a figurine of "the palace girl you most frequently coveted". I think the poem could be taken both ways, and I enjoyed your interpretation/view of it!
Rita Dove’s poem, “Sonnet in Primary Colors,” describes Frida Kahlo, a Mexican self-portrait painter, using descriptive language to reveal insight into her personal life and her art. It elevates and enhances her to the reader. The title begins with an allusion to Kahlo’s profession as an artist (primary colors = painting). Then the sonnet starts with a description of Kahlo herself: “This is for the woman with the one black wing perched over her eyes…” This was a reference to Kahlo’s unibrow, which was one of her well-known and striking physical characteristics that she exaggerated in her self-portraits. The next part of the sonnet talks about her artwork, indicating some of the themes in Kahlo’s paintings by using imagery such as “erect among parrots”and “wildflowers entwining.” The line “each night she lay down in pain” talks about the physical pain she endured, having been disabled both from having polio as a child and a car accident when she was young adult. A few lines later, Kahlo’s husband, Diego, is discussed and it says that his love is a skull, signifying that the love between them has died. This sonnet romanticizes Kahlo’s life and expresses Dove’s respect and admiration for her.
ReplyDeleteDora Jolivet
ReplyDeleteI just realized I totally posted and replied on Group 1's page on accident, so I'm going to put mine here too just in case. Sorry!!
Sonnet in Primary Colors was the first poem in Historical Figures that really stood out to me. Though the title has the word "sonnet" in it, upon further examination, it only has 13 lines, making it not a sonnet by definition. This poses the question: Why did Dove call it a sonnet at all? The poem is about artist Frida Kahlo's life, experiences, and characteristics. She was a woman who defied cultural norms of her time, such as beauty standards that still stand today. Dove uses her brow to emphasize that, calling it "one black wing perched over her eyes" and later describing it as "immutable". Her brow, rather than bringing her down, was a source of power for Kahlo, even though it set her apart from others. Throughout Historical Figures, this sort of power from being different is characteristic; every woman Dove writes about was important to the feminist movement, and used their differences as strengths. Additionally, Dove uses nature imagery throughout Sonnet in Primary Colors because Kahlo loved nature and painted it all the time. For example, she writes that Frida had "wildflowers entwining the plaster corset" she wore, implying she kept nature close to her. This poem is very much a love poem from Kahlo to the world around her, for despite the hardships in her life--"Each night she lay down in pain"--she continued to love the world and the people in it. Both Kahlo's defiance of convention and her love of life contribute to the poem's title: it is a love poem that is different from the others.
For anyone who might respond, I have 2 questions I have yet to find answers for.
1. What do you think Dove means by "Beloved Dead" in line 8?
2. Why does Dove include "Primary Colors" in the poem's title? After a quick Google search of her paintings, I noticed that they're all pretty dull and rarely use red, yellow, or blue, rather more neutral tones like grays and dark greens, so I'm not sure.
Mackenzie Miller
DeleteFor your first question I believe that in the part of the poem where Dove references Frida's Beloved Dead, she is referencing the communists that Frida believed in. I thought this just because of how the sentence she references them is structured. She writes, "...of her Beloved Dead, Lenin and Marx and Stalin arrayed at the footstead". I know there could be many interpretations of this reference, but this was mine!
Mackenzie Miller
ReplyDeleteRita Dove’s poem “ ‘The situation is intolerable’ “ uses syntax, language, and symbolism to illustrate the struggle of African Americans and the issues they were facing during the time of the Civil Rights movement. Dove begins the poem with a single word, “Intolerable”. This word sets the tone for the whole poem, and the specific syntax and structure of the beginning makes you focus on that one word in particular (which means “unable to be endured”). More usage of syntax is seen as Dove starts the second stanza with, “Hush, now”. This is another way that she makes the reader focus on what she is writing. Shortened sentences are used in the last paragraph as well to conclude the poem and leave you thinking. The language Dove uses is also integral in this poem as it provides some background on racial stereotypes. For example, Dove writes, “So what if we were born up a creek and knocked flat with the paddle, if we ain’t got a pot to piss in and nowhere to put it if we did?”. By writing this and switching from a higher level of language to a lower one, Dove is emphasizing how some people gave African Americans the stereotype of being less educated and so on and so forth. Symbolism is also present throughout the poem in many ways. An example of this would be when Dove refers to a pleated trouser leg as a “righteous sword advancing onto the field of battle in the name of the Lord…”. This “battlefield” or (as seen later) “perimeter of flames” are symbols for the civil rights movement as a whole. The last example is seen when she uses stars as a symbol for hope; stars could be something to look up to while in this metaphorical battlefield. Overall, these literary devices give the reader a deeper sense of understanding, and they illustrate in multiple ways the struggles and strifes of African Americans during the time this poem was written.
