The poem Heart to Heart caught my eye. In the first stanza Dove writes, "It's neither red/ nor sweet./It doesn't melt/ or turn over./ break or harden./ so it can't feel/ pain,/ yearning,/ regret"(1-9). Dove mentions the phrases people use to describe their heart. For an example, "my heart melted" or "my heart breaks". She is reminding the reader that their heart is just a muscle in the body, it cannot feel. This idea is also in the second stanza. Dove writes, "It doesn't have/ a tip to spin on,/ it isn'teven/shapely--/ just a thick clutch/ of muscle,/ lopsided, mute"(10-17) . Dove is explaining how the heart isnt shaped like <3. The heart is just a big lopsided muscle that does not have a pointed tip on the bottom. Using the word "lopsided" she shows that it is not perfect, and this contradicts with what people usually think about when they think about a heart. The last section of the poem, she writes, "I feel it inside/ its cage sounding/ a dull tattoo:/ I want, I want--/ but I can't open it:/ there's no key./ I can't wear it on my sleeve,/ or tell you from/ the bottom of it/ how I feel. Here,/ it's all yours, now—/ but you'll have/ to take me,/ too."(18-32). Here, Dove is discussing how she wants to feel something, she wants to feel love but she does not know how to beccause there is "no key". There is no instruction booklet, telling us how to love. She also talks about a cage-referring to her ribs-which means that she calls her heart a "dull tattoo". This could mean that the organ itself is ordinary and just there. Or, it could mean that her heart is trapped and it wants something it may not be able to have. Then, there is a shift in the lines 24-32 the speaker talks about how she can't wear it on her sleeve. She can't show her love that easily but it still belongs to this special someone, but they have to accept her for who she is along with taking her heart. In the end, I like this poem because it shows the misconceptions that we have about our own hearts, that it is just an organ.
After discussing the poem "Parsley" in class, I felt the tone as anger because El General, somehow was mad that his mom pretending to be something that she wasn't, and so he releases his anger by killing the people who can't pronounce the "R" in parsley. I just don't understand why he would kill all those people that didn't know how to pronounce the "R" I mean his mother did know how to pronounce it but didn't pronounce it, I believe that there is a meaning behind El General's actions. Also, did anyone kind of see El General as Hitler? The way he kills all the people that can't pronounce the "R's" in parsley, is like Hitler killing all the Jews.
In her poem "Ta Ta Cha Cha", Rita Dove uses imagery related to birds to convey the sense of freedom she finds in dancing. In the third stanza, Dive describes how her lover, "walks/without seeing, face hidden/by a dirty wingspan" (Dove 33-35). Dove feels that because she finds freedom in the dance, she is no longer bound by Earth's rules. The bird-like imagery gives a free tone to the piece, which further displays how Dove feels that the dancing sets her free. Both the title and the third stanza relate the motif of birds to dancing. Although the world is a grim place, "(slate, snow, ash)- / a dazed array, dipped/in the moon's cold palatte." (10-12), Dove uses the dance to help her cope with the harshness of reality, which ultimately sets her free.
I liked you idea of the imagery relating to the birds representing freedom. I did not see that the first time I read it, but it does make a lot of sense as I read it over again.
When I first read the poem, I was thoroughly confused by her usage of imagery and wings. I didn't have much to write down on that poem as a result. I agree with your interpretation that birds convey freedom which she finds in dancing. Through dancing, Dove is able to escape reality for a short amount of time and her mind is able to soar just like a bird. It is interesting to note the different ways that people cope with rough times as every person is unique in their own way.
In the poem, “David Walker (1785-1830)” I found it interesting how Rita decides to put the year after his name, especially because she has not done that to very many poems. She is giving a reference to the reader to better understand the time of which slavery took place and showing the significance David has during that time period. In the line, “They strip and beat and drag us about/ like rattlesnakes.” This gives the illusion that African-Americans rights were stripped by the owners if they were outspoken. It gives a angry tone, by comparing the African-Americans to rattlesnakes, and shows how aggressive slave owners were. I like the way Rita describes the shop in the line, “All day at the counter -/white caps, ale-stained peacoats”, then goes into, “Compass needles,/eloquent as tuning forks, shivered, pointing north.” North in the line also represents where slavery was abolished. By using a lot of vivid imagery, Rita Dove explains the difficulties David Walker went through and how life changing the experience was.
In “American Smooth”, I was intrigued that Rita wrote only one stanza, why do you think she didn’t break the poem into more than one stanza? When looking at the poem it seems that Rita wanted to show her passion for dance with energy and eases the audience when she says, “such perfect agony/ one learns to smile through,/ ecstatic mimicry.”(10-12) It shows that the dancer in really into the dance, focusing on every detail, the body movements and facial expressions in order for it to be perfect.
I think that the reason she made "American Smooth," into one stanza is because it gives the poem almost a continuous rhythm about it. It reflects a dance because a dance is step after step without really stopping. I also think that it shows how much energy Dove had when she danced and expressed herself through dance. The structure of this poem paints a picture of someone dancing and its kind of puts on a show for the audience to watch.
I agree with what Alisa said but I also think that she wanted to portray the smoothness of the dance. If there was stanza breaks, it would kind of make the poem choppy with pauses which kind of goes against the constant rhythm of the dance. The word, "Smooth," is even in the title, so it makes sense why she wanted the structure to have an even flow to it.
I also agree with Matt and Alisa. The poem would become severed in more than one stanza along with the dance she is describing. In line 6-7 she says, "Precise execution as we moved into the next song without stopping two chests heaving above a seven-league stride-" Rita even says how the dance flowed from one song to another without stopping which can relate to the structure of the poem that has no caesuras (line breaks) because the dance has no breaking point either.
During the in class work on Rita Dove’s poem, “Fox Trot Fridays,” I interpreted Dove’s use of biblical allusions as a means to express her distress in the loss of her house. My thinking was that she compared her pain to the pain of Adam and Eve when they were thrown from the garden of Eden. After giving my conclusion more thought, I realized that I was leaving out all the meaning for the diction referring to dance. Though Dove referred to the Bible, capitalizing “Paradise”(15) and writing, “one day at a time:/ one man and/ one woman/ rib to rib”(10-13) [Paradise is a reference to Eden itself and the the lines ten to thirteen explain god’s creation of the world in seven days and His creation of Adam and Eve, with Adam’s ribs] it would be wrong to leave out the importance of dance. this has lead me to conclude that Dove is trying to express the importance of find one’s own “paradise” in life. Based on outside knowledge of Dove’s life, dancing is most likely her true passion and it is an example for the reader.
Dove may have chosen the Biblical imagery of Paradise because she believes that everything happens for a reason. Although her house burning down may have seemed like a disaster at the time, she never would have found her earthly Paradise in dancing.
After the expulsion from Eden, entirely disregarding the events that took place with Cain and Abel, "Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth..." (Genesis 4:25) and since "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." (Psalm 127:3), then Adam and Eve found joy.
This could be a connection to the dance. The speaker lost their home (paradise), but found happiness in dance. Adam and Eve lost their paradise of Eden and found happiness in their child Seth.
In “Fox,” I interpreted this poem as Dove talking about her life after her house was burnt down and she had lost everything. I think that when she says, “She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle.” (13-20), it is talking about her love for dancing. She loved it more than anything because it helped her cope with the pain of losing everything. I think that the poem really shows how strong of a woman Rita Dove was. Although, she had lost everything, she was still content with her life and she was willing to push through all the hurt and pain, and find happiness in the situation. “She loved what she was, there for the taking, imagine.” (8-11), Dove talks about her being about to still have an imagination and find the good in everything rather than being hurt and sad all the time.
I was wondering the same thing. I think it means that after her house burned down, she greatly treasured what possessions she had left, the most important non-material thing being her passion for dance. She found happiness on her own, without the need of a man.
In the first part of Rita Dove’s poem Parsley, The Cane Fields, Dove uses imagery and local color to talk about the Dominican Republic without actually naming the country. Although this part of the poem is from the perspective of Haitians, the language and imagery is of the Dominican Republic.
Dove ends the first stanza with, “Out of the swamp the cane appears”(3). In the Dominican Republic, there are many sugarcane plantations and they are notorious for their harsh conditions. (http://www.wilderutopia.com/international/humanity/dominican-republic -modern-day-sugarcane-slavery/) Sugarcane grows out of swamps and Dove uses this fact of nature to explain how Haiti’s turmoil was birthed from the Dominican Republic.Instead of using the full word, sugarcane, Dove used the word, cane. Canes are sometimes used to beat others and Dove uses the word as a pun to explain how the land of sugar cane beats down on Haiti.
In addition to using geographic qualities of the Dominican Republic, Dove uses the Spanish language to show qualities of the Dominican Republic without using the country’s actual name. Dove uses,“El General”(4), “We cannot speak an R”(8), and “his word: perejil”(13). El General refers to Rafael Trujillo who led the Parsley Massacre. Dove once again refers to part of the Dominican Republic in an indirect way. The way Haitians were determined to be executed was if they could pronounce the ‘R’ in the Spanish word perejil. This tactic was cruel and unfair. Dove capitalizes the R to signify the heavy weight it carried.
In American Smooth, Dove not only characterizes the dance itself, but also the dancers. She describes how one can lose themselves in the technical aspects so much that they forget about their partner. “because I was distracted/by the effort of/keeping my frame.....I didn't notice/how still you'd become until/ we had done it" (lines 15-24). As we know, Rita Dove lost her house in a fire, but she gained ballroom dancing in the process. In an interview, Rita Dove says that her and her husband saw people "swooping across the floor" at a dinner dance, and that graceful feeling is carried out throughout the whole book. In American Smooth in particular, Dove creates a feeling of rising up and then gracefully falling, conveyed by her imagery of the dance. Dove is creating a personal reflection, how she feels about ballroom dancing, rather than a generalized movement. The whole poem builds until the dancing couple, "achieves flight" and for those few seconds, everything is perfect in the world. A home is a safety net, and Rita Dove's was burned, but another thing caught her. Those few blissful seconds experienced through dance, and self -expression were enough to merit a whole book of poetry, and were brought to a climax in American Smooth.
Do you then consider 'American Smooth' to be the centrepiece of the poetry book? Do you feel there's something special about 'American Smooth,' something that distinguishes it from the other poems, makes it the one you should read if you only read one?
Why do you think Dove chose to title the book "American Smooth"? With so many other poems in the book, what do you think stood out to her about this one? Perhaps there is and even more personal significance of "American Smooth" to Rita Dove.
I think that the other poems from 'American Smooth' generally focus on a subset of dancing like the fox trot or the cha cha, or Rita Dove's emotions towards dancing. The "American Smooth" poem however, seems to embody all of Dove's emotions and feelings towards dance in one poem. The encompassing of all these elements gives the poem a 'complete' look. American Smooth itself, is a type of ballroom dance and ballroom dancing is known for its smooth, continuous flow. Maybe Dove chose this poem title as the title of the book because it is her favorite type of dance? Maybe it was the first dance she learned?
In “Belinda’s Petition”, Dove portrays a derisive and proud tone by capitalizing nouns in midsentence and using sarcastic dictions. When I first read the poem, the first thing I noticed was that she capitalized unnecessary nouns and adjectives. I came up with a reason (it’s kind of weak though) of why she did this and I thought that it was to put a heavy and important tone on these words to make the reader, which could be the Senate and House of Representatives, pay more attention to these capitalized words. I noticed that the capitalized words were things that meant a lot to her in her life such as the words “Accusation”, “Ignorant”, “Existence”, and “Banks”. The word “Banks” was important to her because it marked a very crucial time period of her life- the time of when she got captured near the banks of Rio de Valta in Ghana by white men and was taken to the middle passage. Plus, the capitalized words make the poem have a derisive and angry tone because it seem like she’s yelling every time there’s an unnecessary capitalized word. The dictions that Dove used such as “honorable”, “pitiable”, and “plead” show the tone of sarcasm, like Belinda was mocking the US government by acting respectful and humble. Second, Dove uses a proud tone when she described Belinda at the third and fourth stanza. When Belinda said “I am Belinda, an African…”, she didn’t say African American, because she was proud of being an African. Also, she purposefully let the Senate and House of Representative know that she was an African and this shows that she was very bold and unafraid that they might judge her. Overall, Dove wants the reader to feel that Belinda isn't just a miserable slave that deserves pity, she wants to show that in difficult situations, we must rise, take action, and fight back, just like what Belinda did. This petition is connected to Dove's personal misery, when her house burned down, and Belinda is similar to Dove because they both find a way to fight against their misery and try to do something to improve their situation.
At the end of her poem, "American Smooth," Rita Dove writes, "we had done it (for two measures? four?-achieved flight. that swift and serene magnificence,before earth remembered who we were and brought us down." This part of the poem really stood out to me because it perfectly describes what dancing does for Rita Dove. It shows how much of an escape from life dancing is for her. When you achieve flight you are defying gravity so her taking flight shows her breaking free from all the stresses of life that are pulling her down. It could also show how dancing is a little slice of heaven for her. When she dances she is above everything else and free but then at the end of the poem she writes that the earth remembered who she was and brought her back down to earth. When she questions the number of measures she is showing how she gets lost in dance.I also think she might be sending a bigger message through this part of the poem. She is trying to have the reader relate to her because everybody has their own little thing that takes their mind off everything. Everybody has an escape and Rita is using the example of her dancing to portray this.
I definitely agree with your analysis that dancing is a sort of escape for Rita and it "takes her off the ground" in a symbolic way. This poem is sort of similar to Fox Trot Fridays as well. American Smooth describes dancing as like flying and in Fox Trot Fridays she compares it to Paradise. The word Paradise is capitalized because it is supposed to mean Heaven, showing dancing brings her to her happy place, and is her biggest joy.
As I read Rita Dove’s poem, “Fox” I noticed the repetition of “she” through out the poem. At first I believed that she was talking about someone else, but then in lines 16-17 say, “which was enough/for her,” in here Rita Dove uses her as she herself, which represents that “she” is being used as Rita herself. I also think that this poem shows Rita Dove’s confidence of herself. In lines 1-2, “she knew what she was…” which emphasizing that she is conscious of who she is, which shows that she is a complete women that knows what she loves, and thats all she needs.
Why do you think that she uses this repeating "she" figure opposed to using herself or a character like she does in her other poems? Really what effect does this have on the reader. I bring this up because I think that this is a big part in this poem and a huge symbol for more of a thing than just a narrator view.
I agree with Julia. Why do you think that she is repeating it? I think that shows a deeper meaning for the whole poem because this could be written completely different and have a different effect the reader. I really liked this poem I thought that it was complex and Dove portrayed the meaning in a very cool way.
In "American Smooth", Dove does a fantastic job combining her two passions, dance and poetry. This combination really makes the reader relate to Dove in a way I have not yet done. To see someone combine a passion with their work is quite inspirational. I also think their is some reference to enlightenment or a biblical reference when she takes about leaving the ground. I just think that is such a vital part of the poem that is must be. The line about the earth bringing her dowm, forgetting if they were ven human, but maybe birds or angels. I think this part of the poem is very symbolic. The poem also combines her love of dance for the hardships she has faced. The line about agony producing such a great smile, this is very powerful. The saying what doesnt kill you makes you stronger applies a lot to this line. And to end this entry, I want to ask the other bloggers a question. How does combining work and play for Rita Dove influence her poems?
