Cozy Apologia - Rita Dove Flashcards
(28 cards)
when was this poem published?
2004
themes?
- power - power of nature or love
- nature
- love
- man - human relationships and how man copes with nature
poet context
- contemporary American poet
- been publishing poetry since the 1980s
- former US poet laureate (1990s)
- won a Pulitzer Prize for her writing
- combines the historical with the personal in her writing
- married to another writer called Fred Viebahn
- has lived in Virginia since 1989
hurricane Floyd context
- a very powerful hurricane that struck the east coast of the USA in 1999 that lasted for 12 days
- this poem is set during the tumult of this hurricane
- people who lived in costal regions as far north as North Carolina were evacuated - 4th largest evacuation in American history
- caused mass floods and $6.5 billion damages
- 87 people died in total, including 4 from Virginia
- 6th largest hurricane ever recorded
what is the meaning of this poem?
- from the safety of her home, Dove firstly thinks deeply about her husband, and how everything and anything reminds her of him
- Hurricane Floyd batters around outside and she then reflects on love in her teenage years
- next, she comments that her love for her husband is ordinary and almost embarrassing, but she doesn’t care
what is the mood of this poem?
- a loving tone is created when Dove writes about her husband, Fred, as seen in ‘think of you’
- however, when discussing Hurricane Floyd or her childhood crushes, Dove uses a mocking tone (‘hollow’), suggesting Fred is superior
what was the motivation for the poet to write this poem?
- in this poem, Dove celebrates the ordinariness of adult love compared to ‘hollow’ teenage love
- this celebration is perhaps used as a means of protecting or distracting her from ‘Big Bad Floyd’ which, despite her attempts to mock or deride, as seen by ‘cussing up a storm’, clearing has an impact on human life, as shown by the disorder it brings to the poem’s structure
- overall, Dove shows that both love and nature have power, but love is superior
title: ‘Cozy Apologia’
LANGUAGE:
- ‘Cozy’ means snug and warm
- ‘Apologia’ means a written defence
- the title foreshadows warm feelings associated with love
- establishes one of the poem’s key themes
- Dove could be defending the warm feeling that she has for her husband
ode: ‘-for Fred’
STRUCTURE:
- shows that this poem is autobiographical and foregrounds the idea of love even more
- helps contextualise the poem
‘I’
‘you’
LANGUAGE:
- pronouns show that the poem is addressed to someone - establishes an intimate tone
‘This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue’
IMAGERY:
- ordinary, everyday objects mimic Dove and Fred’s ordinary love
- displays how this poem is heavily sentimental
‘My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page’
IMAGERY:
- writing reminds Dove of her husband, which could suggest that he is equally, if not more, important to her
- could reference the fact that Fred is also a writer
‘I could choose any hero’
LANGUAGE:
- this establishes a traditionally romantic mood as heroes are often seen as symbols of love throughout literature
- displays how Dove is always thinking of Fred
‘Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart As standing in silver stirrups will allow– There you’ll be, with furrowed brow And chin mail glinting, to set me free’
IMAGERY:
- cliched image of love suggests that their love is traditional
‘This post-post modern age’
LANGUAGE:
- a conversational tone is created by the topic change
- reinforces the idea that Dove wrote the poem for a specific audience (her husband Fred) in mind
‘Oddly male’
LANGUAGE:
- Dove mocks Hurricane Floyd (as hurricanes are traditionally named after women), suggesting she does not take it seriously
- undermined Hurricane Floyd and downplayed its power
‘Big Bad Floyd’
IMAGERY:
- Hurricane Floyd has been personified as a playground bully, undermining its power and devastation
- the hurricane is an extended metaphor for obstacles in life
‘Of teenage crushes on worthless boys Whose only talent was to kiss you senseless. They all had sissy names–Marcel, Percy, Dewey; Were thin as licorice and as chewy’
LANGUAGE:
- Dove discusses her former crushes using a dismissive tone, suggesting Fred is superior to them by contrast
- Fred isn’t as exciting as them but means more to Dove
‘Were thin as licorice and as chewy, Sweet with a dark and hollow center’
IMAGERY:
- this simile suggests that Dove’s childhood crushes have no substance as they are ‘thin’ and ‘hollow’ - Fred seems superior again
‘Floyd’s’
STRUCTURE:
- the stanza break makes this word stand out which emphasises its importance in the poem, as the hurricane is able to exert its influence over the poem’s structure once more
- this suggests nature has power over man
‘Cussing up a storm’
IMAGERY:
- Floyd has been personified to sound rude, not dangerous
- Dove belittles the hurricane
STRUCTURE:
- the enjambment used reflects Dove coming back to reality from her daydream
‘Aerie, I’m perched in mine’
IMAGERY:
- Dove compares herself to a bird, suggesting she feels at home in the storm, rather than being threatened by it
- Dove diminishes the threat of Hurricane Floyd
‘Twin desks, computers, hardwood floors’
IMAGERY:
- the list of images reinforces the idea that Dove’s love for her husband is ordinary
’( )’
LANGUAGE:
- the use of brackets strengthens the conversational tone’