Michael McCann
DeleteThe point you made about the switch from deeper language to more attainable language really struck me, as I would have not realized that on the second or third read. I think the contrast in language is the biggest point here, especially the last three lines being a hail to the lines in the second stanza. When Dove says "to sit here and do nothing", it drives the point home that African Americans must do something to make their situation tolerable.
As I read your post, I thought that the point you made about the changing of language style was really insightful and I decided I would comment on it....Then I looked down and saw that Michael had already commented almost exactly what I was thinking:) Nevertheless, I still wanted to commend you on this observation myself. I really like how Dove included that bit because the tone is so sassy and mocking. It's quite amusing. Throughout this whole poem I can hear the voice of an African American person at the time indignantly responding to some comment made by an ignorant person. I also enjoy the imagery which you talked about (the pleats in the trousers).The way it is described creates into my mind the idea of a bold fashion statement (even though I don't really think that was what it was meant to be, that's just what it makes me think of).
DeleteMichael McCann
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at Civil Rights, the name Rosa Parks cannot be forgotten. The poem "Rosa" by Rita Dove tells of what Rosa Parks did - or rather not did - to spark a new movement for Civil Rights. Looking at the first stanza, the lines "How she sat there, the time right inside a place; so wrong it was ready" (Dove 1-3) paint the scene on the bus in Alabama. The time was right referring to the timeframe of when the bus incident occurred, at a low point where African Americans were still subject to much segregation, and the place wrong referring to the white man's seat on the bus she occupied. "It was ready" signifies that change needs to happen, that a boiling point was reached where something needed to happen. Skipping down to the third stanza, the point of not doing is commented on by the narrator: "Doing nothing was the doing" (Dove 7). She was going to make a point by refusing not to comply. There is a similarity between two lines in the poem, the very first one "How she sat there" and the first line of the fourth stanza "How she stood up". When Dove says Rosa stood up, she isn't referring to her physically standing up, she is referring to her standing up for the rights and the dignity of African Americans in the face of discrimination. The contrast in actions exemplify the common cause. This poem is a multi-faceted commentary at an event that shaped Civil Rights forever.
Mackenzie Miller
ReplyDeleteThis poem was so short but so impactful and I liked how you analyzed Dove's way of getting her message across. I was kind of confused on the section of the poem where it said, "Doing nothing was the doing", but your point makes complete sense! Overall I thought your description was spot on and very good!
Rita Dove often involved issues of political and historical significance in her poetry. In the poem, “QE2. Transatlantic Crossing. Third Day,” she compares her crossing of the ocean in an ocean liner to that of her ancestors that were brought across as slaves. She begins the poem by using metaphorical comparisons of the ocean: “Panel of gray silk. Liquefied ashes. Dingy percale tugged over the vast dim earth…” This imagery creates a picture of vast grayness extending as far as the eye can see. She emphasizes the luxury of the Queen Elizabeth by describing it using words like “hush of trod carpet” and “cocktail piano.” She writes that she floats “on the lap of existence.” All this serves to highlight the great contrast to the miserable voyage that thousands of African slaves had endured crossing the same ocean. Near the end of the poem, Dove reflects on her emotions. She longs to have a connection with the slaves, feel something of what they did, but she acknowledges that even her own grandmother would think it was foolish for her to look for misery.