With ‘Belinda’s Petition’ Dove makes a distinctive stylistic decision in the writing of the poem to ‘further authenticity’ so to speak. She capitalises all nouns as is the style of modern German and as was the style in 18th century English, for example with ‘pure Air being the sole Advantage’ (11) and ‘I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance’ (16), this line notably leaving ‘nothing’ uncapitalised as it is technically a pronoun. Dove is, however, inconsistent in this regard as the line ‘since the age of twelve a Slave.’ (4) should read ‘since the Age of Twelve a Slave’ following typographic rules of the period, with the capitalisation of ‘twelve’ being theoretically optional though in practise expected. This is the only line in which I can identify such an inconsistency. Also of note is the anachronistic spelling of ‘honorable’ in the first line, dropping the silent u, a practise which only entered popular use in America after its use by Noah Webster in the publication of his dictionary in 1806, twenty-four years after the date that this meant to have been written in, 1782. It might be of academic interest to ask Dove herself of the intentionality of these apparent inconsistencies.
In the poem, “American Smooth,” Rita Dove portrays the aspects of life through descriptions or imagery of the dance, making the dance symbolic of life. In lines 3-5, Dove writes, “something romantic but / requiring restraint, / rise and fall.” This shows how even something so beautiful and pure as this dance has restraints. Applying the symbolism to life, which is a beautiful gift, these restraints represent setbacks. For Dove, the burning down of her house was a major setback. The “rise and fall” of the movements of the dance represent the high and low points that everyone experiences through the process of living. In lines 15-17, Dove’s purpose in writing, “And because I was distracted / by the effort of / keeping my frame,” is to bring attention to the fact that often times people are distracted from the fact that they are extremely lucky to be alive and to be experiencing living. Dove’s intention is to explain how there are numerous distractions and reasons that can cause people to take things for granted. Perhaps this was a realization of hers when her house burned down. After this unfortunate incident, it is highly possible that she came to realize that although she lost material objects in the fire, her passion for dance survived and it was something to greatly appreciate. It is something that can’t be taken away from her by anyone or anything. She goes even further in explaining her point with lines 18-21, where she writes, “(the leftward lean, head turned / just enough to gaze out / past your ear and always / smiling, smiling).” These lines, which are in parentheses, literally distract the reader from the poem to give the reader a sense of what distraction is like and how easy it is to unintentionally focus attention on something else. Lastly, when Dove writes, “achieved flight, / that swift and serene / magnificence,” the “flight” is symbolic of the high points of life and the lines, “remembered who we were / and brought us down” gives the reader a final emphasis on the fluctuation of the positive and negative aspects of life and how this can be symbolically represented through this particular dance. It's also interesting to note that while the dance is symbolic of life, dance is her escape from life.
Dove’s collection of American Smooth poems is based on Dove’s loss of her home, and she recovers from her grief by discovering her love of dance. In “Ta Ta Cha Cha”, Dove talks about her moving from place to place, because she doesn’t have a home or a permanent place to stay. The poem emits a very sad and hopeless tone. She expresses her fear of not having a home by writing, “Lost, Lost... besandaled and backpacked...gray vagabond” to compare herself to the homeless, but also gives a sense that she understands how the homeless feel now that she also doesn’t have a home and realizes the devastation that it brings. Dove goes on to describe the homeless, “and the nearest scavenger/skips three times/to the side, bobs to pluck/his crackerjack prize, a child’s/dropped gelato cone.” This shows Dove’s empathy towards those who do not have a house or those who lack a lot in life, but continue to live their lives to the best of their ability to survive. It is almost as if the people that she sees on the streets give her hope that losing a house isn’t the end of the world because there are tons of people who do not have a house and choose to live on. She realizes that she needs to free herself from the grief that she has over the house, and take on another stage in her life, which resulted in her finding freedom through dance.
I really like your overall interpretation of this collection. After reading the poems, however, I am very interested on how the poem "Quick" ties into this theme. Maybe the imagery of the foxes portrays her feelings for her lost possessions, or gives it a flowing dance like feel?
The poems from American Smooth were written after Rita Dove's house burned down and she lost a lot of her personal items. Yet she found her way and happiness through dance. She did not solely rely on her husband or no "man". She loved and was thankful for what she had still and I think that her poem, Fox, strongly shares that. the last 7 lines that say, "she loved-nothing more-than what she had,-which was enough-for her,-which was more-than any man-could handle,". These are very powerful words and really are a message for all to be thankful for what you have. The repetition of the word "she" in this poem shows her independence and give the reader a feminist empowerment feeling. Also all the poems in American Smooth have to do with ballroom dancing. This poem has to do with the fox trot. The fox trot is a really fast pace dance and really focuses on the grace of the woman partner and how she does such complex moves yet makes it seem so graceful and easy. This is how Rita Dove had to show herself after her tragedy. Although she may of been destroyed on the inside she had to seem and convince herself she was calm. I think that is why she uses dance in her poems, it is so complex yet makes it look easy.
The poem "Fox" stood out to me. It is a short and impactful poem. There was a lot of repetition and juxtaposition considering the length of the poem, it sort of had a circular feel to it. As if the poem is a cycle, I felt like it would keep going. Dove uses the repetition of the word "she" such as "she knew", "she loved", She imagined" and "she was". I feel like Dove is writing about a woman who does not have confident. Dove writes about how the speaker "was capable/of anything/ anyone/could imagine"(3-6). later in the poem she writes about how the "she imagined/nothing"(11-12). This leads me to believe that Dove is writing about how people are capable of doing anything, but they lack the confidence or the guts to 'dream big', to have bigger aims. People who usually do not have confidence usually repeat words to convince themself and by repeating the word "She", Dove implies that the speaker is trying to create that sense of confidence. The fact that all of the verbs are in past tense implies that the speaker was looking back on her life, which creates a tone of regret. Additionally, Dove writes, "She loved what/ she was" (7-8). And also later in the poem she writes, "She loved/ nothing more/ than what she had/ which was enough/ for her"(13-17). This shows how people usually connect 'love' with material items. Overall, this poem intrigued me because of the contradictions and structure. Dove was able to create a short, simple, but impactful poem.
One of my favorite poems so far is American Smooth. This poem has stood out to me because it really portrays the relationship with her husband and that passion she has for writing poetry. I have noticed that Dove loves to use imagery and corresponds something in her poems that relate to her life. I think that it is special that this dance is their own. She loves dance and writing so I think that the combination of the two really enlightened the tone of the poem and helped the reader understand her passion for writing poetry. This poem is also very important to her because she lost her home in a fire and it was a rough time for her so she turned to dance. This was her escape and a way to cope with the struggles she was going through. It is interesting that she mentioned in her poem that she was so distracted by the “effort of keeping her frame.” This is kind of similarity of how she had distractions in her life. Does anyone else agree that it could have similarity or why do you think she said that? I know she was trying to keep up with the moves and her partner faded away.
I agree with the similarity. The poem can be viewed as Dove comparing her whole life to a dance. As more and more time went on, Dove became distracted by substances and hiding her secret life from the life that was viewed by her fans. This is especially supported from the lines, "the leftward lean, head turned just enough to gaze out past you ear and always smiling, smiling"(18-21). This shows how Dove was always distracted and looking only partially at her goals. At the same time, towards the people, Dove was smiling a smile that was only a facade.
The poem "Fox" was only 4 sentences, but it still stood out to me. Each of these sentences are started off with the word "She", and this is Rita talking about herself, and everything is in past tense so it seems to be a reflective poem about her life. The title Fox, I think is supposed to me a comparison of herself to a fox; smart, cunning, adventurous, and independent. Also, "Fox" could be a play on words of the description foxy for a woman. The word "imagine" is repeated 3 times throughout this very short poem. The last time it is used it says "She imagined / nothing" and I don't think this is literally her saying that she didn't have an imagination. Rita Dove was clearly a very imaginative person based on all the great poems she wrote. I think this particular line means that's she did not covet others, or have greed for material items like other people did. And that Rita was and is a strong independent woman that "was more / than any man / could handle."
American Smooth by Rita Dove is the most beautiful poem I have read by her so far. Rita describes her dancing with her husband and feeling as if they had taken flight and nothing else had mattered in the world. In this poem Dove uses many “s” sounds lie “Swift and serene, magnificence,” to describe the dance. Usually “s” sounds mean something more sinister but I think this was to represent the sounds of flying and being free. In line 23, Rita wrote, “I didn’t notice how still you’d become until we had done it” Rita uses “You’d” as if she was writing this poem directed at her husband. This gives the poem a tone of romance and warmth because it seems that Rita is writing a love poem about dancing with her husband directed to him.
I thought that the poem that really stood out to me was "Quick", by Rita Dove. In this poem, there is a lot of imagery used to create the picture of a fox cub and its mother. Very interesting diction is used to do this, such as the way Dove describes the mother's tail as a "flamboyant afterthought". To me, the way she uses this diction personifies the foxes, and makes them into a metaphor of something else. I think that Rita Dove uses the mother fox to metaphorically depict herself, and the baby to depict how men see her. This is because the way she describes the baby fox as a vouyer full of "bobble and twitch" may resemble men who seek her out to satisfy their own personal need, since the baby fox does the same when it looks for its mother. I also think the way she depicts the fox correlates to how she sees herself, and is directly related to another of her poems, "Fox", in which she uses a fox to describe the title but then proceeds to describe herself. In my opinion, this vivid imagery for the foxes gives a serene feel, as foxes are silent and nimble, and give the poem a flowing impression.
I found "Quick" to be an interesting poem as well. How she personified the fox made the poem very captivating with the detailed imagery she included, "waving it's flamboyant afterthought... red swish or gray, too quick to tell." Although this selection of poems often relates to dance, I enjoyed how Dove tied in the symbol of the quick fox to reflect "Fox Trot Fridays" and other dance passages.
The poem "Fox" by Rita dove really caught my eye. The poem shows strength and determination in whom it references in saying "She" throughout the poem and shows her courage and power she possesses within herself. The structure of this poem is very intriguing because the lines are so short in length and form enjambments in sentences onto the next lines below. One line that particularly stood out to me was "She loved what she was, there for the taking, imagine" Each comma of this sentence broadens what the line "she loved what she was" into something able to be grasped by someone else and taken away. But why is it up for the taking? why wouldn't she keep what she loved about herself? I think this part she loved is the piece that she wishes someone would take and keep for there own. A lover who would choose her for who she was. Toward the end of the poem it say "Which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle." I think this means the she is satisfied without a man in her life and is content with what she already has to love.
The poem "The House Slave" stood out to me. The use of diction in the poem, for instance, "Water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken"(4), and the word "Massa" along with the imagery in the first triplet provides a snapshot of the life in the slave community. How she phrased the words (in the fourth line) by using an object then a verb, creates a feeling of loss. As if the object, is prized, precious and part of a competition. Additionally, "ivory toothpick" is an interesting image. When I think of the word ivory, I usually think of the tusks of an elephant. Dove writes, "their mistress sleep like an ivory toothpick"(6). This creates the image of how the mistress is elegant and skinny. To add on, the use of the words "oh, pray" instead of a swear word, or profanity creates a powerful impact. It gives a feeling of hopelessness, like she is begging for help, and praying for it, but not receiving anything. The metaphor of how "they spill like bees among the fat flowers"(14) is intriguing, Bees rapidly collect nectar, and describing the flowers as 'fat' suggests that the flowers are completely filled with nectar. Thus, we can conclude that the slaves were "spilling" all over the cotton fields to pick cotton. This contributes to the feeling that slaves were rapidly trying to pick the cotton so they would not be whipped. Overall this was a powerful poem that describes the sense of hopelessness and pain in slavery.
In Fox, Dove creates a tone of strength in relation to the strength she felt in herself after the tragedy of her house burning down. Dove creates this tone through the use of repetition in the structure of lines in the poem. Dove writes, “She knew what she was”(1,2), and, “She loved what she was”(7,8). Here, Dove is counting her blessings. She recognizes that only her house was burned down and not her life, talents, or personality. Foxes have red fur which is the color of fire. Dove embraces the flames that burned down her house to give her a confidence boost that she has and loves what really matters. Dove also writes, “She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was much more than any man could handle”(13-20). Dove is content with what she has. Her life is still in front of her and she loves the fact that she still has that. I find the last line amusing because it can be interpreted as a message to her husband, who from this context, can be assumed to be distraught and not optimistic like Dove is.
“Fox Trot Fridays” was where Rita Dove spoke of going out and dancing on Friday. In another part of the book, she speaks about how she turned to dance after the loss of her house. In class, we noticed the biblical allusions.
She spoke of “Paradise”, which is a reference to the perfect land of Eden, in which Adam and Eve lived. The creation of the world in seven days went by “one day at a time”. On the 6th day, God had made “one man and/one woman” and the woman had come from the rib of the man. This portion is described in the poem in the part “rib to rib”.
After the expulsion from Eden, Adam and Eve stayed together “…and she bore a son and named him Seth..." (Genesis 4:25). In the Bible, it is stated that "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him" (Psalm 127:3). Therefore, despite the pain and suffering from being evicted from their home and paradise, they still found joy.
This could be a connection to the dance. The speaker lost their home (paradise), but found happiness in dance. Adam and Eve lost their paradise of Eden and found happiness in their child Seth.
I found Rita Dove's poem Belinda's Petition to be interesting. It is from the perspective of an African slave named Belinda in 1782. In the midst of the Revolutionary war. Dove writes "Lately your Countrymen have severed the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope you would consider the Same for me" which shows her desire to be free. Belinda hasn't given up hope and sees the American Revolution as a potential moment to be free of slavery if the Americans win. The word Same is capitalized to show its importance. The same refers to the destination of freedom, which is also why it it capitalized, it is a place in which Belinda wants to enter. This is true for other words in the poem as well such as " Life" and "Existence.
The poem "Fox Trot Fridays" by Rita Dove portrays her love and escape she finds through dance in a short passage that uses similes, expressive diction, and visual dance-related imagery. Often times, tragedy strikes inspiration for writers to produce some of their most emotional and personal pieces. I believe Fox Trot Fridays is one of these poems that Rita put her heart into writing after such a dramatic impact on her life. When she turned to dance, her personal love for the hobby showed throughout the imagery in this passage. Towards the end, she states the line, "with no heartbreak in sight- just the sweep of Paradise," the tone she set portrayed a very hopeful and confident effect. She is translating that her heart has been healed by dance and it is her escape, paradise, that she finds salvation in. Through her tough life, Dove really reflected the positive effect the hobby made on her to keep her going and looking forward.
In Rita Dove's poem "The Abduction", Dove tells the story of a freed slave who has been recaptured. In this time period, it was common for white slave catchers to capture free blacks and claim they were runaway slaves. The poem is told in the voice of Solomon Northrup, who is the abducted African-American. It is important to note the form of the poem. The first stanza begins with five verses, and loses a verse every subsequent stanza. In the final stanza, only a single verse remains. This structure shows Solomon's downward spiraling hope as time passes. The first two stanzas tell about Solomon's life as a free man. The third and fourth stanzas describe Solomon's dream about his initial capture and boat ride from Africa. The final stanza portrays Solomon's devastating reality of being back in chains. The decreasing number of verses gives insight to the numbing horrors of living as a slave, "I floated on water I could not drink. Though the pillow/was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep." (Dove 13-14). Solomon slowly becomes paralysed with fear as he realises that he can never be truely free.
I think it is interesting how you said that the decreasing number of verses infer the horrible life of a slave. This poem gives a tone of hopelessness and sorrow. Northrup had basically given up trying to fight any longer for his freedom because he felt like there was nothing else he could do to..."I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains." (15). This line shows the hope that has been lost. I find it interesting how the beginning of the poem has a positive and sort of naive tone, but then half way into the poem, there is a negative bitter and sorrowful tone.
I also noticed the decreasing lines per stanza! Along with showing the downward spiral of hope, I think it also gives insight to the emotions and feelings of that era. It also gives the poem a sort of down-casting or depressing tone. It shows loss of hope in the darkest of times and has an overall feel of loss, suffering and loss of motivation. It shows the decreasing hope for change.
