Poetry - Cozy Apologia Flashcards
Who wrote Cozy Apologia
Rita Dove
Cozy Apologia context
Autobiographical. Rita Dove expresses love for her husband Fred.
- Born in 1952 and is youngest and only African-American US poet Laurette.
Meaning behind poem
- Refers to her struggle with society’s opinion of who she should love - her husband Fred is German.
Cozy Apologia form
Comparisons for Cozy Apologia
Sonnet 43 - SIMILAR - Declaration of Love. She adores his attributes and believes she should be able to love anyone she wants.
- CONTRAST - Sonnet 43 is a pure dedication whereas Cozy Apologia is more telling a story of their love and its progression on one fateful night.
SIMILAR = Both mention the past and childhood but Sonnet talks about how she lost her innocence whereas this talks about how her mature love is so much better.
SIMILAR = love is unconditional - just like in Sonnet when she will still love him after death.
“Cozy Apologia - for Fred”
Suggests warmth and comfort.
“Apologia” implies that she’s defending or apologising for their cozy life together.
- “for Fred” = dedication - love
“I could pick anything and think of you”
- Any everyday item makes her think of her husband - daily lives are entwined even by boring but useful things.
- Love = strong and constant.
- No matter what she see’a or possesses she will always think of him.
SIMILAR = She worships him and is straightaway talking about theme of poem and expressing her love.
“Chain mail glinting, to set me free”
- Chivalrous.
- Knight in shining armour come to rescue her.
SIMILAR = Love presented as declaration.
She is explaining her love and is mesmerised by him.
- Definite rhyme scheme like Sonnet.
“Awkward Reminiscences”
- Hurricane forces her to think of past relationships.
- Views of love changed as she’s older.
- Critical of immature love.
- Love is overwhelming feeling - heartfelt and true which couldn’t be experience by young teenagers.
“Oddly male”
- Refers to ‘Big Bad Floyd’ which is a reference to the 1999 Hurricane Floyd which ripped along the Atlantic Coast.
- Caused $6 billion worth of damage.
“When has the ordinary ever been news”
- She is happy even thought it’s all very ordinary.
- Seems to feel that she shouldn’t settle for ordinary yet she is happy.
- No matter how ordinary or exciting she will love him the same.
“I fill this stolen time with you”
- Stolen time because of hurricane.
- Forced to spend extra time together because of hurricane.
- Out of ordinary which makes it more exciting.