ReplyDeleteThe lines of this poem are quite long which reflects the far-spreading ocean that the cruise boat floats on. The tone is descriptive, contemplative, and a little bit self-mocking/ sarcastic when Dove writes “I can’t erase an ache I never had” and “Well. I’d go home if I knew where to get off.”
Period 1
ReplyDeleteThrough the usage of capitalization, allusions, and imagery, Dove conveys the inhumanity of the institution of slavery and the mental and physical struggles that slaves experienced. The poem “Belinda’s Petition” uses these literary devices to show the importance of recognizing this inhumanity. Firstly, capitalization is used throughout the entire poem on specific words, some that are meant to be capitalized and some not. Examples of this can be seen when Dove is speaking through the voice of Belinda and says, “I am Belinda, an African, since the age of twelve a Slave. I will not take too much of your Time, but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation”. This is only one quote of many that uses this form of capitalization to emphasize certain words and this emphasis can especially be seen when reading this poem aloud. Dove does this because she wants to stress the importance of words in a sentence in a way that is clear to the reader (‘Time’, ‘Life’, etc). Also, this poem is alluding to the life of a slave named Belinda and how she petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature in 1783 for her freedom. Dove speaks for her and explain how Belinda pleaded for her freedom to the “Father of this Nation”. Lastly, Dove uses imagery and descriptive words in the last stanza of the poem. She writes, “How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years”. Comparing the white men who enslaved her to having faces like the moon gives the poem a less harsh tone and a tone more filled with regret and sadness.
sorry it cut off my name, the one above is Mackenzie's haha
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Parsley,” Rita Dove describes a historical event involving the persecution of black people, as she does in many of her poems. It is about the Dominican Republic and the dictator, General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, who in 1937 ordered 20,000 Haitian blacks to be executed. He decided their fate based on their ability to say the Spanish word for parsley: perejil. If they properly rolled the r, they lived, but if they pronounced it like an l, they were killed. There’s so much that could be examined in this poem, but I am only going to write about the mother of the general and how she is used(so that there are some subjects left for others to explore:). In the first section of the poem, Dove describes the train of events from the perspective of the Haitians. In the second part of the poem (The Palace), Dove tries to make Trujillo more human in way. She attempts to put a face to his evil by exploring his inner thoughts and feelings. In the first stanza, he thinks about the death of his mother, then in the immediately following stanza, he ponders who he should kill. His pain is eased when he distracts himself by murdering and killing as can be seen in the lines: “As he paces he wonders/Who can I kill today. And for a moment/the little knot of screams/is still.” A few stanzas later is the disturbing image of Trujillo’s mother with her “teeth gnawed to arrowheads.” This imagery reflects the violent and angry emotions of the general. Dove also uses some contrasting ideas as the general compares how his mother rolled her r’s and even how a parrot rolls r’s to the Haitians. He views an animal above the people to justify to himself their deaths. To him, they’re of even less value than a parrot. Lastly, I would like to mention that Trujillo’s mother was half-Haitian. Just a little detail to nibble on...
ReplyDeleteMichael McCann
DeleteI find it very interesting that Trujillo's mother was half-Haitian. Do you think that had any influence on what he did to the Haitians? In a sense, he was killing his own people. Also, I like your commentary on how he dealt with the pain, distracting it with thoughts of murder and genocide. He was looking for a way to release his anger and pain.
I agree with the fact that Trujillo has inner anger against Haitians and that Rita Dove tries to show his feelings and thoughts through the second stanza to humanize him more, but I also thought that she did this because she wanted to give him so back story and add depth to the poem. I really enjoyed your interpretation (and also the fact about his mom)!