I didn't notice the decreasing of lines in each stanza to show Solomon Northrup loosing hope, nice observation. Also, how do you think this poem would of changed if it was told in a different point of view? Could the poem change overall? Would we still have the same feeling?
“David Walker” is about an American anti-slavery activist who published pamphlets against slavery. Throughout the poem, it shows people’s reactions of “Outrage. Incredulity” to reading his pamphlets. The proper assumption would be that these people are those who are pro-slavery. The people who often read and supported him had to make sure that their “pamphlets were stuffed into trouser pockets… in the coat linings…” in order to avoid getting into a very dangerous confrontation.
One portion that I don’t understand is where the poem says, “I never want to live any better or happier than when I can get a-plenty of boots and shoes to clean!” Is he a free black man? A slave? A white man? What does he mean? Why is that life happiest for him?
I found that part of the poem to be especially interesting. My interpretation is that it's a free black man who is essentially saying despite his low style of life or status of freedom, he enjoys the fact that he is free nonetheless. He's grateful and making the most of his freedom, glad he isn't in the position of being a slave.
In the poem, “The Transport of Slaves From Maryland to Mississippi,” it explains the story about slaves who broke their chains and tried to escape. However, a slave woman stopped them and helped the driver before they could escape. I think it is interesting how the slave woman decided to betray the other slaves and turn them in. Why would she do that? I think that the slave woman was very scared that if she allowed them to run away, she would be punished for it. In the lines 1-3, “I don’t know if I helped him up because I thought he was our salvation or not.” She was conflicted because she did not know whether to help the slaves or the driver. This poem shows a tone of fear because the slave woman was afraid of getting in trouble. She began to question whether or not she did the right thing by helping the driver.
I was very confused involving this poem also asking myself why she would stop the slaves from escaping, as the white people are dead and that she could escape herself. Do you think she could have had been brain washed by the white people in order for her to obey the rules and not let the slaves escape?
Perhaps she could of been brain washed, but I think it's more so that the slave woman has been conditioned from the intense oppression of black people during slavery. She's been taught that whites are superior and she has to serve them, even if she does not desire to do so. It also probably includes fear too of punishment if she doesn't help capture the slaves. I also recently noticed that she sees herself in the dead white man's eyes, "his eyes were my eyes in a yellower face" (10) and when sees him she thinks, "I am no brute. I got feelings./ he might have been a son of mine" (12-13). In this case, the slave woman obviously feels herself dead on the inside and connects with the dead white man. Even though he was white, in her eyes, he didn't deserve to die, hence why the slave woman says that he could of been a son, he is innocent. "Death and salvation - one accommodates the other" (11) means that the black woman finds similarities with the white man and finds that you can't have freedom without death. Perhaps because she has been subject to the inhumanity of slavery, she doesn't see a difference between the freedom and slavery anymore?
In Rita Dove's poem, "David Walker (1785-1830)" there are sentences that are italicized, for example, in the first stanza, there are two sentences that are italicized, the 1st one is,
"They strip and beat and drag us about like rattlesnakes." (2-3)
The 2nd one is,
"Oh Heaven! I am full!! I can hardly move my pen!!!" (8)
At first I thought that all the italicized sentences were Rita Dove's thoughts, but after reading the first italicized sentence several times, I got the idea that it might be David Walker who is speaking his thoughts. He is a free slave so he can speak of what he sees. But in the second italicized sentence, when it says, "I can hardly move my pen!!!" (8) It seems like it's Rita Dove speaking this time. She is of course writing, so her hand must get tired at some point. Overall, this poem talked about a free slave who saw the injustice done to others, which makes me believe that the italicized sentences are what he saw and his thoughts, but also that could go for Rita Dove as well.
I agree with your interpretation of the poem but I think that the reason why the italicized parts are utilized are to give a more emotional tone to the poem. When he states, "I am full!! I can hardly move my pen!!!', emotions are conveyed. Writing was really important to David Walker as he was portrayed as an abolitionist. He was so full with anger and disappointment that it caused him to stop doing what he loved most. He was more angry at the fact that he couldn't change the society entirely through his passion, which caused him to break down and lose faith in humanity.
In 'Fox', Rita Dove portrays a very confident character through the usage of diction which pertains pride elements as well as independence as she reflects on a tragedy that greatly impacted her life. She states, "She knew what she was and so was capable of anything anyone could imagine" (1-6). The character described, which is most likely Rita Dove herself, has a tremendous amount of confidence. She 'knew' what her capabilities were, therefore she was comfortable with herself and what she could potentially achieve. By 'knowing oneself', the character shows the ability to go through life and not be afraid of error or mistakes. Imagination is tied into the poem to give the reader a sense of how much Rita Dove could achieve since 'she was capable of anything anyone could imagine'. Her confidence was not affected by the tragedy and she proves, in the contrary, that she still has potential to achieve the greatness she had before her house was burned down. Dove writes that 'she loved nothing more than what she had'. Her appreciation of materialistic objects is revealed as she fearlessly states that she loved what she 'had'. Her beloved house and her unpublished manuscripts were what gave Dove solace and comfort. The reminiscing tone reveals that Dove will not be able to 'love' her new home. The feelings that she felt towards her old home can not be replaced as it is evident that she suffered by the loss. The poem starts out very fiercely in order to compensate for such suffering, a detail which Dove slightly hints as the poem reaches the end.
In 'The House Slave', Rita Dove portrays pure desperation through the usage of first person repetition. In every stanza she describes the life and emotions of a house slave living in a plantation. Dove writes, 'I watch them', 'I cannot fall asleep again', 'I lie on my cot' and 'I weep'. The slave refers to the white slave owners as 'them' who are the root of all her anxiety and disturbed emotional state. The slave has no power over the white owners, so all she can do is 'watch' and suffer the pain that they cause to her and her family. She is driven in a depressive state as all she is able to do is lay around her cot and weep about her miserable fate. She has no drive to stand up to injustice as it could take her life. Dove successfully portrays the slaves' inability to change the way that the world worked back then. the whites had more power and, what was more dangerous, they knew how to use that power to completely segregate African Americans. Are there any other patterns in this poem that should be noted?
The repetition of the sound of a horn could be worth noting. Usually, a person thinks of a trumpet sound as mighty and full sound that represents the strength of armies but it can achieve a less glamorous tone. The trumpet, an instrument with a cylindrical bore, can have a bright and piercing sound. This is the timbre that Dove is trying to get across for the sound of the trumpet. It is demanding and forceful and is a symbol of pain and suffering.
There are multiple ways in which the poem "the Abduction" can be interpreted. One of such ways is the literal translation of Solomon Northrup being recaptured into slavery. Another way the poem can be interpreted though is that Solomon's thoughts as a free man is all a dream. The first two stanzas of the poem have a light and whimsical tone and follows a fairly cohesive structure. In the third stanza however, the tone becomes darker and chaotic, like a nightmare. "Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped./ I was lifted - the sky swivelled, clicked into place." (11-12) uses a simile and imagery to describe the scene and emotions. In this stanza, Solomon is being abducted, and it is described in a dream-like point of view. The sky swiveling is representative of the confusion and panic one feels when experiencing a nightmare. The fourth stanza, relates highly to a dream, "I floated on water I could not drink. Though the pillow/ was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep," (13-14). Solomon describes this experience as floating on water, something that would be interpreted as peaceful, yet he is unable to drink it, symbolizing how he felt so close to the joy of freedom, yet he is helpless and unable to attain it. In this sense, the closest Solomon has ever come to freedom is through his dreams. "Through the pillow was stone" is self evident as pillows are commonly used for sleeping; the pillow meaning that the closest comfort Solomon can get is when he sleeps and temporarily escapes his 'rocky life' (the stone) . When he says that he, "climbed no ladders in that sleep", ladders are symbolized as a means to achieving success. In Solomon's case, his success at becoming free was not attainable. The concluding stanza states that "I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains." (15). In the end, Solomon wakes up and realizes that everything was a dream and that he is chained up in the darkness, still enslaved.
On a more interesting side note, this poem is based off the story "12 Years a Slave", a narrative memoir by Solomon Northup, about a free black man sold into slavery. This poem appears to be a retelling of Solomon's capture from that memoir, but in a different, more personal, point of view. view.
I completely agree with your interpretation of "The Abduction". In the second stanza, it talks about how close Solomon was to achieving freedom, if he had trusted others. I think that Dove in this poem is trying to tell readers that many slaves could have achieved freedom, but were not brave enough to do so, even though they had a persistent urge to do so.
In the poem, “The House Slave,” Rita Dove’s usage of point of view contributes greatly to the message of the work through its effect on tone. The first stanza provides the reader with context information that sets the scene from inside. In each following stanza, there are statements starting with “I,” indicating first point of view from a house slave. In the second stanza, Dove writes, “I watch them driven into the vague before-dawn ” In the third stanza, she writes, “I cannot fall asleep again,” in the fourth stanza, “I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat,” and lastly, in the fifth stanza, Dove writes, “I weep. It is not yet daylight.” All these lines communicate a depressive and helpless tone. The narrator watches from inside as fellow slaves work in the fields enduring harsh treatment and horrific pain. Though there are multiple tones in the poem, like the sarcastic/snarky one in the line, “while their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick,” in the first stanza, and the depressive and helpless tones of the remaining stanzas, the overarching tone is one of guilt. The house slaves are treated better than those working in the fields and the guilt of this particular house slave as he or she observes the uncontrollable atrocities happening from the warm confines of the master’s house is evident. The reader himself feels the house slave's helplessness that results from the torturous restrain and unfairness.
I like how you pointed out how the author wants the reader to feel the helplessness of the house slave. I found it very ironic that the house slave has so much better living conditions but constantly feels guilt for the other slaves working out in the fields.The narrator also probably feels very lonely because not only is he or she viewed differently by white people, but now the narrator is viewed differently by his or her own people. I think that seeing the other slaves suffer is so maddening, the narrator rather be down in the fields going through it with them.
In all of Rita Dove's "American Smooth" Poems that we read in class, she references dance, specifically American smooth. I think that Dove does this as a way to sort of show her appreciation and respect for dance. Also, dance is used in the context of grief often in these poems, hinting that dance was Dove's way of escaping her own grief after the burning of her house and her poems. Specifically, the use of american smooth as the main dance that is reoccurring referenced throughout these poems seems to suggest that dance was very freeing to Dove, as american smooth is a more free-flowing, organic style of dancing which contrasts with the more traditional styles of dance, like the waltz. This seems to imply that while Dove respects traditions, individualism and being her self is an important thing which she not only shows through her poetry but also her escape of dancing.
In the poem "The Abduction", Rita Dove uses the repetition and use of "I" to add a personal feeling that draws the reading in and helps to further convey the strong emotions of the poem by emotionally attaching the reading to the subject. Personally, when reading through this poem, the first stanza made me feel happy for the subject of the poem, "free papers in my pocket, violin / under my arm, my new friends Brown and Hamilton by my side" The subject seems to be happy and content with a sort of care free essence about them. In the next stanza in says "Why should i have doubted them?", this seems the portray a sense of betrayal of the subjects 'New friends" in the first stanza. In the last three stanzas, the excessive use of "I" really makes me feel empathy for the subject and helps to get the emotions of betrayal, loss, sadness and hopelessness across.
I found the use of "I" to have that affect as well. It does give a stronger, more personal effect on tone throughout the entire passage. Your interpretation of how the first stanza gave a happier mood was interesting. Her description of the papers, violin and new friends seemed to give off their content life and hope for the future. "A sense of betrayal" was a good way to put how she seemed to doubt the "new friends" from the first stanza as the poem went on.
I agree with your interpretation. I also think the positive tone in the first stanza followed by "Why should I have doubted them?" effectively uses foreshadowing to give a more sinister tone to the piece.
In Rita Dove's poem, "Fox", dove uses the repetition of "she" to illustrate Dove's growing independence after her house burned down. The repeated, "she knew.../she was.../she loved" shows how even after she lost everything, she was determined and strong, that, "she was and so/ was capable/ of anything" (2-4). Dove juxtaposes "..there/for the taking/ imagine" (8-10) with "She imagined/ nothing". This juxtaposition of opposites suggests that even though bad things happen, good things can come out of it. In Dove's case, she lost her house, but she gained the love of dancing. At the end of the last stanza it says, "she loved/ nothing more than what she had,/ which was enough/ for her," (13-17). This conveys that Rita Dove does not dwell on the sorrow of losing her house, and instead, finds value in what she currently has. This makes her strong and independent "which was more/ than any man/ could handle" (18-20). The title of this poem is "Fox" which Rita Dove uses to symbolize herself. Foxes are stereotyped as quick, cunning, devious, and even somewhat recalcitrant; a description that Dove uses of herself in the poem. She describes herself as strong and determined and the 'fox' alludes to her passion for dancing. Dove refers that "she loved/ nothing more/ than what she had", which in this case, is dancing. For Dove, dancing was all she had left to love; a beloved pattern of swift and quick movements like a fox. Finally, the poem consists of two stanzas, ten lines each. The way I interpret it, is that the first stanza describes Dove's personality and emotions. The first stanza offers an opportunistic, optimistic point of view on life, while the second stanza generates a tone that becomes stern and envelops a realist, individualistic outlook.
I really like how you connected Rita Dove to the fox and find it very true that she is clever when she doesn't dwell in the past and instead focuses on what she currently has. Plus, Rita made "Fox" a title because the word fox is in the name of the type of dance that she does. She wants to show that she likes the foxtrot dance because it brings out her fox-like personality.
In Rita Dove's poem, "The House Slave", a certain line really stood out to me. At the last line of the third stanza Rita writes, "I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat." To understand the meaning of the quote, you kind of have to have some context for the rest of the poem. The poem is told from the perspective of a house slave observing the hardships the other slaves have to go through while working in the fields. In the quote, Rita used first person because she wanted the reader to be put in the position of the house slave so they could feel the same emotions that he or she was going through. The part that really stood out to me in that line was, "shivering in the early heat," because I noticed how it is kind of oxymoronic. If there is heat, than why was the house slave shivering? After thinking about it for awhile I came to the conclusion that the slave wasn't shivering for the literal reason of being cold, but because he or she got the chills from seeing the other slaves in the fields. Seeing them out there was so sad and disturbed her so much that it sent a chill running down his or her back. I think the house slave also felt a lot of guilt because his or her living conditions was significantly better than that of the sisters and other slaves. I think it made the house slave feel very uncomfortable that the rest of his or her people had to suffer more.
I thought this use of an oxymoron was also quite interesting in this poem. If you read it too fast, you might have missed it. This oxymoron really makes you think and try to empathize with the slave and try to understand why it is that they are freezing, if it is indeed hot outside. This line contributes to the tone of guilt and sadness by showing how they were literally shivering because of sadness, anger, or guilt. Another quote that contributed to this tone was on the very last line, "I weep". It was a very short statement, but it was sweet and it got to the point and got the message out with ease.
“The Transport of Slaves From Maryland to Mississippi” really stood out to me. At first, I was really confused about the poem because of the contradicting knowledge I had on this era. In the little excerpt preceding the poem, it gives a little background on the poem. It said that the slaves would have been able to escape if the slave woman didn’t ask for help, and it made me wonder, why would the slave woman stop the slaves from escaping when she was also a slave? After reading the poem a couple more times, I realized that the woman could have been brainwashed by her master into believing that she must follow the rules of her master or else she would be punished. The idea of superiority of the whites is etched into her brain and overpowers everything else that she once deemed as important (escaping to achieve freedom). The slave woman also felt sympathy for the slave driver who is dead on the street, “He might have been a son of mine.” During that period, many slave families were broken apart and sent to work for different white households. Looking at the dead slave driver on the road gave her nostalgic memories of her son, giving her the possibility that the slave driver might have been her son. Dove purposefully placed this line in to not only express that many slave families were broken up, but also gave the woman a justifiable reason to stop the slaves from escaping for the reason that they killed “her son”, and they should not be rewarded because they committed immoral acts to achieve what they wanted (freedom). Overall, this poem is reiterating the real event that a slave woman stopped other slaves from escaping because she was perhaps brainwashed by her masters. I find it hard to believe that slaves would not run for their lives to achieve freedom when they had the chance, but it actually happened in history as much as I cannot fathom.
