Cozy Apologia

Question 1

Sure as shooting arrows to the heart

Answer 1

• Fred is her “hero”, the inspiration of her works – Dove’s faith placed entirely in him
• This implicit reference to Cupid, of Roman mythology allows Dove to delineate her love in an almost archaic manner, more common of the Renaissance era than modern literature – Dove and Fred not together by chance, but as a result of fate or a divine entity

Question 2

Chain mail glinting, to set me free

Answer 2

• Fred presented as her ‘knight in shining armour’ – a stereotypical image associated with chivalry
• Cliched images convey her adoration – her husband is her saviour
• Emphasises how secure dove feels within her relationship, as well as her unwavering confidence in him – associates partner with freedom and safety

Question 3

Awkward reminiscences if teenage crushes on worthless boys

Answer 3

• “Crushes” insinuates the relationships were fleeting and lacked substance or depth, a message echoed by “worthless”. Which implies they lacked value and wasted time
• Instead they were “awkward”, a sharp contrast to the “cozy” relationship she has built with Fred

Question 4

Kiss you senseless … sweet with a dark and hollow centre

Answer 4

• “Kiss you senseless” conveys passion and sexual attraction, yet the noun “senseless” implies a lack of intellectual compatibility or genuine connection beyond the lustful and physical
• “Thin as liquorice” – Light hearted extended metaphor of “liquorice” emphasises how the excitement and pace of infatuation pales in comparison to the contentment bought by a committed relationship
• “Hollow centre” = emptiness of these “crushes” – lack of substance compared to current relationship

Question 5

we’re content, but fall short of the Divine

Answer 5

• Acknowledges the aspects of her relationships she relishes the most would be deemed unworthy of merit of attention by most people
• Emphasises the satisfaction and peaceful gaiety which she obtains from her relationship while resisting the societal pressure to over-exaggerate her love, or deify her lover

Question 6

It’s embarrassing this happiness

Answer 6

• Acknowledges the aspects of her relationships she relishes the most would be deemed unworthy of merit of attention by most people
• Emphasises the satisfaction and peaceful gaiety which she obtains from her relationship while resisting the societal pressure to over-exaggerate her love, or deify her lover

Question 7

• business” of the “post-post-modern age”

Answer 7

• Poet recognises that her relationship may seem mundane to others, yet she is satisfied
• Having been forced to stay at home due to Hurricane Floyd, Dove advocates slowing down and appreciating the minutiae of everyday life and the precariousness of relationships which one may take for granted, when caught in the “business” of the “post-post-modern age”

Question 8

Context

Answer 8

• Poem dedicated to Dove’s Husband: Fred Viebahn – emphasising autobiographical nature of Dove’s love poem
• An affectionate tribute to him
• Hurricane Floyd (1999, East Coast USA, 85 fatalities, $6.5bn damages) – unusually, this natural disaster provides the backdrop for Dove’s love poem
• ‘Post-post-modern age’ – Dove wrote in a world of emerging technology and the internet, of great connectivity and greater distance between people, a progressive world where stereotypes were frowned upon

• Cozy Apologia = a formal written defence of coziness

Question 9

Form and structure

Answer 9

• Free verse = conversational sound
• Stanza 1 – regular rhyming couplets = fitting of a traditional love poem, reflects consistency of the couple
• Rhyme scheme disrupted in the middle of second stanza = perhaps to reflect disarray caused by Hurricane Floyd
• New alternate (ABAB) rhyme scheme established in final four lines = consolidates her confidence in their relationship