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Exploring ‘Cozy Apologia’‘Cozy Apologia’ by Rita Dove

Pre-readingAn apologia is a type of speech which is made in order to vindicate a person or to defend a course of action.

1. Discuss with a partner:

Who or what do you think the poet might wish or need to defend? Why do you think the poet has prefaced her apologia with the word ‘cozy’?

What is the effect of juxtaposing these two words? Can you make a prediction about the poem based only on its title?

2. Complete a cloze activity on the first stanza, looking at the poet’s use of rhyme.

I could pick anything and think of ________________________________________—This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy ____________________________________My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the ___________________________________.I could choose any hero, any cause or ______________________________________And, sure as shooting arrows to the _______________________________________,Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far _________________________________As standing in silver stirrups will ________________________________________ — There you'll be, with furrowed ______________________________________________And chain mail glinting, to set me _________________________________________:One eye smiling, the other firm upon the __________________________________.

Words to choose from:

enemy apart age blue free

allow you brow heart page

What is the effect of the rhyme scheme? Now look at the rest of the poem and work out the rhyme scheme. What

patterns or differences can you notice? What ideas do you have about the poem from the rhyme scheme?

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During reading

Stanza one1. The speaker lists the following items which she associates with her partner. Explore their possible meanings by completing the following grid:

Item Associations Significance to relationship

This lamp

Light/ brightnessSymbol of understanding(to shed light)Useful and practical

The wind-still rain

The glossy blue / my pen exudes



2. The speaker relates her partner to traditional images of male heroism in this stanza.

Look at the images showing some traditional images from art and literature. Discuss with a partner:

How many of the images do you recognise? What ideas do the images suggest to you about male and female

relationships? How do the images make you feel?

Image A

Image taken from The Book of Romance by H. S. C. Everard, Mrs. Lang, Andrew Lang, and H. J. Ford, freely available on Project


http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26646


Gutenberg


http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26646


Image B

Rapunzel, O.Ubbelohde / CREDIT: akg Images / Universal Images Group / COPYRIGHT: © AKG Images

Image C

The Sleeping Beauty./ CREDIT: Lebrecht Authors / Universal Images Group / Universal Images Group / COPYRIGHT: © Lebrecht Music & ArtsFor Education Use Only. These and millions of other educational images are available through Britannica Image Quest. For a free trial, please visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial



Image D

St George killing the dragon, fresco by Jaquerio school, 15th century, Fenis Castle, Aosta, 14th century, Valle d'Aosta, Italy / CREDIT: De Agostini / G. Roli / Universal Images Group / COPYRIGHT: Image provided by De Agostini Editore

Image E

A study for 'La Belle Dame sans Merci', c.1893/ CREDIT: Christie's Images / Bridgeman Art Library / Universal Images Group / COPYRIGHT: © Bridgeman Art LibraryFor Education Use Only. / This and millions of other educational images are available through Britannica Image Quest. For a free trial, please visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial



3. Share your ideas within a group and discuss whether you agree or disagree with the following statements about modern relationships:

Women are strong enough to look after themselves.ORMen should protect female partners from danger or harm.

Men should be the dominant partner in a male-female relationship.ORWomen are independent and don’t need men to take control.

Women can be heroic as well as men.OROnly men can be heroes.

Traditional views of male heroism and chivalry are out of date.ORTraditional views of male heroism and chivalry are still relevant today.

4. Link your discussion about gender roles back to the poem.

Why do you think the speaker presents her partner in this traditional role in the poem?

Do you think she feels the need to defend these views?

Stanza two

1. Look closely at the opening lines of the second stanza:

‘This post-post-modern age is all business: compact disksAnd faxes, a do-it-now-and-take-no-risksEvent.’

What do you find interesting about Rita Dove’s use of language in this quotation?

What does the quotation suggest about modern American society?



Does it help to explain Rita Dove’s use of romantic, traditional images in the first stanza?



2. This stanza is focused on the impending arrival of Hurricane Floyd. Research Hurricane Floyd, finding answers to the following questions:

Where did it occur? When did it occur? What were the physical effects? What were the effects on human life?

3. What effect does the impending hurricane have on the speaker in this poem? Why?

4. Compare and contrast Rita Dove’s presentation of male and female relationships in the first two stanzas, by annotating your copy of the poem.

Look for examples of imagery, alliteration, rhyme, assonance, and other techniques, as well as interesting language choices. After annotating your poem, write out your answer in a full paragraph, using evidence to support your ideas.

Stanza three1. In this stanza we are presented with the speaker’s overall thoughts and feelings about her relationship. Working with a partner, decide if you agree or disagree with the following statements. Choose a quotation from the poem to support the statements that you agree with.

The speaker wishes that she had a more interesting relationship.

The speaker is very much in love with her partner.

The speaker is dependent upon her partner to protect her.

The speaker is very happy in her relationship.



The speaker feels trapped by her relationship.

The speaker has a romantic, idealised view of love which isn’t matched by her experiences.

The speaker worries about what others think about her choice of partner.

The speaker feels embarrassed about her cosy existence with her partner.

The speaker is nostalgic about relationships that she had in the past.

The speaker accepts that some people disapprove of her choice of partner, but she is satisfied with her choice.

2. As the poem is dedicated ‘for Fred’ we can assume that the poem was originally written about and dedicated to Rita Dove’s husband, Fred Viebahn. Rita Dove is black and African American, and Fred Viebahn is white and German. What difference does this information make to your understanding of the poem?

3. Write down any questions that you still have about the poem.


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