This is a very interesting analysis. I agree with it all, especially the point about white control over her. Even black children today may see themselves as inferior to white people because of how society portrays them, so imagine what they must have thought at this time period.
I was curious as to that portion with the slave lady aiding the capture of other slaves. I agree with Megan, it was a good analysis. MY question, though, involves the other stanzas of the poem. Obviously they were spoken by other people, but what was the idea behind it? Were the last two the same speaker?
I reckon it went like this: the first part is the slave woman justifying her actions, the second an excerpt from an article in the local newspaper written and printed after the fact, and the third simply the omniscient narrator telling the story.
In Rita Dove's poem "Belinda's Petition", I was really intrigued by the use of capitalization. It seems like every other word is capitalized, even when it seems out of place. To me, this gives the poem almost a mocking tone, as the narrator is addressing a government that treats her poorly, this would make sense. Another thing that stood out to me was the line Belinda says; "How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?" When the narrator mentions "men with faces like the moon", she is referring to the white man, in comparing them to the moon since their skin is pale like the moon's surface. Using this eerie beautiful comparison is interesting, because it is almost contradictory, as the men with serine like faces would cause her so much harm later in life.
I totally agree with your analysis of the poem. The excessive use of capitalization is definitely in effect to highlight the irony of what is being said. In the sixth and seventh lines of the first stanza this irony is more evident than ever. Dove writes "place my pitiable Life/unto the Fathers of this Nation." "Life" is capitalized because in this line the word is referring to the life of a black woman. How much of a life could a black woman have in this hateful time period? The capitalization of "Life" provides the same sense of irony as if it was put in parenthesis. The very same is true with "Fathers of this Nation". There is no grammatical need for either of these words to be capitalized. By using this writing strategy, Dove is mocking the notion that this nation was and is fathered by racist white men.
Rita Dove’s “Quick” poem stood out to me because it has a sorrowful and desolate mood. The first three stanzas’ tone is pitiful since Rita used dictions like “culvert” and “vacant eyes” to describe the state the creature’s in. The connotation of the word culvert is usually negative to me because whenever I think of that word, I think of something that’s dirty, lonely, and abandoned. Since the baby creature is inside the culvert, it makes the reader feel sorry that the creature has to live in such a desolate place. Since the creature has “vacant eyes”, it must’ve been through a lot of grieving since its’ mother abandoned it to the point that the creature no long feels any emotion. The abandoned baby bird is connected to Rita’s misfortune of her personal life because it seems to me that the baby bird represents Rita and the abandoned bird’s mother represents the fire that caused Rita to suffer. The state that the baby bird is in shows how Rita felt right after her house burned down. It describes how her fresh wound left her vacant. The mother bird represents the fire because Rita described her features as “sleek curve plumpening into a tail/waving its flamboyant/afterthought, she disappears/red swish/or gray, too quick to tell./O to be gone/ like that, no grief nor thought/ of love-pure purpose/ poured into flight.” The mother bird is similar to a fire because of the Rita used “red” and “sleek”, which sounds like something that is smooth like a fire. Also, how the mother bird acted quickly and without emotions sounds like something that fire does because it can cause a large amount of destruction in very little time and does not have a limit in how much damage it does. It only does what its’ purpose is, to burn and cause destruction. Lastly, when Rita mentions the word “silhouette” it has an imagery to it and makes me imagine the flickering shadows that’s caused by a fire.
David Walker was a well known advocate for abolition in the United States during the early stages of the new found country. Though he faced difficult opposition. Rita Dove in her poem about David Walker, titled, “David Walker (1785-1830),” she describes the incredible amount of opposition he faced. In the first stanza, Dove compares the treatment of slaves to the treatment of rattlesnakes when she says, “They strip and beat and drag us about/ like rattlesnakes”(2-3). This simile described slaves as not only an animal but a venomous killer that almost justifies the horrible treatment that was given to them. In the next stanza, Dove used sentence fragments to show the anger and discomfort felt by white men in congress with the idea of abolition; “Men of colour, who are also of sense./ Outrage. Incredulity. Uproar in the State Legislature”(14-15). The brief and short syntax makes the reader stop and accent the last line. The reader then imagines the chaos and agitation that the Walker’s ideas cause. In the final stanza, Dove writes, “A mouth-/ his person (is that all?) found face-down/ in the doorway at Brattle Street”(28-30). Finally, Dove shows the physical pain that people inflicted on Walker. She adds a caesura and brackets to make the reader pause as if to stop and notice the horrors that they are witnessing. Dove describes the both the mental fear and physical pain Walker endured as well as the opposition his views brought to the people in the time period.
Now Rita Dove’s poem ‘American Smooth’ is written in a distinctly different manner to the others, that is that it is written in conversational prose broken up into lines rather than in carefully structured free verse as was say ‘Fox’ or ‘Fox Trot Fridays.’ It’s read as more like a script rather than a poem, with frequent pauses as new thoughts interrupt, bringing about a sort of voice of informality which implies a trusting intimacy between the poem’s speaker and whom they’re speaking to. There’s an image that appears, in my mind at least, of a couple idly reminiscing, and the girl starts saying smiling to the other ‘We were dancing—it must have/been a foxtrot or a waltz’ (1-2) and he smiles back as she repeatedly stops and pauses to try and remember more details about her story. ‘And because I was distracted/by the effort of/keeping my frame/(the leftward lean, head turned/just enough to gaze out/past your ear and always/ smiling, smiling),/I didn’t notice’ (15-22). It’s very straightforward, like one would read from a book which contrasts heavily with a poem like ‘Quick’ where even who the subject of the poem is is shrouded under the thick sort of allegoric imagery and unorthodox typography that is so favoured and adored by high school English students everywhere.
In Rita Dove's poem "Fox", she writes about women's independence and that lack of the need for a man or a spouse. Throughout the poem, there is a repetition of the word "she" which is used to emphasize that the focus of the poem is a woman, or the representation of women in general. The last line is "which was more than any man could handle" which shows the independence of the the woman in the poem. The title, as well as the short lines (1-4 words per line) imply women have fox-like traits such as quick, smart or cunning.
In Dove's Slavery collection of poems, "The House Slave" seemed to be an evident passage that stood out to everyone. Through Dove's strong detailed descriptions of visual imagery and emotional portrayal of the life of a slave, the poem conveys a weak, sorrowful and sympathetic tone to the main prisoner subject. The use of similes such as, "their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick" and "they spill like bees among the fat flowers," show how the character in the passage uses his/her experiences on the compound and their small education to compare their surroundings. "An ivory toothpick" is stiff and sleek, which reflects the comparison to how on-edge, uncomfortable, yet porcelain the mistress has been sleeping. The other simile of " they spill like bees among the fat flowers" gives the image of the mass amount of slaves pouring into the fields for their early morning labor. The tone of the poem is somber and aching, that it almost makes the reader feel like they have been put through the pain as well. Dove's use of similes and reflective imagery of the labor and horrible living conditions of the slaves gives the poem the historical relevance and sorrowful mood that makes the passage so powerful.
The poem "The Abduction" was written in reference to Solomon Northrup's narrative memoir, 12 Years a Slave, which was published in 1853. Solomon was a born-free black man who resided in New York with his family; he was also a very skilled violinist hence lines four and five, "free papers in my pocket, violin under my arm". He was approached by two white men, who, in the poem, are referred to as Brown and Hamilton. They spoke to him about a high-paying musician job in their traveling circus. Northrup traveled with the strangers to Washington D.C., where he was kidnapped while intoxicated. Northrup woke up in chains the next morning; he was no longer a free black man, he was a slave. On the surface, this poem is almost unremarkable. Dove did not employ a plethora of theatrical literary devices as she most commonly does. When I first read this poem I was utterly confused. I thought that this poem couldn't possibly be so blatant and that I must be missing something. In fact, the only part of this poem that really stood out to me were the feet of the stanzas. In the first stanza there are five lines and with each stanza the number of lines go down by one. In the last stanza there is a lone line, wherein Solomon finds himself alone in chains. These stanzas serve as a countdown, the feet are counting down Solomon’s last few days as a free man. I think that this poem is so played down because Dove really wanted Solomon Northrup’s story to speak for itself. We, as a society, are so quick to sweep things under the rug and so we forget that atrocities like this really happened. Men, women and children were kidnapped, beaten, killed, sold, raped, and exploited simply because they were black. Dove stripped this poem down to bare bone so that Solomon could tell his story.
The poem, House Slave, by Rita Dove really stood out to me. I think that it showed the readers the importance of slavery and how brutal it could become. Each stanza was very descriptive and emphasized the outside perspective of the slave and slave owners.
“The first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass and in the slave quarters there is a rustling- children are bundled into aprons, cornbread”
The first line says, “the first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass,” and this is showing that the slaves are being woken up for the day by horns. The next two lines are the using imagery to show that the adults are preparing the children for work. In my interpretation, I assume that the children are being prepared for a day of cooking or some type of preparation of food. What does everyone else think?
“and water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken. I watch them driven into the vague before-dawn while their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick”
The slaves are fed and sent out to work before the sun is even up. Dove uses a metaphor to show the superiority that the whites had over the blacks. Dove compares the mistress, or owner, to an “ivory toothpick.” Ivory is a very valuable, expensive thing. This metaphor represents how much more important the whites were compared to the African Americans. I think that this stanza is a very important thing for readers to look at, only because each line has a deeper meaning that what is written.
The last two stanzas are very descriptive and show how demanding slavery was. In the very last stanza, it says “and they spill like bees among the fat flowers,” this is showing that the “bees” are the slaves. And every day they “spill” out among the fields and get to work. Every day they get up and work before the sun rises and while the master and mistress sleeps. This poem was very sad to me and showed me the hard labor they went through and the sadness it brought for the readers. How was everyone else’s response?
I find it interesting and saddening how the house slave uses their own suffering from enslavement to scale the much worse suffering the other slaves had to deal with. It is terribly perturbing how America used to be dependent on slave farms such as this and that there were so many human lives tortured in this way
The poem "The Abduction", is not a very cryptic poem at all, it is very straight to the point, and written in more of a narrative way than like a poem. She does not use a lot of literary devices in this poem, and also the title "The Abduction" tells the reader right away what the story is about. This poem is about a man named Solomon Northrup who is a free black man, who is working in what seems to be a circus of sorts with his new found friends Brown, and Hamilton. The one thing that Dove does use is foreshadowing. In stanza 2, Solomon says to himself "Why should I have doubted them?" In the end, after Solomon gets drunk, these two "friends" are the ones who chain him up, and kidnap him. One thing I noticed is that the number of lines in each stanza decrease by one. Starting with 5 lines, it gets down to one and the line says "I woke and found myself alone". This story also has a moral to it, to trust your gut instincts, and also to be wary of strangers and be smart about who you trust.
In the poem Abduction, Rita Dove retells the story of Solomon Northrup, whose story is also told in 12 Years a Slave. By adapting this into a poem Rita Dove is able to establish a stronger connection between the reader and Northrup. Dove focuses on the narrative side of the story in the first two stanzas, and tells the reader about how Northrup was caught back into slavery. After reading the poem, without any previous knowledge, I was curious about who Solomon Northrup was, which turned into me googling his story. I'm sure for many other readers who also hadn't heard of him, the same effect was achieved. The story is as follows: Solomon Northrup left his wife and children at home in Saratoga Springs (where he was a free man) , and went to Washington DC (where slavery was still legal) to find a job that he was promised. "The citizenry of Washington/clotted the avenue-I among them, Solomon Northrup/from Saratoga Springs, free papers in my pocket" (lines 2-3). He then met two men, referenced in this poem as Brown and Hamilton, who were essentially the ones who gave him the job in the circus. "my new friends,Brown and Hamilton, by my side.// Why should I have doubted them? The wages were good." (lines 5-6). In line 6 Dove uses foreshadowing to create a sense of dread for the reader when she says "Why should I have doubted them?". It seems like Northrup is almost justifying how he fell into the trap. Later in the same stanza, Dove says "pigs squealed invisibly from the bleachers and I fiddled." (line 9). I am curious about what she meant by pigs? Perhaps she was calling the onlookers and audience members pigs and comparing their squeals and yells to those of a pig. The last 2 stanzas tell the reader how Northrup was kidnapped, by getting him drunk until he passed out. "Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped. I was lifted-the sky swiveled, clicked into place." (lines 11-12). By comparing the wine to a pink lake, Dove shows the vast amount he drank. Later in the poem, in the last two lines, Dove shows the horror of the realization of captivity, and how Northrup awoke to find himself enslaved. By saying " I climbed no ladders in that sleep" (line 14) Dove tells the reader how Solomon Northrup felt, trapped. Especially once he "woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains) (line 15)
The House Slave by Rita Dove uses strong imagery through literary devices to show much more to the story and create a more emotion experience for the reader. A line that stood out to me the most is "like an ivory toothpick,". This line is describing the "Massa's" wife as she sleeps. This creates an image in my head of a skinny white woman. This character in the poem actually shows a lot to me. She sleeps through the morning whippings and probably knows what the Massa dreams about and does with the slaves and she has to ignore it and just sleep through. It is a really impacting piece because in history, so many people knew what was happening yet did nothing. She sleeps so peacefully though the horrors that are happening in the morning even though it's so wrong. I think this goes along with the history and the social standards in this time. She thought it was okay so she had no problem sleeping through it. I think this poem also reflects on modern day racism as well. People standing by watching racism and discrimination happen and rarely doing anything about it. The imagery in the poem that Rita Dove writes like, "shivering in the heat", "the whip curls across the backs of the laggards" is really impactful and it brings the reader into the feeling and the hurt that these slaves were feelings. It makes the reader even feel uncomfortable because they know it is so wrong to hurt another human like that, yet it happened. So that is a message Rita Dove gives. Why are people so discomforted by this yet not by everyday racism? And do you think this is a question Rita Dove wants the reader to ask themselves?
In David Walker, Dove uses italicized sections in the lines of the poem to further describe the African Americans during the time period by annotating the poem itself. Dove writes, “They strip and beat and drag us about like rattlesnakes”(2,3), and, “Men of colour, who are also of sense”(14). Dove comments into the poem in the perspective of one of the slaves. This contrasts the semi-descriptive narration of David Walker by inserting what his direct thoughts would be which are in a more harsh and condescending tone. Dove expresses how there was a lot of discrimination in that time period and also she speaks from the italicized sections to express how the discrimination continued on into her lifetime. I find it interesting how Dove uses the spelling “colour” instead of “color”. Perhaps she is hinting towards how the slaves were taken from their homes in a different country to be imprisoned in America. How would it actually feel to be ripped out of our homes as they were?