DeleteMackenzie Miller
Michael McCann
ReplyDeleteThere are many things interesting about the poem "Parsley" by Rita Dove. Most striking to me is the symbolism of the Parrot. From the very beginning we are introduced to the "parrot imitating spring". The symbol morphs throughout the poem from being a symbol of beauty, described by the line "its feathers parsley green.", to something associated with death and dying, exemplified by the line "For every drop of blood, there is a parrot imitating spring." When looking at the historical context of this poem, we are dropped into the Dominican Republic, where Haitian slaves are being murdered since they cannot pronounce the word "Parsley". The general takes the lives of all who can "sing without R's". The parrot with its wings of parsley green go from symbolizing the beauty of the plant and of the bird, to being associated with the genocide committed due to the plant. I find it interesting this poem is included with all of the others, due to its stark contrast compared to the themes of other poems. Of course there are more details to look at not just involving the Parrot, but what role the general's past plays into the mass murder…
I thought it was ironic that although the season of spring, the color green, and birds are generally used to convey ideas of renewal, birth and song, in this poem they are associated with the slaughter of the Haitian people. Instead they portray destruction, death, and screaming in pain. In a way, this actually makes the image of the green parrot much more ominous and disturbing (similar to the way in which clowns, although they are supposed to be comical and fun, can be very frightening and their "fun" face paint and costume makes it even scarier). Another place in the poem where a parrot is mentioned is when the general visits his mother's room to feed the parrot that is kept in there. It seems as if that the parrot is the only thing left of his mother. The line specifically says that there aren't even curtains in the room but there is the bird. I'm not sure what it means exactly, but it does seem significant. Maybe parrots are always present throughout death and the only thing left after death?
ReplyDeleteWhoops, this is a reply to Michael's post:)
DeleteMackenzie Miller
ReplyDeleteThroughout Rita Dove’s life there were many personal struggles that can be seen reflected in her poetry. Foxtrot Fridays and the other poems in the American Smooth category showcase her background in ballroom dancing, which is a hobby she took up after her house burned down. The poems have names related to dancing, and contain allusions to dance, music, etc. Poems like “Fox Trot Friday” and “Ta Ta Cha Cha” both have titles that are related to dance as well. Before the works of American Smooth, there is also a note written by Dove that can provide further background to the meaning of these poems and help with the analysis. The note says, “A form of dancing derived from the traditional Standard dances (e.g. Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango), in which the partners are free to release each other from the closed embrace and dance without any physical contact, thus permitting improvisation and individual expression”. The poem “American Smooth” specifically relates to the category of American smooth ballroom dancing, which is a form of ballroom dancing with exciting steps, and all of the basic techniques and principles of ballroom dancing apply, but partners to not need to make continuous contact. You can lose yourself in the dance and lose yourself in the moment with your dancing partner. In the poem, Dove writes that she works through the dance to find, “perfect agony” and she detaches from the world for a moment while she is dancing. This poem (and the others) I think describe how you can lose yourself in dance, feel free or feel more confident through dancing.
Parsley Blog
ReplyDeleteMackenzie Miller
“Parsley” explores the idea of what evil really is and the face that we put on evil throughout history through the usage of repetition, emotional imagery, and structure/syntax. The poem is split into two sections: Part 1: The Cane Fields and Part 2: The Palace. Part one is told from the perspective of the Haitians as they are being persecuted. Dove repeats the phrases, “there is a parrot imitating spring”, and “out of the swamp, the cane appears” throughout the first passage. These phrases can be interpreted many ways. The parrot could be a symbol for freedom, and it obviously can imitate the word perejil (because parrots imitate human speech) and save its life while the Haitians cannot. The cane could also mean many things, but in my opinion it represents the violent destruction of the Haitians under the command of Trujillo. This passage overall is not as emotionally connected to the reader, while the reader can sympathize, it is not emotions or experiences they have ever gone through so the reader could feel removed from how evil this genocide actually was. On the other hand, the second passage give us an inside look to Trujillos psyche and how psychotic of a man he truly was. Genocides happen throughout history, and the persecution of races, religions, etc occurs over and over again. Doves’ portrayal of General Trujillo shows us how we can relate to evil (even if it is very bad) and why that may affect the repetition of history and why history repeats itself in the first place. Dove makes us sympathize with both sides in a way, the Haitians (obviously because of their persecution) and with Trujillo (because of his mother), which creates an interesting emotional parallel for the reader.
