cozy apologia Flashcards
who was it written by and some brief life info?
Rita Dove
Dove was encouraged to read widely by her parents and excelled in school (she was named a Presidential Scholar, one of the top 100 high school graduates in the country).
Dove was the first African American Poet Laureate.
She married a German poet in 1979 (interracial marriage was only legalised in the US in 1967).
what is the form and structure like?
An Apologia is a formal letter written in defence of one’s opinions or conduct. So the title translates to ‘In Defence of Cosiness’.
There is no regular meter which creates a conversational tone.
The rhyming couplets in the first stanza could illustrate the love and closeness between her and her husband.
what are the key themes?
Dove treats historical events with a personal touch.
The poem deals with the idea of love and is interesting when you consider Dove’s uncommon interracial marriage at the time.
what is the historical and literary context?
Historical Context: Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful hurricane which struck the east coast of the United States in 1999. Dove treats historical events with a personal touch. Poet Brenda Shaughnessy observes that she unearths the “wildly personal” thoughts such historic moments contain.
Dove married German poet, Fred Viebahn, in 1979 - interracial marriage was only made legal in the United States in 1967.
Literary Context: Dove was the first African-American poet laureate.
Dove appropriates the form of the apologia - a formal written defence - for her poem - a deliberate choice of form which illuminates the literary context.
quote 1: ‘ I could pick anything and think of you’ what could you say about this?
the modal verb ‘could’ suggests alternative possibilities and ‘anything’ is expansive and suggests everything reminds her of her partner & also highlighting how much she loves him
quote 2: ‘The glossy blue/ my pen exudes, drying matte upon the page’ what could you say about this?
‘Matte’ allows her to symbolise love as dull and mundane.
quote 3: ‘This post-postmodern age is all business: compact disks/And faxes, a do-it-now-and-take-no-risks event’ what could you say about this?
Dove utilises colloquial business-speak to create a sense of urgency and to increase the pace. This contrasts with the caesura that follows and makes the impact more jarring.
quote 4: ‘Event. Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast/ Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd’ what could you say about this?
Caesura brings the natural phenomenon into sharp focus. The colloquial, cartoonish ‘oddly-male’ description of the hurricane contrasts with the picture of female domestic contentment that Dove creates.
quote 5: ‘Were thin as licorice and as chewy/ Sweet with a dark and hollow center’
this suggests her ‘teenage crushes’ were ‘worthless’ in comparison to the feeling of mature contentment she has now. The adjective ‘hollow’ emphasises the lack of depth her previous relationships had.
quote 6: ‘ When has the ordinary ever been news?’ what could you say about this?
Rhetorical question anticipates criticism and deflects from her ‘embarrassing’ contentment. (marriage to her husband)