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ReplyDeleteThe poem Heart to Heart caught my eye. In the first stanza Dove writes, "It's neither red/ nor sweet./It doesn't melt/ or turn over./ break or harden./ so it can't feel/ pain,/ yearning,/ regret"(1-9). Dove mentions the phrases people use to describe their heart. For an example, "my heart melted" or "my heart breaks". She is reminding the reader that their heart is just a muscle in the body, it cannot feel. This idea is also in the second stanza. Dove writes, "It doesn't have/ a tip to spin on,/ it isn'teven/shapely--/ just a thick clutch/ of muscle,/ lopsided, mute"(10-17) . Dove is explaining how the heart isnt shaped like <3. The heart is just a big lopsided muscle that does not have a pointed tip on the bottom. Using the word "lopsided" she shows that it is not perfect, and this contradicts with what people usually think about when they think about a heart. The last section of the poem, she writes, "I feel it inside/ its cage sounding/ a dull tattoo:/ I want, I want--/ but I can't open it:/ there's no key./ I can't wear it on my sleeve,/ or tell you from/ the bottom of it/ how I feel. Here,/ it's all yours, now—/ but you'll have/ to take me,/ too."(18-32). Here, Dove is discussing how she wants to feel something, she wants to feel love but she does not know how to beccause there is "no key". There is no instruction booklet, telling us how to love. She also talks about a cage-referring to her ribs-which means that she calls her heart a "dull tattoo". This could mean that the organ itself is ordinary and just there. Or, it could mean that her heart is trapped and it wants something it may not be able to have. Then, there is a shift in the lines 24-32 the speaker talks about how she can't wear it on her sleeve. She can't show her love that easily but it still belongs to this special someone, but they have to accept her for who she is along with taking her heart. In the end, I like this poem because it shows the misconceptions that we have about our own hearts, that it is just an organ.
ReplyDeleteAfter discussing the poem "Parsley" in class, I felt the tone as anger because El General, somehow was mad that his mom pretending to be something that she wasn't, and so he releases his anger by killing the people who can't pronounce the "R" in parsley. I just don't understand why he would kill all those people that didn't know how to pronounce the "R" I mean his mother did know how to pronounce it but didn't pronounce it, I believe that there is a meaning behind El General's actions. Also, did anyone kind of see El General as Hitler? The way he kills all the people that can't pronounce the "R's" in parsley, is like Hitler killing all the Jews.
ReplyDeleteIn her poem "Ta Ta Cha Cha", Rita Dove uses imagery related to birds to convey the sense of freedom she finds in dancing. In the third stanza, Dive describes how her lover, "walks/without seeing, face hidden/by a dirty wingspan" (Dove 33-35). Dove feels that because she finds freedom in the dance, she is no longer bound by Earth's rules. The bird-like imagery gives a free tone to the piece, which further displays how Dove feels that the dancing sets her free. Both the title and the third stanza relate the motif of birds to dancing. Although the world is a grim place, "(slate, snow, ash)- / a dazed array, dipped/in the moon's cold palatte." (10-12), Dove uses the dance to help her cope with the harshness of reality, which ultimately sets her free.
ReplyDeleteI liked you idea of the imagery relating to the birds representing freedom. I did not see that the first time I read it, but it does make a lot of sense as I read it over again.
DeleteWhen I first read the poem, I was thoroughly confused by her usage of imagery and wings. I didn't have much to write down on that poem as a result. I agree with your interpretation that birds convey freedom which she finds in dancing. Through dancing, Dove is able to escape reality for a short amount of time and her mind is able to soar just like a bird. It is interesting to note the different ways that people cope with rough times as every person is unique in their own way.
DeleteIn the poem, “David Walker (1785-1830)” I found it interesting how Rita decides to put the year after his name, especially because she has not done that to very many poems. She is giving a reference to the reader to better understand the time of which slavery took place and showing the significance David has during that time period. In the line, “They strip and beat and drag us about/ like rattlesnakes.” This gives the illusion that African-Americans rights were stripped by the owners if they were outspoken. It gives a angry tone, by comparing the African-Americans to rattlesnakes, and shows how aggressive slave owners were. I like the way Rita describes the shop in the line, “All day at the counter -/white caps, ale-stained peacoats”, then goes into, “Compass needles,/eloquent as tuning forks, shivered, pointing north.” North in the line also represents where slavery was abolished. By using a lot of vivid imagery, Rita Dove explains the difficulties David Walker went through and how life changing the experience was.
ReplyDeleteIn “American Smooth”, I was intrigued that Rita wrote only one stanza, why do you think she didn’t break the poem into more than one stanza? When looking at the poem it seems that Rita wanted to show her passion for dance with energy and eases the audience when she says, “such perfect agony/ one learns to smile through,/ ecstatic mimicry.”(10-12) It shows that the dancer in really into the dance, focusing on every detail, the body movements and facial expressions in order for it to be perfect.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason she made "American Smooth," into one stanza is because it gives the poem almost a continuous rhythm about it. It reflects a dance because a dance is step after step without really stopping. I also think that it shows how much energy Dove had when she danced and expressed herself through dance. The structure of this poem paints a picture of someone dancing and its kind of puts on a show for the audience to watch.
DeleteI agree with what Alisa said but I also think that she wanted to portray the smoothness of the dance. If there was stanza breaks, it would kind of make the poem choppy with pauses which kind of goes against the constant rhythm of the dance. The word, "Smooth," is even in the title, so it makes sense why she wanted the structure to have an even flow to it.
DeleteI also agree with Matt and Alisa. The poem would become severed in more than one stanza along with the dance she is describing. In line 6-7 she says, "Precise execution as we moved into the next song without stopping two chests heaving above a seven-league stride-" Rita even says how the dance flowed from one song to another without stopping which can relate to the structure of the poem that has no caesuras (line breaks) because the dance has no breaking point either.
DeleteDuring the in class work on Rita Dove’s poem, “Fox Trot Fridays,” I interpreted Dove’s use of biblical allusions as a means to express her distress in the loss of her house. My thinking was that she compared her pain to the pain of Adam and Eve when they were thrown from the garden of Eden. After giving my conclusion more thought, I realized that I was leaving out all the meaning for the diction referring to dance. Though Dove referred to the Bible, capitalizing “Paradise”(15) and writing, “one day at a time:/ one man and/ one woman/ rib to rib”(10-13) [Paradise is a reference to Eden itself and the the lines ten to thirteen explain god’s creation of the world in seven days and His creation of Adam and Eve, with Adam’s ribs] it would be wrong to leave out the importance of dance. this has lead me to conclude that Dove is trying to express the importance of find one’s own “paradise” in life. Based on outside knowledge of Dove’s life, dancing is most likely her true passion and it is an example for the reader.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the trials Dove went through (house burning down) have an impact on why she chose biblical imagery of Paradise?
DeleteDove may have chosen the Biblical imagery of Paradise because she believes that everything happens for a reason. Although her house burning down may have seemed like a disaster at the time, she never would have found her earthly Paradise in dancing.
DeleteAfter the expulsion from Eden, entirely disregarding the events that took place with Cain and Abel, "Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth..." (Genesis 4:25) and since "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." (Psalm 127:3), then Adam and Eve found joy.
DeleteThis could be a connection to the dance. The speaker lost their home (paradise), but found happiness in dance. Adam and Eve lost their paradise of Eden and found happiness in their child Seth.
In “Fox,” I interpreted this poem as Dove talking about her life after her house was burnt down and she had lost everything. I think that when she says, “She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle.” (13-20), it is talking about her love for dancing. She loved it more than anything because it helped her cope with the pain of losing everything. I think that the poem really shows how strong of a woman Rita Dove was. Although, she had lost everything, she was still content with her life and she was willing to push through all the hurt and pain, and find happiness in the situation. “She loved what she was, there for the taking, imagine.” (8-11), Dove talks about her being about to still have an imagination and find the good in everything rather than being hurt and sad all the time.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Rita Dove included the "more than any man could handle?" What does she mean by that?
DeleteI was wondering the same thing. I think it means that after her house burned down, she greatly treasured what possessions she had left, the most important non-material thing being her passion for dance. She found happiness on her own, without the need of a man.
DeleteIn the first part of Rita Dove’s poem Parsley, The Cane Fields, Dove uses imagery and local color to talk about the Dominican Republic without actually naming the country. Although this part of the poem is from the perspective of Haitians, the language and imagery is of the Dominican Republic.
ReplyDeleteDove ends the first stanza with, “Out of the swamp the cane appears”(3). In the Dominican Republic, there are many sugarcane plantations and they are notorious for their harsh conditions. (http://www.wilderutopia.com/international/humanity/dominican-republic -modern-day-sugarcane-slavery/) Sugarcane grows out of swamps and Dove uses this fact of nature to explain how Haiti’s turmoil was birthed from the Dominican Republic.Instead of using the full word, sugarcane, Dove used the word, cane. Canes are sometimes used to beat others and Dove uses the word as a pun to explain how the land of sugar cane beats down on Haiti.
In addition to using geographic qualities of the Dominican Republic, Dove uses the Spanish language to show qualities of the Dominican Republic without using the country’s actual name. Dove uses,“El General”(4), “We cannot speak an R”(8), and “his word: perejil”(13). El General refers to Rafael Trujillo who led the Parsley Massacre. Dove once again refers to part of the Dominican Republic in an indirect way. The way Haitians were determined to be executed was if they could pronounce the ‘R’ in the Spanish word perejil. This tactic was cruel and unfair. Dove capitalizes the R to signify the heavy weight it carried.
Whaaaat this finally posted... that took awhile.. internet please
DeleteIn American Smooth, Dove not only characterizes the dance itself, but also the dancers. She describes how one can lose themselves in the technical aspects so much that they forget about their partner. “because I was distracted/by the effort of/keeping my frame.....I didn't notice/how still you'd become until/ we had done it" (lines 15-24). As we know, Rita Dove lost her house in a fire, but she gained ballroom dancing in the process. In an interview, Rita Dove says that her and her husband saw people "swooping across the floor" at a dinner dance, and that graceful feeling is carried out throughout the whole book. In American Smooth in particular, Dove creates a feeling of rising up and then gracefully falling, conveyed by her imagery of the dance. Dove is creating a personal reflection, how she feels about ballroom dancing, rather than a generalized movement. The whole poem builds until the dancing couple, "achieves flight" and for those few seconds, everything is perfect in the world. A home is a safety net, and Rita Dove's was burned, but another thing caught her. Those few blissful seconds experienced through dance, and self -expression were enough to merit a whole book of poetry, and were brought to a climax in American Smooth.
ReplyDeleteDo you then consider 'American Smooth' to be the centrepiece of the poetry book? Do you feel there's something special about 'American Smooth,' something that distinguishes it from the other poems, makes it the one you should read if you only read one?
DeleteWhy do you think Dove chose to title the book "American Smooth"? With so many other poems in the book, what do you think stood out to her about this one? Perhaps there is and even more personal significance of "American Smooth" to Rita Dove.
DeleteI think that the other poems from 'American Smooth' generally focus on a subset of dancing like the fox trot or the cha cha, or Rita Dove's emotions towards dancing. The "American Smooth" poem however, seems to embody all of Dove's emotions and feelings towards dance in one poem. The encompassing of all these elements gives the poem a 'complete' look. American Smooth itself, is a type of ballroom dance and ballroom dancing is known for its smooth, continuous flow. Maybe Dove chose this poem title as the title of the book because it is her favorite type of dance? Maybe it was the first dance she learned?
DeleteIn “Belinda’s Petition”, Dove portrays a derisive and proud tone by capitalizing nouns in midsentence and using sarcastic dictions. When I first read the poem, the first thing I noticed was that she capitalized unnecessary nouns and adjectives. I came up with a reason (it’s kind of weak though) of why she did this and I thought that it was to put a heavy and important tone on these words to make the reader, which could be the Senate and House of Representatives, pay more attention to these capitalized words. I noticed that the capitalized words were things that meant a lot to her in her life such as the words “Accusation”, “Ignorant”, “Existence”, and “Banks”. The word “Banks” was important to her because it marked a very crucial time period of her life- the time of when she got captured near the banks of Rio de Valta in Ghana by white men and was taken to the middle passage. Plus, the capitalized words make the poem have a derisive and angry tone because it seem like she’s yelling every time there’s an unnecessary capitalized word. The dictions that Dove used such as “honorable”, “pitiable”, and “plead” show the tone of sarcasm, like Belinda was mocking the US government by acting respectful and humble. Second, Dove uses a proud tone when she described Belinda at the third and fourth stanza. When Belinda said “I am Belinda, an African…”, she didn’t say African American, because she was proud of being an African. Also, she purposefully let the Senate and House of Representative know that she was an African and this shows that she was very bold and unafraid that they might judge her. Overall, Dove wants the reader to feel that Belinda isn't just a miserable slave that deserves pity, she wants to show that in difficult situations, we must rise, take action, and fight back, just like what Belinda did. This petition is connected to Dove's personal misery, when her house burned down, and Belinda is similar to Dove because they both find a way to fight against their misery and try to do something to improve their situation.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of her poem, "American Smooth," Rita Dove writes, "we had done it (for two measures? four?-achieved flight. that swift and serene magnificence,before earth remembered who we were and brought us down." This part of the poem really stood out to me because it perfectly describes what dancing does for Rita Dove. It shows how much of an escape from life dancing is for her. When you achieve flight you are defying gravity so her taking flight shows her breaking free from all the stresses of life that are pulling her down. It could also show how dancing is a little slice of heaven for her. When she dances she is above everything else and free but then at the end of the poem she writes that the earth remembered who she was and brought her back down to earth. When she questions the number of measures she is showing how she gets lost in dance.I also think she might be sending a bigger message through this part of the poem. She is trying to have the reader relate to her because everybody has their own little thing that takes their mind off everything. Everybody has an escape and Rita is using the example of her dancing to portray this.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your analysis that dancing is a sort of escape for Rita and it "takes her off the ground" in a symbolic way. This poem is sort of similar to Fox Trot Fridays as well. American Smooth describes dancing as like flying and in Fox Trot Fridays she compares it to Paradise. The word Paradise is capitalized because it is supposed to mean Heaven, showing dancing brings her to her happy place, and is her biggest joy.
DeleteAs I read Rita Dove’s poem, “Fox” I noticed the repetition of “she” through out the poem. At first I believed that she was talking about someone else, but then in lines 16-17 say, “which was enough/for her,” in here Rita Dove uses her as she herself, which represents that “she” is being used as Rita herself. I also think that this poem shows Rita Dove’s confidence of herself. In lines 1-2, “she knew what she was…” which emphasizing that she is conscious of who she is, which shows that she is a complete women that knows what she loves, and thats all she needs.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that she uses this repeating "she" figure opposed to using herself or a character like she does in her other poems? Really what effect does this have on the reader. I bring this up because I think that this is a big part in this poem and a huge symbol for more of a thing than just a narrator view.
DeleteI agree with Julia. Why do you think that she is repeating it? I think that shows a deeper meaning for the whole poem because this could be written completely different and have a different effect the reader. I really liked this poem I thought that it was complex and Dove portrayed the meaning in a very cool way.
DeleteIn "American Smooth", Dove does a fantastic job combining her two passions, dance and poetry. This combination really makes the reader relate to Dove in a way I have not yet done. To see someone combine a passion with their work is quite inspirational. I also think their is some reference to enlightenment or a biblical reference when she takes about leaving the ground. I just think that is such a vital part of the poem that is must be. The line about the earth bringing her dowm, forgetting if they were ven human, but maybe birds or angels. I think this part of the poem is very symbolic. The poem also combines her love of dance for the hardships she has faced. The line about agony producing such a great smile, this is very powerful. The saying what doesnt kill you makes you stronger applies a lot to this line. And to end this entry, I want to ask the other bloggers a question. How does combining work and play for Rita Dove influence her poems?
ReplyDeleteWith ‘Belinda’s Petition’ Dove makes a distinctive stylistic decision in the writing of the poem to ‘further authenticity’ so to speak. She capitalises all nouns as is the style of modern German and as was the style in 18th century English, for example with ‘pure Air being the sole Advantage’ (11) and ‘I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance’ (16), this line notably leaving ‘nothing’ uncapitalised as it is technically a pronoun. Dove is, however, inconsistent in this regard as the line ‘since the age of twelve a Slave.’ (4) should read ‘since the Age of Twelve a Slave’ following typographic rules of the period, with the capitalisation of ‘twelve’ being theoretically optional though in practise expected. This is the only line in which I can identify such an inconsistency. Also of note is the anachronistic spelling of ‘honorable’ in the first line, dropping the silent u, a practise which only entered popular use in America after its use by Noah Webster in the publication of his dictionary in 1806, twenty-four years after the date that this meant to have been written in, 1782. It might be of academic interest to ask Dove herself of the intentionality of these apparent inconsistencies.
