Cosy Apologia, by Rita Dove Flashcards
1
Q
Summary
A
- 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
2
Q
Form and structure
A
- 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
3
Q
When was this written?
A
1999
4
Q
Which storm hit the east coast of the USA and is mentioned in the poem?
A
Hurricane Floyd
5
Q
Who is Rita Dove’s husband and what does he do?
A
Fred Viebahn, a writer
6
Q
What does the word apologia mean?
A
a defence
7
Q
‘I could pick…
A
…anything and think of you.’
8
Q
‘Sure as…
A
…shooting arrows into the heart.’
9
Q
‘chain mail…
A
…glinting, to set me free.’
10
Q
‘Sweet with…
A
…a dark and hollow centre.’
11
Q
‘it’s embarrassing…
A
…this happiness.’
12
Q
‘I fill…
A
… this stolen time with you.’
