Cosy Apologia, by Rita Dove Flashcards
Summary
- waiting for a storm to sit the speaker thinks about her partner and pictures him as a knight in shining armour
- he is a vivid contrast to the boys she used to date
- she is embarrassed how content their cosy, ordinary lives have made them
- yet she draws comfort from filling the ‘stollen time’ resulting from the hurricane’s approach with thoughts of Fred
Form
- made up of three 10-line stanzas
- stanza one has 5 rhyming couplets
–> this scheme begins to break down in stanza 2, as if reflecting the disruption from the incoming storm - the irregularity of the poem’s rhyme and rhythm helps enforce the digressional, tangential and conversational tone of the poem
When was this written?
1999
Which storm hit the east coast of the USA and is mentioned in the poem?
Hurricane Floyd, very powerful storm
‘Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd’
Who is Rita Dove’s husband and what does he do?
Fred Viebahn, a writer
What does the word apologia mean?
a defence
‘I could pick…
…anything and think of you.’
‘Sure as…
…shooting arrows into the heart.’
‘chain mail…
…glinting, to set me free.’
‘Sweet with…
…a dark and hollow centre.’
‘it’s embarrassing…
…this happiness.’
‘I fill…
… this stolen time with you.’
Who is the speaker in the poem? What is the speaker doing in the poem?
Rita Dove, who is waiting for a storm to hit
Uses this time to daydream about her partner and their life together
What does the word ‘apologia mean?
means a defence
What type of poem is Cosy Apologia?
Written in the first person so is autobiographical
Structure
In the first stanza, Dove uses the cliched image of a knight in shining armour
In the second stanza, she reminiscences on her childhood ‘crushes’
In the last stanza, she ends with how happy she is with her everyday ‘ordinary’ life/relationship
Comment on the title
Dove has probably used the title ‘Cosy Apologia’ to defend her relationship because other people might view their relationship as ‘boring’ and ‘uneventful’ but to her their relationship is special and is worth protecting.
What does ‘I could pick anything and think of you’ suggest?
everything in her life has memories of being with her husband
What is the significance of Dove listing everyday things in the fist stanza?
‘This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue..’
emphasises her love for her partner
‘The lamp’ could suggest he is the hope and happiness in her life.
What tone does the cliched image of a knight in shining armour set?
‘chain mail glinting, to set me free’
dreamy tone but is also quite humorous
‘Set me free’ could imply that Dove feels that her husband has rescued her
Analysis on ‘a do-it-now-and-take-no-risks’
no spaces symbolises that life gets too busy to stop and think about the love for your partner
What does Dove take time to think about in the second stanza?
‘worthless boys’ she used to be interested in
uses the simile ‘were as thin as licorice’ to suggest that she wated her time with them and that they had no substance to them because they are ‘hollow and empty’
What was the purpose of the line ‘(Twin desks, computers, hardwood floors)’?
represents their busy and maybe separate lives together
Analysis on ‘but fall short of the Divine’
word ‘Divine’ emphasises that their relationship might not be viewed as heavenly and unique but Dove is happy with their everyday love
What does ‘To keep me from melancholy’ suggest?
Fred is the person who keeps Dove from ‘melancholy’
suggests he is the only person who makes her happy
Analysis on the last line
‘I fill this stolen time with you’
The poem ends with Dove having an appreciation of this ‘stolen time’. It implies she is grateful to have time to sit and think about her relationship, how content she is with her life.