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ReplyDeleteIn the poem, “American Smooth,” Rita Dove portrays the aspects of life through descriptions or imagery of the dance, making the dance symbolic of life. In lines 3-5, Dove writes, “something romantic but / requiring restraint, / rise and fall.” This shows how even something so beautiful and pure as this dance has restraints. Applying the symbolism to life, which is a beautiful gift, these restraints represent setbacks. For Dove, the burning down of her house was a major setback. The “rise and fall” of the movements of the dance represent the high and low points that everyone experiences through the process of living. In lines 15-17, Dove’s purpose in writing, “And because I was distracted / by the effort of / keeping my frame,” is to bring attention to the fact that often times people are distracted from the fact that they are extremely lucky to be alive and to be experiencing living. Dove’s intention is to explain how there are numerous distractions and reasons that can cause people to take things for granted. Perhaps this was a realization of hers when her house burned down. After this unfortunate incident, it is highly possible that she came to realize that although she lost material objects in the fire, her passion for dance survived and it was something to greatly appreciate. It is something that can’t be taken away from her by anyone or anything. She goes even further in explaining her point with lines 18-21, where she writes, “(the leftward lean, head turned / just enough to gaze out / past your ear and always / smiling, smiling).” These lines, which are in parentheses, literally distract the reader from the poem to give the reader a sense of what distraction is like and how easy it is to unintentionally focus attention on something else. Lastly, when Dove writes, “achieved flight, / that swift and serene / magnificence,” the “flight” is symbolic of the high points of life and the lines, “remembered who we were / and brought us down” gives the reader a final emphasis on the fluctuation of the positive and negative aspects of life and how this can be symbolically represented through this particular dance. It's also interesting to note that while the dance is symbolic of life, dance is her escape from life.
ReplyDeleteDove’s collection of American Smooth poems is based on Dove’s loss of her home, and she recovers from her grief by discovering her love of dance. In “Ta Ta Cha Cha”, Dove talks about her moving from place to place, because she doesn’t have a home or a permanent place to stay. The poem emits a very sad and hopeless tone. She expresses her fear of not having a home by writing, “Lost, Lost... besandaled and backpacked...gray vagabond” to compare herself to the homeless, but also gives a sense that she understands how the homeless feel now that she also doesn’t have a home and realizes the devastation that it brings. Dove goes on to describe the homeless, “and the nearest scavenger/skips three times/to the side, bobs to pluck/his crackerjack prize, a child’s/dropped gelato cone.” This shows Dove’s empathy towards those who do not have a house or those who lack a lot in life, but continue to live their lives to the best of their ability to survive. It is almost as if the people that she sees on the streets give her hope that losing a house isn’t the end of the world because there are tons of people who do not have a house and choose to live on. She realizes that she needs to free herself from the grief that she has over the house, and take on another stage in her life, which resulted in her finding freedom through dance.
ReplyDeleteI really like your overall interpretation of this collection. After reading the poems, however, I am very interested on how the poem "Quick" ties into this theme. Maybe the imagery of the foxes portrays her feelings for her lost possessions, or gives it a flowing dance like feel?
DeleteThe poems from American Smooth were written after Rita Dove's house burned down and she lost a lot of her personal items. Yet she found her way and happiness through dance. She did not solely rely on her husband or no "man". She loved and was thankful for what she had still and I think that her poem, Fox, strongly shares that. the last 7 lines that say, "she loved-nothing more-than what she had,-which was enough-for her,-which was more-than any man-could handle,". These are very powerful words and really are a message for all to be thankful for what you have. The repetition of the word "she" in this poem shows her independence and give the reader a feminist empowerment feeling. Also all the poems in American Smooth have to do with ballroom dancing. This poem has to do with the fox trot. The fox trot is a really fast pace dance and really focuses on the grace of the woman partner and how she does such complex moves yet makes it seem so graceful and easy. This is how Rita Dove had to show herself after her tragedy. Although she may of been destroyed on the inside she had to seem and convince herself she was calm. I think that is why she uses dance in her poems, it is so complex yet makes it look easy.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "Fox" stood out to me. It is a short and impactful poem. There was a lot of repetition and juxtaposition considering the length of the poem, it sort of had a circular feel to it. As if the poem is a cycle, I felt like it would keep going. Dove uses the repetition of the word "she" such as "she knew", "she loved", She imagined" and "she was". I feel like Dove is writing about a woman who does not have confident. Dove writes about how the speaker "was capable/of anything/ anyone/could imagine"(3-6). later in the poem she writes about how the "she imagined/nothing"(11-12). This leads me to believe that Dove is writing about how people are capable of doing anything, but they lack the confidence or the guts to 'dream big', to have bigger aims. People who usually do not have confidence usually repeat words to convince themself and by repeating the word "She", Dove implies that the speaker is trying to create that sense of confidence. The fact that all of the verbs are in past tense implies that the speaker was looking back on her life, which creates a tone of regret. Additionally, Dove writes, "She loved what/ she was" (7-8). And also later in the poem she writes, "She loved/ nothing more/ than what she had/ which was enough/ for her"(13-17). This shows how people usually connect 'love' with material items. Overall, this poem intrigued me because of the contradictions and structure. Dove was able to create a short, simple, but impactful poem.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite poems so far is American Smooth. This poem has stood out to me because it really portrays the relationship with her husband and that passion she has for writing poetry. I have noticed that Dove loves to use imagery and corresponds something in her poems that relate to her life. I think that it is special that this dance is their own. She loves dance and writing so I think that the combination of the two really enlightened the tone of the poem and helped the reader understand her passion for writing poetry. This poem is also very important to her because she lost her home in a fire and it was a rough time for her so she turned to dance. This was her escape and a way to cope with the struggles she was going through. It is interesting that she mentioned in her poem that she was so distracted by the “effort of keeping her frame.” This is kind of similarity of how she had distractions in her life. Does anyone else agree that it could have similarity or why do you think she said that? I know she was trying to keep up with the moves and her partner faded away.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the similarity. The poem can be viewed as Dove comparing her whole life to a dance. As more and more time went on, Dove became distracted by substances and hiding her secret life from the life that was viewed by her fans. This is especially supported from the lines, "the leftward lean, head turned just enough to gaze out past you ear and always smiling, smiling"(18-21). This shows how Dove was always distracted and looking only partially at her goals. At the same time, towards the people, Dove was smiling a smile that was only a facade.
DeleteThe poem "Fox" was only 4 sentences, but it still stood out to me. Each of these sentences are started off with the word "She", and this is Rita talking about herself, and everything is in past tense so it seems to be a reflective poem about her life. The title Fox, I think is supposed to me a comparison of herself to a fox; smart, cunning, adventurous, and independent. Also, "Fox" could be a play on words of the description foxy for a woman. The word "imagine" is repeated 3 times throughout this very short poem. The last time it is used it says "She imagined / nothing" and I don't think this is literally her saying that she didn't have an imagination. Rita Dove was clearly a very imaginative person based on all the great poems she wrote. I think this particular line means that's she did not covet others, or have greed for material items like other people did. And that Rita was and is a strong independent woman that "was more / than any man / could handle."
ReplyDeleteAmerican Smooth by Rita Dove is the most beautiful poem I have read by her so far. Rita describes her dancing with her husband and feeling as if they had taken flight and nothing else had mattered in the world. In this poem Dove uses many “s” sounds lie “Swift and serene, magnificence,” to describe the dance. Usually “s” sounds mean something more sinister but I think this was to represent the sounds of flying and being free. In line 23, Rita wrote, “I didn’t notice how still you’d become until we had done it” Rita uses “You’d” as if she was writing this poem directed at her husband. This gives the poem a tone of romance and warmth because it seems that Rita is writing a love poem about dancing with her husband directed to him.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the poem that really stood out to me was "Quick", by Rita Dove. In this poem, there is a lot of imagery used to create the picture of a fox cub and its mother. Very interesting diction is used to do this, such as the way Dove describes the mother's tail as a "flamboyant afterthought". To me, the way she uses this diction personifies the foxes, and makes them into a metaphor of something else. I think that Rita Dove uses the mother fox to metaphorically depict herself, and the baby to depict how men see her. This is because the way she describes the baby fox as a vouyer full of "bobble and twitch" may resemble men who seek her out to satisfy their own personal need, since the baby fox does the same when it looks for its mother. I also think the way she depicts the fox correlates to how she sees herself, and is directly related to another of her poems, "Fox", in which she uses a fox to describe the title but then proceeds to describe herself. In my opinion, this vivid imagery for the foxes gives a serene feel, as foxes are silent and nimble, and give the poem a flowing impression.
ReplyDeleteI found "Quick" to be an interesting poem as well. How she personified the fox made the poem very captivating with the detailed imagery she included, "waving it's flamboyant afterthought... red swish or gray, too quick to tell." Although this selection of poems often relates to dance, I enjoyed how Dove tied in the symbol of the quick fox to reflect "Fox Trot Fridays" and other dance passages.
DeleteThe poem "Fox" by Rita dove really caught my eye. The poem shows strength and determination in whom it references in saying "She" throughout the poem and shows her courage and power she possesses within herself. The structure of this poem is very intriguing because the lines are so short in length and form enjambments in sentences onto the next lines below. One line that particularly stood out to me was "She loved what she was, there for the taking, imagine" Each comma of this sentence broadens what the line "she loved what she was" into something able to be grasped by someone else and taken away. But why is it up for the taking? why wouldn't she keep what she loved about herself? I think this part she loved is the piece that she wishes someone would take and keep for there own. A lover who would choose her for who she was. Toward the end of the poem it say "Which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle." I think this means the she is satisfied without a man in her life and is content with what she already has to love.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "The House Slave" stood out to me. The use of diction in the poem, for instance, "Water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken"(4), and the word "Massa" along with the imagery in the first triplet provides a snapshot of the life in the slave community. How she phrased the words (in the fourth line) by using an object then a verb, creates a feeling of loss. As if the object, is prized, precious and part of a competition. Additionally, "ivory toothpick" is an interesting image. When I think of the word ivory, I usually think of the tusks of an elephant. Dove writes, "their mistress sleep like an ivory toothpick"(6). This creates the image of how the mistress is elegant and skinny. To add on, the use of the words "oh, pray" instead of a swear word, or profanity creates a powerful impact. It gives a feeling of hopelessness, like she is begging for help, and praying for it, but not receiving anything. The metaphor of how "they spill like bees among the fat flowers"(14) is intriguing, Bees rapidly collect nectar, and describing the flowers as 'fat' suggests that the flowers are completely filled with nectar. Thus, we can conclude that the slaves were "spilling" all over the cotton fields to pick cotton. This contributes to the feeling that slaves were rapidly trying to pick the cotton so they would not be whipped. Overall this was a powerful poem that describes the sense of hopelessness and pain in slavery.
ReplyDeleteIn Fox, Dove creates a tone of strength in relation to the strength she felt in herself after the tragedy of her house burning down. Dove creates this tone through the use of repetition in the structure of lines in the poem. Dove writes, “She knew what she was”(1,2), and, “She loved what she was”(7,8). Here, Dove is counting her blessings. She recognizes that only her house was burned down and not her life, talents, or personality. Foxes have red fur which is the color of fire. Dove embraces the flames that burned down her house to give her a confidence boost that she has and loves what really matters. Dove also writes, “She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was much more than any man could handle”(13-20). Dove is content with what she has. Her life is still in front of her and she loves the fact that she still has that. I find the last line amusing because it can be interpreted as a message to her husband, who from this context, can be assumed to be distraught and not optimistic like Dove is.
ReplyDelete“Fox Trot Fridays” was where Rita Dove spoke of going out and dancing on Friday. In another part of the book, she speaks about how she turned to dance after the loss of her house. In class, we noticed the biblical allusions.
ReplyDeleteShe spoke of “Paradise”, which is a reference to the perfect land of Eden, in which Adam and Eve lived. The creation of the world in seven days went by “one day at a time”. On the 6th day, God had made “one man and/one woman” and the woman had come from the rib of the man. This portion is described in the poem in the part “rib to rib”.
After the expulsion from Eden, Adam and Eve stayed together “…and she bore a son and named him Seth..." (Genesis 4:25). In the Bible, it is stated that "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him" (Psalm 127:3). Therefore, despite the pain and suffering from being evicted from their home and paradise, they still found joy.
This could be a connection to the dance. The speaker lost their home (paradise), but found happiness in dance. Adam and Eve lost their paradise of Eden and found happiness in their child Seth.
I found Rita Dove's poem Belinda's Petition to be interesting. It is from the perspective of an African slave named Belinda in 1782. In the midst of the Revolutionary war. Dove writes "Lately your Countrymen have severed the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope you would consider the Same for me" which shows her desire to be free. Belinda hasn't given up hope and sees the American Revolution as a potential moment to be free of slavery if the Americans win. The word Same is capitalized to show its importance. The same refers to the destination of freedom, which is also why it it capitalized, it is a place in which Belinda wants to enter. This is true for other words in the poem as well such as " Life" and "Existence.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "Fox Trot Fridays" by Rita Dove portrays her love and escape she finds through dance in a short passage that uses similes, expressive diction, and visual dance-related imagery. Often times, tragedy strikes inspiration for writers to produce some of their most emotional and personal pieces. I believe Fox Trot Fridays is one of these poems that Rita put her heart into writing after such a dramatic impact on her life. When she turned to dance, her personal love for the hobby showed throughout the imagery in this passage. Towards the end, she states the line, "with no heartbreak in sight- just the sweep of Paradise," the tone she set portrayed a very hopeful and confident effect. She is translating that her heart has been healed by dance and it is her escape, paradise, that she finds salvation in. Through her tough life, Dove really reflected the positive effect the hobby made on her to keep her going and looking forward.
ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove's poem "The Abduction", Dove tells the story of a freed slave who has been recaptured. In this time period, it was common for white slave catchers to capture free blacks and claim they were runaway slaves. The poem is told in the voice of Solomon Northrup, who is the abducted African-American. It is important to note the form of the poem. The first stanza begins with five verses, and loses a verse every subsequent stanza. In the final stanza, only a single verse remains. This structure shows Solomon's downward spiraling hope as time passes. The first two stanzas tell about Solomon's life as a free man. The third and fourth stanzas describe Solomon's dream about his initial capture and boat ride from Africa. The final stanza portrays Solomon's devastating reality of being back in chains. The decreasing number of verses gives insight to the numbing horrors of living as a slave, "I floated on water I could not drink. Though the pillow/was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep." (Dove 13-14). Solomon slowly becomes paralysed with fear as he realises that he can never be truely free.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting how you said that the decreasing number of verses infer the horrible life of a slave. This poem gives a tone of hopelessness and sorrow. Northrup had basically given up trying to fight any longer for his freedom because he felt like there was nothing else he could do to..."I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains." (15). This line shows the hope that has been lost. I find it interesting how the beginning of the poem has a positive and sort of naive tone, but then half way into the poem, there is a negative bitter and sorrowful tone.
DeleteI also noticed the decreasing lines per stanza! Along with showing the downward spiral of hope, I think it also gives insight to the emotions and feelings of that era. It also gives the poem a sort of down-casting or depressing tone. It shows loss of hope in the darkest of times and has an overall feel of loss, suffering and loss of motivation. It shows the decreasing hope for change.
DeleteI didn't notice the decreasing of lines in each stanza to show Solomon Northrup loosing hope, nice observation. Also, how do you think this poem would of changed if it was told in a different point of view? Could the poem change overall? Would we still have the same feeling?