In “Fox Trot Fridays,” Rita Dove paints the picture of someone who carries burdens throughout the week but finds respite in dancing every Friday night. The poem is constructed of couplets which could be representative of couples dancing. The rhythm of the dance can be felt with the rhythm of the words. It begins quickly, picking up with the literal activity in the first few lines (“tuck in the grief,” “lift your pearls”) and then several short lines (“stride brush stride/quick-quick with a/heel-ball-toe”). Then the rhythm slows down with the description of the music. One can almost hear the silken voice of the famous crooner as Dove uses the alliteration and imagery of a “slow satin smile.” Throughout the poem, Dove uses rich and celestial diction with words such as “stars,” “pearls,” “satin,” and “Paradise.” The use of these words emphasize the valuable interlude in life that is brought by dancing on Friday evenings, the happiness and wonderfulness of it. The poem begins talking about grief of the week and ends with the imagery of “no heartbreak in sight.” A brief moment of relief has been found (in the “space of a song”) where there is no sadness, just quick glimpse of Paradise and wonder.
ReplyDeleteDora Jolivet
DeleteI love the tone this poem creates because you can totally understand why Rita Dove found dancing to be so beautiful and relaxing. Taking a break from life was important to her, especially at that time, and the poem lets the readers feel the same passion she feels, especially because of the celestial diction you're talking about. I just think it's beautiful!!
Mackenzie Miller
DeleteI love your interpretation of this poem and how you explain the diction used. Dove really makes an important choice in the words used to describe how people can go to a different place when they're dancing and how dance can be a symbol for happiness and joy. I really liked it!
Dora Jolivet
ReplyDelete"American Smooth" by Rita Dove is a poem about losing yourself in an activity or another person. American smooth is a type of ballroom dance, and Rita Dove describes a performance where she and her partner see the ephemeral beauty of the dance and lose themselves in it, expressed through enjambment on most of the lines. This implies a rapid tone--Dove does not detail the specifics, and it all leads up to one moment where she feels something she hasn't felt before, if only for a moment. Her book, American Smooth, was written after her house burned down. That event gives some insight into why Dove felt a need to escape at all, and how she found it in dancing. The poem expresses her negative feelings toward the universe and how she feels that it is against her, writing that she and her partner achieved flight "before the earth remembered who we were and brought us down." She resents fate, and her way of defying it is dance.
Michael McCann
DeleteI feel there is a great similarity to the end of Quick and American Smooth. Both end remarking how something she held close was torn away so quick without a thought. I wonder if the cat in "Quick" is a metaphor for this ephemeral beauty of dance, as Dove describes it as fleeting away quickly, only being a "fabled silhouette." Both poems also make use of the metaphor of flight, though with seemingly different meanings. The similarity between these poems is very interesting and enticing to a critical reader!
Michael McCann
ReplyDeleteQuick is a poem written by Rita Dove about a stray cat found in the middle of the night. This cat is a gray cat who "peers from the culvert", meaning that the cat is peaking its head out of the sewer, most likely. The cat appears briefly before it disappears in a "red swish." The narrator then remarks on the feeling of leaving without any thought or grief of love, only "pure purpose poured into flight." The poems from American Smooth were written after Dove's house burnt down due to a lightning strike. In the fire, she lost a lot of original manuscript and nearly everything she owned. The last lines in this poem describe what she felt, that everything was gone so quickly without a thought of love. The cat is also an interesting symbol throughout the poem, and I am curious as to what its meaning is, besides it leaving without a trace. The syntax and layout of the poem - divided into short, two line stanzas - helps establish the tone of the poem. The quick blurts of speech give a rushed feel, as if there is a bit of anxiety felt by the narrator. This would make sense with the title "Quick". Overall, this poem left more questions unanswered to me, like what further meaning does the cat hold? I'm curious as to your perspectives on it.
