Cozy Apologia - Rita Dove

Question 1

when was this poem published?

Answer 1

2004

Question 2

themes?

Answer 2

• power - power of nature or love
• nature
• love
• man - human relationships and how man copes with nature

Question 3

poet context

Answer 3

• contemporary American poet
• been publishing poetry since the 1980s
• former US poet laureate (1990s)
• won a Pulitzer Prize for her writing
• combines the historical with the personal in her writing
• married to another writer called Fred Viebahn
• has lived in Virginia since 1989

Question 4

hurricane Floyd context

Answer 4

• a very powerful hurricane that struck the east coast of the USA in 1999
• this poem is set during the tumult of this hurricane
• people who lived in costal regions as far north as North Carolina were evacuated - 4th largest evacuation in American history
• caused mass floods and $6.5 billion damages
• 76 people died in total, including 4 from Virginia

Question 5

what is the meaning of this poem?

Answer 5

• from the safety of her home, Dove firstly thinks deeply about her husband, and how everything and anything reminds her of him
• Hurricane Floyd batters around outside and she then reflects on love in her teenage years
• next, she comments that her love for her husband is ordinary and almost embarrassing, but she doesn’t care

Question 6

what is the mood of this poem?

Answer 6

• a loving tone is created when Dove writes about her husband, Fred, as seen in ‘think of you’
• however, when discussing Hurricane Floyd or her childhood crushes, Dove uses a mocking tone (‘hollow’), suggesting Fred is superior