Delete“David Walker” is about an American anti-slavery activist who published pamphlets against slavery. Throughout the poem, it shows people’s reactions of “Outrage. Incredulity” to reading his pamphlets. The proper assumption would be that these people are those who are pro-slavery. The people who often read and supported him had to make sure that their “pamphlets were stuffed into trouser pockets… in the coat linings…” in order to avoid getting into a very dangerous confrontation.
ReplyDeleteOne portion that I don’t understand is where the poem says, “I never want to live any better or happier than when I can get a-plenty of boots and shoes to clean!” Is he a free black man? A slave? A white man? What does he mean? Why is that life happiest for him?
I found that part of the poem to be especially interesting. My interpretation is that it's a free black man who is essentially saying despite his low style of life or status of freedom, he enjoys the fact that he is free nonetheless. He's grateful and making the most of his freedom, glad he isn't in the position of being a slave.
DeleteIn the poem, “The Transport of Slaves From Maryland to Mississippi,” it explains the story about slaves who broke their chains and tried to escape. However, a slave woman stopped them and helped the driver before they could escape. I think it is interesting how the slave woman decided to betray the other slaves and turn them in. Why would she do that? I think that the slave woman was very scared that if she allowed them to run away, she would be punished for it. In the lines 1-3, “I don’t know if I helped him up because I thought he was our salvation or not.” She was conflicted because she did not know whether to help the slaves or the driver. This poem shows a tone of fear because the slave woman was afraid of getting in trouble. She began to question whether or not she did the right thing by helping the driver.
ReplyDeleteI was very confused involving this poem also asking myself why she would stop the slaves from escaping, as the white people are dead and that she could escape herself. Do you think she could have had been brain washed by the white people in order for her to obey the rules and not let the slaves escape?
DeletePerhaps she could of been brain washed, but I think it's more so that the slave woman has been conditioned from the intense oppression of black people during slavery. She's been taught that whites are superior and she has to serve them, even if she does not desire to do so. It also probably includes fear too of punishment if she doesn't help capture the slaves. I also recently noticed that she sees herself in the dead white man's eyes, "his eyes were my eyes in a yellower face" (10) and when sees him she thinks, "I am no brute. I got feelings./ he might have been a son of mine" (12-13). In this case, the slave woman obviously feels herself dead on the inside and connects with the dead white man. Even though he was white, in her eyes, he didn't deserve to die, hence why the slave woman says that he could of been a son, he is innocent. "Death and salvation - one accommodates the other" (11) means that the black woman finds similarities with the white man and finds that you can't have freedom without death. Perhaps because she has been subject to the inhumanity of slavery, she doesn't see a difference between the freedom and slavery anymore?
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ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove's poem, "David Walker (1785-1830)" there are sentences that are italicized, for example, in the first stanza, there are two sentences that are italicized, the 1st one is,
ReplyDelete"They strip and beat and drag us about like rattlesnakes." (2-3)
The 2nd one is,
"Oh Heaven! I am full!! I can hardly move my pen!!!" (8)
At first I thought that all the italicized sentences were Rita Dove's thoughts, but after reading the first italicized sentence several times, I got the idea that it might be David Walker who is speaking his thoughts. He is a free slave so he can speak of what he sees.
But in the second italicized sentence, when it says, "I can hardly move my pen!!!" (8) It seems like it's Rita Dove speaking this time. She is of course writing, so her hand must get tired at some point.
Overall, this poem talked about a free slave who saw the injustice done to others, which makes me believe that the italicized sentences are what he saw and his thoughts, but also that could go for Rita Dove as well.
I agree with your interpretation of the poem but I think that the reason why the italicized parts are utilized are to give a more emotional tone to the poem. When he states, "I am full!! I can hardly move my pen!!!', emotions are conveyed. Writing was really important to David Walker as he was portrayed as an abolitionist. He was so full with anger and disappointment that it caused him to stop doing what he loved most. He was more angry at the fact that he couldn't change the society entirely through his passion, which caused him to break down and lose faith in humanity.
DeleteIn 'Fox', Rita Dove portrays a very confident character through the usage of diction which pertains pride elements as well as independence as she reflects on a tragedy that greatly impacted her life. She states, "She knew what she was and so was capable of anything anyone could imagine" (1-6). The character described, which is most likely Rita Dove herself, has a tremendous amount of confidence. She 'knew' what her capabilities were, therefore she was comfortable with herself and what she could potentially achieve. By 'knowing oneself', the character shows the ability to go through life and not be afraid of error or mistakes. Imagination is tied into the poem to give the reader a sense of how much Rita Dove could achieve since 'she was capable of anything anyone could imagine'. Her confidence was not affected by the tragedy and she proves, in the contrary, that she still has potential to achieve the greatness she had before her house was burned down. Dove writes that 'she loved nothing more than what she had'. Her appreciation of materialistic objects is revealed as she fearlessly states that she loved what she 'had'. Her beloved house and her unpublished manuscripts were what gave Dove solace and comfort. The reminiscing tone reveals that Dove will not be able to 'love' her new home. The feelings that she felt towards her old home can not be replaced as it is evident that she suffered by the loss. The poem starts out very fiercely in order to compensate for such suffering, a detail which Dove slightly hints as the poem reaches the end.
ReplyDeleteIn 'The House Slave', Rita Dove portrays pure desperation through the usage of first person repetition. In every stanza she describes the life and emotions of a house slave living in a plantation. Dove writes, 'I watch them', 'I cannot fall asleep again', 'I lie on my cot' and 'I weep'. The slave refers to the white slave owners as 'them' who are the root of all her anxiety and disturbed emotional state. The slave has no power over the white owners, so all she can do is 'watch' and suffer the pain that they cause to her and her family. She is driven in a depressive state as all she is able to do is lay around her cot and weep about her miserable fate. She has no drive to stand up to injustice as it could take her life. Dove successfully portrays the slaves' inability to change the way that the world worked back then. the whites had more power and, what was more dangerous, they knew how to use that power to completely segregate African Americans. Are there any other patterns in this poem that should be noted?
ReplyDeleteThe repetition of the sound of a horn could be worth noting. Usually, a person thinks of a trumpet sound as mighty and full sound that represents the strength of armies but it can achieve a less glamorous tone. The trumpet, an instrument with a cylindrical bore, can have a bright and piercing sound. This is the timbre that Dove is trying to get across for the sound of the trumpet. It is demanding and forceful and is a symbol of pain and suffering.
DeleteThere are multiple ways in which the poem "the Abduction" can be interpreted. One of such ways is the literal translation of Solomon Northrup being recaptured into slavery. Another way the poem can be interpreted though is that Solomon's thoughts as a free man is all a dream. The first two stanzas of the poem have a light and whimsical tone and follows a fairly cohesive structure. In the third stanza however, the tone becomes darker and chaotic, like a nightmare. "Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped./ I was lifted - the sky swivelled, clicked into place." (11-12) uses a simile and imagery to describe the scene and emotions. In this stanza, Solomon is being abducted, and it is described in a dream-like point of view. The sky swiveling is representative of the confusion and panic one feels when experiencing a nightmare. The fourth stanza, relates highly to a dream, "I floated on water I could not drink. Though the pillow/ was stone, I climbed no ladders in that sleep," (13-14). Solomon describes this experience as floating on water, something that would be interpreted as peaceful, yet he is unable to drink it, symbolizing how he felt so close to the joy of freedom, yet he is helpless and unable to attain it. In this sense, the closest Solomon has ever come to freedom is through his dreams. "Through the pillow was stone" is self evident as pillows are commonly used for sleeping; the pillow meaning that the closest comfort Solomon can get is when he sleeps and temporarily escapes his 'rocky life' (the stone) . When he says that he, "climbed no ladders in that sleep", ladders are symbolized as a means to achieving success. In Solomon's case, his success at becoming free was not attainable. The concluding stanza states that "I woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains." (15). In the end, Solomon wakes up and realizes that everything was a dream and that he is chained up in the darkness, still enslaved.
ReplyDeleteOn a more interesting side note, this poem is based off the story "12 Years a Slave", a narrative memoir by Solomon Northup, about a free black man sold into slavery. This poem appears to be a retelling of Solomon's capture from that memoir, but in a different, more personal, point of view.
view.
I completely agree with your interpretation of "The Abduction". In the second stanza, it talks about how close Solomon was to achieving freedom, if he had trusted others. I think that Dove in this poem is trying to tell readers that many slaves could have achieved freedom, but were not brave enough to do so, even though they had a persistent urge to do so.
DeleteIn the poem, “The House Slave,” Rita Dove’s usage of point of view contributes greatly to the message of the work through its effect on tone. The first stanza provides the reader with context information that sets the scene from inside. In each following stanza, there are statements starting with “I,” indicating first point of view from a house slave. In the second stanza, Dove writes, “I watch them driven into the vague before-dawn ” In the third stanza, she writes, “I cannot fall asleep again,” in the fourth stanza, “I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat,” and lastly, in the fifth stanza, Dove writes, “I weep. It is not yet daylight.” All these lines communicate a depressive and helpless tone. The narrator watches from inside as fellow slaves work in the fields enduring harsh treatment and horrific pain. Though there are multiple tones in the poem, like the sarcastic/snarky one in the line, “while their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick,” in the first stanza, and the depressive and helpless tones of the remaining stanzas, the overarching tone is one of guilt. The house slaves are treated better than those working in the fields and the guilt of this particular house slave as he or she observes the uncontrollable atrocities happening from the warm confines of the master’s house is evident. The reader himself feels the house slave's helplessness that results from the torturous restrain and unfairness.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out how the author wants the reader to feel the helplessness of the house slave. I found it very ironic that the house slave has so much better living conditions but constantly feels guilt for the other slaves working out in the fields.The narrator also probably feels very lonely because not only is he or she viewed differently by white people, but now the narrator is viewed differently by his or her own people. I think that seeing the other slaves suffer is so maddening, the narrator rather be down in the fields going through it with them.
DeleteIn all of Rita Dove's "American Smooth" Poems that we read in class, she references dance, specifically American smooth. I think that Dove does this as a way to sort of show her appreciation and respect for dance. Also, dance is used in the context of grief often in these poems, hinting that dance was Dove's way of escaping her own grief after the burning of her house and her poems. Specifically, the use of american smooth as the main dance that is reoccurring referenced throughout these poems seems to suggest that dance was very freeing to Dove, as american smooth is a more free-flowing, organic style of dancing which contrasts with the more traditional styles of dance, like the waltz. This seems to imply that while Dove respects traditions, individualism and being her self is an important thing which she not only shows through her poetry but also her escape of dancing.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "The Abduction", Rita Dove uses the repetition and use of "I" to add a personal feeling that draws the reading in and helps to further convey the strong emotions of the poem by emotionally attaching the reading to the subject. Personally, when reading through this poem, the first stanza made me feel happy for the subject of the poem, "free papers in my pocket, violin / under my arm, my new friends Brown and Hamilton by my side" The subject seems to be happy and content with a sort of care free essence about them. In the next stanza in says "Why should i have doubted them?", this seems the portray a sense of betrayal of the subjects 'New friends" in the first stanza. In the last three stanzas, the excessive use of "I" really makes me feel empathy for the subject and helps to get the emotions of betrayal, loss, sadness and hopelessness across.
ReplyDeleteI found the use of "I" to have that affect as well. It does give a stronger, more personal effect on tone throughout the entire passage. Your interpretation of how the first stanza gave a happier mood was interesting. Her description of the papers, violin and new friends seemed to give off their content life and hope for the future. "A sense of betrayal" was a good way to put how she seemed to doubt the "new friends" from the first stanza as the poem went on.
DeleteI agree with your interpretation. I also think the positive tone in the first stanza followed by "Why should I have doubted them?" effectively uses foreshadowing to give a more sinister tone to the piece.
DeleteIn Rita Dove's poem, "Fox", dove uses the repetition of "she" to illustrate Dove's growing independence after her house burned down. The repeated, "she knew.../she was.../she loved" shows how even after she lost everything, she was determined and strong, that, "she was and so/ was capable/ of anything" (2-4). Dove juxtaposes "..there/for the taking/ imagine" (8-10) with "She imagined/ nothing". This juxtaposition of opposites suggests that even though bad things happen, good things can come out of it. In Dove's case, she lost her house, but she gained the love of dancing. At the end of the last stanza it says, "she loved/ nothing more than what she had,/ which was enough/ for her," (13-17). This conveys that Rita Dove does not dwell on the sorrow of losing her house, and instead, finds value in what she currently has. This makes her strong and independent "which was more/ than any man/ could handle" (18-20).
ReplyDeleteThe title of this poem is "Fox" which Rita Dove uses to symbolize herself. Foxes are stereotyped as quick, cunning, devious, and even somewhat recalcitrant; a description that Dove uses of herself in the poem. She describes herself as strong and determined and the 'fox' alludes to her passion for dancing. Dove refers that "she loved/ nothing more/ than what she had", which in this case, is dancing. For Dove, dancing was all she had left to love; a beloved pattern of swift and quick movements like a fox.
Finally, the poem consists of two stanzas, ten lines each. The way I interpret it, is that the first stanza describes Dove's personality and emotions. The first stanza offers an opportunistic, optimistic point of view on life, while the second stanza generates a tone that becomes stern and envelops a realist, individualistic outlook.
I really like how you connected Rita Dove to the fox and find it very true that she is clever when she doesn't dwell in the past and instead focuses on what she currently has. Plus, Rita made "Fox" a title because the word fox is in the name of the type of dance that she does. She wants to show that she likes the foxtrot dance because it brings out her fox-like personality.
DeleteIn Rita Dove's poem, "The House Slave", a certain line really stood out to me. At the last line of the third stanza Rita writes, "I lie on my cot, shivering in the early heat." To understand the meaning of the quote, you kind of have to have some context for the rest of the poem. The poem is told from the perspective of a house slave observing the hardships the other slaves have to go through while working in the fields. In the quote, Rita used first person because she wanted the reader to be put in the position of the house slave so they could feel the same emotions that he or she was going through. The part that really stood out to me in that line was, "shivering in the early heat," because I noticed how it is kind of oxymoronic. If there is heat, than why was the house slave shivering? After thinking about it for awhile I came to the conclusion that the slave wasn't shivering for the literal reason of being cold, but because he or she got the chills from seeing the other slaves in the fields. Seeing them out there was so sad and disturbed her so much that it sent a chill running down his or her back. I think the house slave also felt a lot of guilt because his or her living conditions was significantly better than that of the sisters and other slaves. I think it made the house slave feel very uncomfortable that the rest of his or her people had to suffer more.
ReplyDeleteI thought this use of an oxymoron was also quite interesting in this poem. If you read it too fast, you might have missed it. This oxymoron really makes you think and try to empathize with the slave and try to understand why it is that they are freezing, if it is indeed hot outside. This line contributes to the tone of guilt and sadness by showing how they were literally shivering because of sadness, anger, or guilt. Another quote that contributed to this tone was on the very last line, "I weep". It was a very short statement, but it was sweet and it got to the point and got the message out with ease.