It's really interesting that this poem represented a cat to you because the animal that I envisioned immediately was a fox. I never even considered another animal. I was probably influenced by reading the poem "Fox" about two minutes before this one and having seen the title of "Fox Trot Fridays" on the next page but the lines describing the mother ("sleek curve plumpening into a tail/waving its flamboyant/afterthought, she disappears:/red swish) also really evoked the image of a fox to me. Now as for the significance of the symbol, whether cat or fox, I can't really say, but it strikes me that they can both be very mysterious and secretive creatures and it's ironic that Dove ends the poem with the animal's purpose because who really knows what that is? I think the main message of the poem is contained in the lines: O to be gone/like that, no grief nor thought/of love—pure purpose/poured into flight. It seems as if Dove is longing after the idea of flying away after your own purpose, pursuing your own goals without caring about anything else, without being held back by anything, like a mother fox/cat that sees it's cub/kitten and leaves anyway. I'm not sure why this is a thing to long after and I have a lot of unanswered questions as well.
DeleteMackenzie Miller
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
Through the usage of capitalization, allusions, and imagery, Dove conveys the inhumanity of the institution of slavery and the mental and physical struggles that slaves experienced. The poem “Belinda’s Petition” uses these literary devices to show the importance of recognizing this inhumanity. Firstly, capitalization is used throughout the entire poem on specific words, some that are meant to be capitalized and some not. Examples of this can be seen when Dove is speaking through the voice of Belinda and says, “I am Belinda, an African, since the age of twelve a Slave. I will not take too much of your Time, but to plead and place my pitiable Life unto the Fathers of this Nation”. This is only one quote of many that uses this form of capitalization to emphasize certain words and this emphasis can especially be seen when reading this poem aloud. Dove does this because she wants to stress the importance of words in a sentence in a way that is clear to the reader (‘Time’, ‘Life’, etc). Also, this poem is alluding to the life of a slave named Belinda and how she petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature in 1783 for her freedom. Dove speaks for her and explain how Belinda pleaded for her freedom to the “Father of this Nation”. Lastly, Dove uses imagery and descriptive words in the last stanza of the poem. She writes, “How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years”. Comparing the white men who enslaved her to having faces like the moon gives the poem a less harsh tone and a tone more filled with regret and sadness.
I think that Rita Dove may have been emphasizing certain words and she definitely thought about which words to capitalize and which not to, but I also believe that she was imitating the writing style of the time (1780's). I doubt this is related, but I remembered that in German all nouns are capitalized even when they are in the middle of a sentence.
DeleteIn the poem (line 7), it struck me that when she says that she is pleading to the "Fathers of this Nation," she was pleading to the actual founding fathers of the nation as this letter was written only six years after the American Revolution. Her ideas were quite revolutionary as she equated slavery with the "Binds of Tyranny.
The poem “The Abduction” tells the story of Solomon Northrup, an American abolitionist and primary author of the book Twelve Years A Slave. He was born free but when working as a traveling musician, he was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery. This poem, as can be seen from the title, tells the tale of his abduction. The opening stanza sets the context for the event which will occur, stating that it was happening after the death of President William Harrison, which informs that reader that it was 1841. From the first stanza, the reader also gathers that his abduction occurred in or near Washington DC (where slavery was still legal at the time). The second stanza evokes the image of a circus or traveling roadshow as can be seen in the word choices like: “tall hat,” “tent flap,” “jig on a tightrope,” and “fiddled.” This cheerful diction builds a contrast with the following stanza, in which everything changes and he is betrayed by his so-called friends. There is an abundance of movement diction when Northrup is drugged and kidnapped as it says things were “rattled,” “tipped,” lifted,” “swivelled,” and “clicked into place.” The reader can envision abrupt and disorienting movement and can almost see it with blurry vision like someone who has been drugged. Shortly after, Northrup finds himself in a dream state (“I floated on water I could not drink,” 13) and Dove once includes a biblical reference, alluding to the story of a man who slept using a stone as a headrest and dreamed of a ladder going up to heaven with angels ascending and descending. However, Dove uses this allusion ironically because Northrup did not dream of heaven nor was he in a heavenly situation.
