cozy apologia

Question 1

who wrote the poem?

Answer 1

Rita Dove

Question 2

who is Rita Dove married to?

Answer 2

Fred Viebahn

Question 3

what is Cozy Apologia to her husband?

Answer 3

an affectionate tribute to him

Question 4

what life do the couple seem to have?

Answer 4

domestic lives as writers- “twin desks, computers, hardwood floors”

Question 5

what is the poem set against?

Answer 5

the arrival of Hurricane Floyd- the east coast on the USA in 1999

Question 6

what supports the idea that this is an autobiographical poem?

Answer 6

the factual, real life context supports this idea

Question 7

what narrative is the poem written in?

Answer 7

1st person

Question 8

how many stanzas is it?

Answer 8

3

Question 9

what is the rhyme scheme for the first stanza?

Answer 9

AABBCCDDEE- the scheme does not continue in a perfect pattern throughout the other stanzas- veers and becomes jumbled- representation of the relationship

Question 10

what type of language is the poem written in?

Answer 10

colloquial, relaxed, informal language- lots of conversational digressions- the poet flits from subject to subject

Question 11

how is the disjointed feel of the poem emphasised?

Answer 11

emphasised by the use of dashes to break up the text- sentences finish abruptly part of the way through a line- one thought interrupts the other- in the flow of ideas

Question 12

what does the rhyme scheme breaking in stanza 2 represent?

Answer 12

reflects the disruption of the oncoming storm

Question 13

what is the rhyme scheme like in stanza 3?

Answer 13

ababccdddd- the poet intends the reader to see this suggestion of order and its progressive disruption as a way of representing the oncoming storm

Question 14

how many stresses are in each line?

Answer 14

4 stresses in each line- some lines have 5 stresses

Question 15

why does Dove vary the number of stresses in each line?

Answer 15

she varies this pattern so that the stresses do not fall in a strict rhythm- effect on the reader- creates an impression of a relaxed, informal voice- thoughtful voice, wandering from idea to idea

Question 16

what is the hurricane personified as?

Answer 16

“Big Bad Floyd”- “nudges” and “cusses” in his “oddly male way”- makes the connection with the actual men in the poem

Question 17

what do the disjointed images suggest to the reader?

Answer 17

her daydreaming state of mind

Question 18

“I could pick anything…

Answer 18

and think of you- this lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue”

Question 19

what does the first line mean?

Answer 19

there is nothing intrinsicly romantic in regard to some of the listed things that create these ponderings e.g. the lamp

Question 20

what is the idea of her being able to pick “anything” and still think of him?

Answer 20

if anything brings the narrator’s thoughts to one person, what could be taken as romantic could in reality be a declaration that the narrator is obsessed, rather than in love

Question 21

what does the rhyming scheme in the first stanza allude to?

Answer 21

their relationship is reliable and perfect

Question 22

“wind- still rain…

Answer 22

the glossy blue”

Question 23

what is significant about the “wind-still rain, the glossy blue”?

Answer 23

morose connotation- why else would a sad colour/ dreary weather remind the narrator of it?

Question 24

“and, sure as shooting arrows…

Answer 24

to the heart, astride a dappled mare”

Question 25

what does the line “and, sure as shooting arrows…” mean?

Answer 25

it gives a chivalrous vision- lines leading up to that image are more obsessed than romantic

Question 26

what is the certainty of her being set free?

Answer 26

“as sure as shooting arrows to the heart”- not very reliable

Question 27

what is the connotations of the arrow?

Answer 27

other than the idea of it representing cupid’s arrow, there is no way to label this as a good description of anything- an arrow shot so callously kills, not saves- shows a contradiction in what the narrator has claimed- perhaps the rescuer does help, but the relationship also hurts in some way

Question 28

“this post-post…

Answer 28

modern age is all business: compact disks”

Question 29

what does the line “this post-post modern age is all business: compact disks” mean?

Answer 29

seems the narrator goes off topic when she mentions things like “compact disks”- the possibility that she is trying to give the reader a strong grasp on the details she sees as mundane, trivial or harsh- as well as the weather detail- building evidence about why she needs her current relationship- give meaning or intrigue in her life

Question 30

“today a hurricane is…

Answer 30

nudging up the coast, Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd, who brings a host of daydreams”

Question 31

when does the rhyme scheme in stanza one that continues onto stanza 2 stop?

Answer 31

it ends during a sentence- feeling a disarray due to the lack of organisation- sense of abandonment- rhyme schemes, structures and a sentence are left wanting within these lines”

Question 32

“were thin as licorice..

Answer 32

and as chewy, sweet with a dark and hollow centre”

Question 33

what does the line “thin as licorice and as chewy, sweet with a dark and hollow centre” mean?

Answer 33

the previous relationships are useless- how strong and sturdy could something be that “was thin as licorice” and “sweet with a hollow centre” be?
something is too “thin”- could be seen as frail- “chewy”- saying of “chewed them up and spit them out”

Question 34

what is the idea of the “sweet exterior” and the “hollow centre”?

Answer 34

seems that the underlying problem is that once she is past their “sweet” exterior that was useful to her at the time, she is now at the “hollow centre” with nothing she can use
the boys from the earlier ones had little she found useful- that quality is what she is interested in

Question 35

what is the change in rhyme scheme from stanza 2 to stanza 3 symbolic of?

Answer 35

the narrator realises during the 2nd stanza that her logic was faulty in regard to criticising earlier relationships as immature when her current one is not exactly upstanding
could have unveiled her own tendency to only want to be in relationships with men who are useful to her- this reflection was uncomfortable enough to shake her from her thoughts and processes- therefore jumbling the rhyme scheme

Question 36

what is the second stanza a examination of?

Answer 36

the world with a hint of criticism for what seems to be labelled as immature love- specifically of these relationships, the narrator says “awkward reminiscences”- irony- the narrator is labelling the relationships as ones that don’t merit exploration, but she is currently living in one of those relationships- with sad colours and weather as well as fatally shot armour

Question 37

what does the contradiction show?

Answer 37

the narrator is criticising something as poor as what she has- her old relationships are just as bad as her new one

Question 38

what is the rhyme scheme like in stanza 3?

Answer 38

ignores the stanza 1 rhyme scheme- only reembraces it at line 5- it is still not perfect though

Question 39

what words in stanza 3 do not rhyme perfectly?

Answer 39

“news with “do” and “blues and you”
there is an abandonment in that strategy since the established rhyme scheme of stanza- the rhyme scheme of stanza 1 is now a memory

Question 40

“we’re content but…

Answer 40

fall short of the Divine”

Question 41

what does the line “we’re content but fall short of the Divine” mean?

Answer 41

even with knowing the relationship is lacking, she will still hold onto it, even if it is loveless
this idea is clear in the lines: “because nothing else will do/to keep her from melancholy/ call it blues/ she’ll feel this stolen time with you”

Question 42

what does she refer to the situation as?

Answer 42

“embarrassing and ordinary”- they’re content but are nothing extraordinary or amazing- the relationship is acceptable but she understands that it is not overly admirable or one-of-a-kind