Delete“The Transport of Slaves From Maryland to Mississippi” really stood out to me. At first, I was really confused about the poem because of the contradicting knowledge I had on this era. In the little excerpt preceding the poem, it gives a little background on the poem. It said that the slaves would have been able to escape if the slave woman didn’t ask for help, and it made me wonder, why would the slave woman stop the slaves from escaping when she was also a slave? After reading the poem a couple more times, I realized that the woman could have been brainwashed by her master into believing that she must follow the rules of her master or else she would be punished. The idea of superiority of the whites is etched into her brain and overpowers everything else that she once deemed as important (escaping to achieve freedom). The slave woman also felt sympathy for the slave driver who is dead on the street, “He might have been a son of mine.” During that period, many slave families were broken apart and sent to work for different white households. Looking at the dead slave driver on the road gave her nostalgic memories of her son, giving her the possibility that the slave driver might have been her son. Dove purposefully placed this line in to not only express that many slave families were broken up, but also gave the woman a justifiable reason to stop the slaves from escaping for the reason that they killed “her son”, and they should not be rewarded because they committed immoral acts to achieve what they wanted (freedom). Overall, this poem is reiterating the real event that a slave woman stopped other slaves from escaping because she was perhaps brainwashed by her masters. I find it hard to believe that slaves would not run for their lives to achieve freedom when they had the chance, but it actually happened in history as much as I cannot fathom.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting analysis. I agree with it all, especially the point about white control over her. Even black children today may see themselves as inferior to white people because of how society portrays them, so imagine what they must have thought at this time period.
DeleteI was curious as to that portion with the slave lady aiding the capture of other slaves. I agree with Megan, it was a good analysis. MY question, though, involves the other stanzas of the poem. Obviously they were spoken by other people, but what was the idea behind it? Were the last two the same speaker?
DeleteI reckon it went like this: the first part is the slave woman justifying her actions, the second an excerpt from an article in the local newspaper written and printed after the fact, and the third simply the omniscient narrator telling the story.
DeleteIn Rita Dove's poem "Belinda's Petition", I was really intrigued by the use of capitalization. It seems like every other word is capitalized, even when it seems out of place. To me, this gives the poem almost a mocking tone, as the narrator is addressing a government that treats her poorly, this would make sense. Another thing that stood out to me was the line Belinda says; "How might I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon, who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?" When the narrator mentions "men with faces like the moon", she is referring to the white man, in comparing them to the moon since their skin is pale like the moon's surface. Using this eerie beautiful comparison is interesting, because it is almost contradictory, as the men with serine like faces would cause her so much harm later in life.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your analysis of the poem. The excessive use of capitalization is definitely in effect to highlight the irony of what is being said. In the sixth and seventh lines of the first stanza this irony is more evident than ever. Dove writes "place my pitiable Life/unto the Fathers of this Nation." "Life" is capitalized because in this line the word is referring to the life of a black woman. How much of a life could a black woman have in this hateful time period? The capitalization of "Life" provides the same sense of irony as if it was put in parenthesis. The very same is true with "Fathers of this Nation". There is no grammatical need for either of these words to be capitalized. By using this writing strategy, Dove is mocking the notion that this nation was and is fathered by racist white men.
DeleteRita Dove’s “Quick” poem stood out to me because it has a sorrowful and desolate mood. The first three stanzas’ tone is pitiful since Rita used dictions like “culvert” and “vacant eyes” to describe the state the creature’s in. The connotation of the word culvert is usually negative to me because whenever I think of that word, I think of something that’s dirty, lonely, and abandoned. Since the baby creature is inside the culvert, it makes the reader feel sorry that the creature has to live in such a desolate place. Since the creature has “vacant eyes”, it must’ve been through a lot of grieving since its’ mother abandoned it to the point that the creature no long feels any emotion. The abandoned baby bird is connected to Rita’s misfortune of her personal life because it seems to me that the baby bird represents Rita and the abandoned bird’s mother represents the fire that caused Rita to suffer. The state that the baby bird is in shows how Rita felt right after her house burned down. It describes how her fresh wound left her vacant. The mother bird represents the fire because Rita described her features as “sleek curve plumpening into a tail/waving its flamboyant/afterthought, she disappears/red swish/or gray, too quick to tell./O to be gone/ like that, no grief nor thought/ of love-pure purpose/ poured into flight.” The mother bird is similar to a fire because of the Rita used “red” and “sleek”, which sounds like something that is smooth like a fire. Also, how the mother bird acted quickly and without emotions sounds like something that fire does because it can cause a large amount of destruction in very little time and does not have a limit in how much damage it does. It only does what its’ purpose is, to burn and cause destruction. Lastly, when Rita mentions the word “silhouette” it has an imagery to it and makes me imagine the flickering shadows that’s caused by a fire.
ReplyDeleteDavid Walker was a well known advocate for abolition in the United States during the early stages of the new found country. Though he faced difficult opposition. Rita Dove in her poem about David Walker, titled, “David Walker (1785-1830),” she describes the incredible amount of opposition he faced. In the first stanza, Dove compares the treatment of slaves to the treatment of rattlesnakes when she says, “They strip and beat and drag us about/ like rattlesnakes”(2-3). This simile described slaves as not only an animal but a venomous killer that almost justifies the horrible treatment that was given to them. In the next stanza, Dove used sentence fragments to show the anger and discomfort felt by white men in congress with the idea of abolition; “Men of colour, who are also of sense./ Outrage. Incredulity. Uproar in the State Legislature”(14-15). The brief and short syntax makes the reader stop and accent the last line. The reader then imagines the chaos and agitation that the Walker’s ideas cause. In the final stanza, Dove writes, “A mouth-/ his person (is that all?) found face-down/ in the doorway at Brattle Street”(28-30). Finally, Dove shows the physical pain that people inflicted on Walker. She adds a caesura and brackets to make the reader pause as if to stop and notice the horrors that they are witnessing. Dove describes the both the mental fear and physical pain Walker endured as well as the opposition his views brought to the people in the time period.
ReplyDeleteNow Rita Dove’s poem ‘American Smooth’ is written in a distinctly different manner to the others, that is that it is written in conversational prose broken up into lines rather than in carefully structured free verse as was say ‘Fox’ or ‘Fox Trot Fridays.’ It’s read as more like a script rather than a poem, with frequent pauses as new thoughts interrupt, bringing about a sort of voice of informality which implies a trusting intimacy between the poem’s speaker and whom they’re speaking to. There’s an image that appears, in my mind at least, of a couple idly reminiscing, and the girl starts saying smiling to the other ‘We were dancing—it must have/been a foxtrot or a waltz’ (1-2) and he smiles back as she repeatedly stops and pauses to try and remember more details about her story. ‘And because I was distracted/by the effort of/keeping my frame/(the leftward lean, head turned/just enough to gaze out/past your ear and always/ smiling, smiling),/I didn’t notice’ (15-22). It’s very straightforward, like one would read from a book which contrasts heavily with a poem like ‘Quick’ where even who the subject of the poem is is shrouded under the thick sort of allegoric imagery and unorthodox typography that is so favoured and adored by high school English students everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIn Rita Dove's poem "Fox", she writes about women's independence and that lack of the need for a man or a spouse. Throughout the poem, there is a repetition of the word "she" which is used to emphasize that the focus of the poem is a woman, or the representation of women in general. The last line is "which was more than any man could handle" which shows the independence of the the woman in the poem. The title, as well as the short lines (1-4 words per line) imply women have fox-like traits such as quick, smart or cunning.
ReplyDeleteIn Dove's Slavery collection of poems, "The House Slave" seemed to be an evident passage that stood out to everyone. Through Dove's strong detailed descriptions of visual imagery and emotional portrayal of the life of a slave, the poem conveys a weak, sorrowful and sympathetic tone to the main prisoner subject. The use of similes such as, "their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick" and "they spill like bees among the fat flowers," show how the character in the passage uses his/her experiences on the compound and their small education to compare their surroundings. "An ivory toothpick" is stiff and sleek, which reflects the comparison to how on-edge, uncomfortable, yet porcelain the mistress has been sleeping. The other simile of " they spill like bees among the fat flowers" gives the image of the mass amount of slaves pouring into the fields for their early morning labor. The tone of the poem is somber and aching, that it almost makes the reader feel like they have been put through the pain as well. Dove's use of similes and reflective imagery of the labor and horrible living conditions of the slaves gives the poem the historical relevance and sorrowful mood that makes the passage so powerful.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "The Abduction" was written in reference to Solomon Northrup's narrative memoir, 12 Years a Slave, which was published in 1853. Solomon was a born-free black man who resided in New York with his family; he was also a very skilled violinist hence lines four and five, "free papers in my pocket, violin under my arm". He was approached by two white men, who, in the poem, are referred to as Brown and Hamilton. They spoke to him about a high-paying musician job in their traveling circus. Northrup traveled with the strangers to Washington D.C., where he was kidnapped while intoxicated. Northrup woke up in chains the next morning; he was no longer a free black man, he was a slave. On the surface, this poem is almost unremarkable. Dove did not employ a plethora of theatrical literary devices as she most commonly does. When I first read this poem I was utterly confused. I thought that this poem couldn't possibly be so blatant and that I must be missing something. In fact, the only part of this poem that really stood out to me were the feet of the stanzas. In the first stanza there are five lines and with each stanza the number of lines go down by one. In the last stanza there is a lone line, wherein Solomon finds himself alone in chains. These stanzas serve as a countdown, the feet are counting down Solomon’s last few days as a free man. I think that this poem is so played down because Dove really wanted Solomon Northrup’s story to speak for itself. We, as a society, are so quick to sweep things under the rug and so we forget that atrocities like this really happened. Men, women and children were kidnapped, beaten, killed, sold, raped, and exploited simply because they were black. Dove stripped this poem down to bare bone so that Solomon could tell his story.
ReplyDeleteThe poem, House Slave, by Rita Dove really stood out to me. I think that it showed the readers the importance of slavery and how brutal it could become. Each stanza was very descriptive and emphasized the outside perspective of the slave and slave owners.
ReplyDelete“The first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass
and in the slave quarters there is a rustling-
children are bundled into aprons, cornbread”
The first line says, “the first horn lifts its arm over the dew-lit grass,” and this is showing that the slaves are being woken up for the day by horns. The next two lines are the using imagery to show that the adults are preparing the children for work. In my interpretation, I assume that the children are being prepared for a day of cooking or some type of preparation of food. What does everyone else think?
“and water gourds grabbed, a salt pork breakfast taken.
I watch them driven into the vague before-dawn
while their mistress sleeps like an ivory toothpick”
The slaves are fed and sent out to work before the sun is even up. Dove uses a metaphor to show the superiority that the whites had over the blacks. Dove compares the mistress, or owner, to an “ivory toothpick.” Ivory is a very valuable, expensive thing. This metaphor represents how much more important the whites were compared to the African Americans. I think that this stanza is a very important thing for readers to look at, only because each line has a deeper meaning that what is written.
The last two stanzas are very descriptive and show how demanding slavery was. In the very last stanza, it says “and they spill like bees among the fat flowers,” this is showing that the “bees” are the slaves. And every day they “spill” out among the fields and get to work. Every day they get up and work before the sun rises and while the master and mistress sleeps. This poem was very sad to me and showed me the hard labor they went through and the sadness it brought for the readers. How was everyone else’s response?
I find it interesting and saddening how the house slave uses their own suffering from enslavement to scale the much worse suffering the other slaves had to deal with. It is terribly perturbing how America used to be dependent on slave farms such as this and that there were so many human lives tortured in this way
DeleteThe poem "The Abduction", is not a very cryptic poem at all, it is very straight to the point, and written in more of a narrative way than like a poem. She does not use a lot of literary devices in this poem, and also the title "The Abduction" tells the reader right away what the story is about. This poem is about a man named Solomon Northrup who is a free black man, who is working in what seems to be a circus of sorts with his new found friends Brown, and Hamilton. The one thing that Dove does use is foreshadowing. In stanza 2, Solomon says to himself "Why should I have doubted them?" In the end, after Solomon gets drunk, these two "friends" are the ones who chain him up, and kidnap him. One thing I noticed is that the number of lines in each stanza decrease by one. Starting with 5 lines, it gets down to one and the line says "I woke and found myself alone". This story also has a moral to it, to trust your gut instincts, and also to be wary of strangers and be smart about who you trust.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem Abduction, Rita Dove retells the story of Solomon Northrup, whose story is also told in 12 Years a Slave. By adapting this into a poem Rita Dove is able to establish a stronger connection between the reader and Northrup. Dove focuses on the narrative side of the story in the first two stanzas, and tells the reader about how Northrup was caught back into slavery. After reading the poem, without any previous knowledge, I was curious about who Solomon Northrup was, which turned into me googling his story. I'm sure for many other readers who also hadn't heard of him, the same effect was achieved. The story is as follows: Solomon Northrup left his wife and children at home in Saratoga Springs (where he was a free man) , and went to Washington DC (where slavery was still legal) to find a job that he was promised. "The citizenry of Washington/clotted the avenue-I among them, Solomon Northrup/from Saratoga Springs, free papers in my pocket" (lines 2-3). He then met two men, referenced in this poem as Brown and Hamilton, who were essentially the ones who gave him the job in the circus. "my new friends,Brown and Hamilton, by my side.// Why should I have doubted them? The wages were good." (lines 5-6). In line 6 Dove uses foreshadowing to create a sense of dread for the reader when she says "Why should I have doubted them?". It seems like Northrup is almost justifying how he fell into the trap. Later in the same stanza, Dove says "pigs squealed invisibly from the bleachers and I fiddled." (line 9). I am curious about what she meant by pigs? Perhaps she was calling the onlookers and audience members pigs and comparing their squeals and yells to those of a pig. The last 2 stanzas tell the reader how Northrup was kidnapped, by getting him drunk until he passed out. "Then the wine, like a pink lake, tipped. I was lifted-the sky swiveled, clicked into place." (lines 11-12). By comparing the wine to a pink lake, Dove shows the vast amount he drank. Later in the poem, in the last two lines, Dove shows the horror of the realization of captivity, and how Northrup awoke to find himself enslaved. By saying " I climbed no ladders in that sleep" (line 14) Dove tells the reader how Solomon Northrup felt, trapped. Especially once he "woke and found myself alone, in darkness and in chains) (line 15)
ReplyDeleteThe House Slave by Rita Dove uses strong imagery through literary devices to show much more to the story and create a more emotion experience for the reader. A line that stood out to me the most is "like an ivory toothpick,". This line is describing the "Massa's" wife as she sleeps. This creates an image in my head of a skinny white woman. This character in the poem actually shows a lot to me. She sleeps through the morning whippings and probably knows what the Massa dreams about and does with the slaves and she has to ignore it and just sleep through. It is a really impacting piece because in history, so many people knew what was happening yet did nothing. She sleeps so peacefully though the horrors that are happening in the morning even though it's so wrong. I think this goes along with the history and the social standards in this time. She thought it was okay so she had no problem sleeping through it. I think this poem also reflects on modern day racism as well. People standing by watching racism and discrimination happen and rarely doing anything about it. The imagery in the poem that Rita Dove writes like, "shivering in the heat", "the whip curls across the backs of the laggards" is really impactful and it brings the reader into the feeling and the hurt that these slaves were feelings. It makes the reader even feel uncomfortable because they know it is so wrong to hurt another human like that, yet it happened. So that is a message Rita Dove gives. Why are people so discomforted by this yet not by everyday racism? And do you think this is a question Rita Dove wants the reader to ask themselves?
ReplyDeleteIn David Walker, Dove uses italicized sections in the lines of the poem to further describe the African Americans during the time period by annotating the poem itself. Dove writes, “They strip and beat and drag us about like rattlesnakes”(2,3), and, “Men of colour, who are also of sense”(14). Dove comments into the poem in the perspective of one of the slaves. This contrasts the semi-descriptive narration of David Walker by inserting what his direct thoughts would be which are in a more harsh and condescending tone. Dove expresses how there was a lot of discrimination in that time period and also she speaks from the italicized sections to express how the discrimination continued on into her lifetime. I find it interesting how Dove uses the spelling “colour” instead of “color”. Perhaps she is hinting towards how the slaves were taken from their homes in a different country to be imprisoned in America. How would it actually feel to be ripped out of our homes as they were?
ReplyDeleteVery Nice Post...❤❤❤
ReplyDeleteBroken Heart Quotes Tumblr For Him, Broken Heart Short Quotes