ReplyDeleteThe poem ends with a dramatic line: I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains (15). This line is a quote from the book, Twelve Years A Slave, and creates a great contrast to reverie in the first stanza, where Northrup had been so proud to be a free citizen, not knowing what tragedy would soon befall him.
Michael McCann
DeleteI think the very musical and cheerful diction you described really helps define who Northrup was. The dichotomy between the beginning and ending of the poem also is a very powerful point. Another detail that stands out to me is the structure of the stanzas. As the poem progresses on, the number of lines in each stanza decrease, eventually leading to the last line, along on its own like Solomon in chains. It is an interesting detail to note along with the other commentary you provided.
Michael McCann
ReplyDelete"The House Slave" by Rita Dove is a powerful view into a community of African American slaves who not only work and live together but are like family. Dove uses natural imagery and metaphor to convey this to a broader audience. The first line in the first stanza helps set the scene, the community being awoken by a horn call bellowed "over the dew-lit grass" (1) The image of the grass implies another morning in the life of these slaves where they must begin again. Their daily routine of the children being "bundled into aprons, cornbread\ and water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken." (3-4) instills the regimentation of their lives as completely without freedom, and with little to no consideration of their life in mind. When looking at the last stanza, a powerful metaphor is found about not only the fields of work, but of the captors themselves. The line reads "and as the fields unfold into whiteness, \ and they spill like bees among the fat flowers, \ I weep. It is not yet daylight." (12-15). While not only being about the cotton fields slaves poured themselves over, there is an inference to the captors of the slaves, the white Americans. Their lives are controlled by the whiteness on the fields, and the whiteness living beyond the fields. When the narrator states "It is not yet daylight" (15), it is because they have not found their freedom, the light that guides them home. This poem is a powerful statement about a dark chapter of our past, sometimes the darkest hour of all isn't the hour just before the dawn after all.
Dora Jolivet
DeleteI think it's very interesting that Dove chose to use a lot of passive voice in this poem. For instance, "water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken" (4). There's no question about who's in power in their situation, and it's not them. It really expresses the point that the slaves do nothing by choice, and that they are seen as the lowest in the hierarchy.
Dora Jolivet
ReplyDelete"Belinda's Petition" by Rita Dove is a poem that highlights the injustice of slavery using the perspective of an African woman, Belinda, who stands up to the institution that binds her. Using information from the poem and background research, the reader can piece together the life of Belinda Sutton, a former slave who, shortly after the American Revolution, petitioned the Massachusetts legislature and received a pension for her time in slavery. Dove writes from her perspective: "I received Existence on the Banks / of the Rio de Valta*. All my Childhood / I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance... How might / I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, / who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?" Belinda was not born in a position of power, and she never had the ability to choose the direction her life went in. Dove expresses that Belinda felt as though her fate was sealed the moment she was born--whether or not she was sold into slavery, she did not expect anything from her life. Additionally, Dove uses capitalization in seemingly sporadic places in the poem. This could be mostly for accuracy in terms of the time period this poem is set in, but I also noticed that the words capitalized are the most important to Belinda and her cause: Slave, Life, Binds of Tyranny, and more throughout. Not only that, but they are words that the white men she is pleading to will empathize with, since she speaks of the Revolutionary War that was so important to them and connects it to her slavery. Finally, one part in the first stanza really stood out to me and spoke volumes about Belinda and who she was: "I will not take too much of your Time, / but to plead and place my pitiable Life / unto the Fathers of this Nation." When the speaker describes her life (with a capital L, so it's really important) as pitiable, the reader immediately gets the sense that Belinda is placing the white men above her in terms of value, even though she is the one who has been wronged. In the society Belinda lives in, she has to do this to get a chance at being heard, and this exhibits the injustice of slavery in a way that is quick and easy to understand and impacts the rest of the poem immensely.
*The Rio de Valta, or the Volta River, is a river in Ghana.
Mackenzie Miller
DeleteI liked how you found more background information about Belinda and used that in your analysis to help describe her struggles on a deeper level. Also, I agree with your statement that Belinda puts the “Men with Faces like the Moon” as above her in terms of power and in society's standpoint. Good job!