Cozy Apologia Flashcards
“Cozy Apologia” - analyse
DEFENDING a comfortable, unremarkable, ordinary relationship
Title foreshadows warm feelings associated with love
CONTEXT - Rita Dove
Contemporary American poet
Former US Poet Laureate
She combines the historical with the personal in her work
Married to Fred Viebahn
CONTEXT - Hurricane Floyd
A very powerful hurricane that struck the east coast of USA in 1999 - Cozy Apologia is set during the tumult of Hurricane Floyd
76 people died in total
What is the significance of having a dedication (“—for Fred’)
Shows that this poem is autobiographical
Foreshadows the idea of love even more
CONTEXT - we know she is dedicating it to her husband, Fred Viebahn
What do the use of pronouns in the opening line do?
The use of pronouns “I” and “you” create an intimate tone
This poem is clearly addressed to a specific person, Fred, and written as a specific person, Dove
What is the effect of listing ordinary objects in the first few lines?
The ordinary, everyday objects mirror Dove and Fred’s ordinary, confortable relationship
She makes us imagine ordinary life and then continues to show how every part of it makes her think of him
He is her normal everyday
She uses a lot of GENERIC LANGUAGE - what effect does this have?
“Any”
Nothing exceptional - true love doesn’t have to be extravagant to be real
Why does she use clichéd images of love?
Give examples
“Hero” - creates a traditionally romantic mood
“Chain mail glinting, to set me free” - image of a knight in shining armour - her saviour
“Shooting arrows to the heart” - Cupid - suggests their love is traditional
She LISTS - emphasise to support the ideas of ordinary but also traditional love
What is the structure like throughout the poem
1st stanza - rhyming couplets - neat, routine, complete, simple
2nd stanza - irregular and unreliable
3rd stanza - KLKLMMNONO - mirrors their connection despite being apart - by the end it is couplets again
Quite a regular form - predictability, reliability
“O_____ m____: Big B___ F_____”
“Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd”
“Oddly male” - Dove mocks Hurricane Floyd (hurricanes are traditionally named after women), suggesting she does not take it seriously
“Big Bad Floyd” - personified as a playground bully, undermining its power and devastation- reminds her of men she’s known
What words create the dismissive tone Dove uses when describing her childhood crushes
“Worthless”
“Senseless”
“Sissy”
Why does Dove use lots of enjambment and caesura in the 2nd stanza?
It disrupts the rhythm and reflects the chaos and disruption growing as Floyd gets closer
What does the simile about licorice suggest
Suggests that Dove’s childhood crushes have no substance as they are “thin” and “hollow” - makes Fred seem superior by contrast
Imagery of sweets - attractive but they have no value
Dove has compared herself to a bird - “perched” in an “aerie”
What does this suggest
“Aerie” - nest of a bird of prey - this comparison suggests she feels at home in the storm, rather being threatened by it
“Bunkered” - away, safe from danger
List of ordinary images in the last stanza - what effect does it have?
“(Twin desks, computers, hardwood floors)”
Reinforces the idea that Dove’s love for her husband is ordinary
The repetition of these practical images represents their comfortable relationship
The brackets strengthen the conversational tone
