Intro and body paragraph: Student Exemplar:
Rita Dove: Educational Value and The Understanding of Identity
Rita Dove, a brilliant post-modern African American poet, once stated, “The American Dream is a phrase we’ll have to wrestle with all of our lives. It means a lot of things to different people. I think we’re redefining it now” (“Rita Dove Quotes and Sayings”). For Dove herself, the American Dream plays a huge role in her life because of her intellectual capabilities and African American background. She was born on August 28, 1952 in Akron, Ohio to Ray Dove, the first African American chemist to take part in the tire and rubber industry, and Elvira Hord, a woman who was an intelligent high school student with a boundless passion for learning. Dove inherited this love of knowledge as well and was academically inclined; she was named a “Presidential Scholar” in 1970 and was the third African American and the youngest poet of all time, to be given a post of distinction at the U.S. Library of Congress (Newsmakers). She also received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1987 for Thomas and Beulah, along with many other honors and awards. Her status as a famous poet of her generation reached great heights as a result of Thomas and Beulah, which is based on the lives of her African American grandparents. Dove’s personal and academic histories and achievements have merged together to create an inspiration for much of her work. Rita Dove takes great pride in speaking about her African American heritage and explores the limits of rational thinking, yet she also describes how logical thinking and creativity are intertwined. Using symbols and metaphors in her poems “The Fish in the Stone” and “Geometry,” Dove infuses herappreciation for education and the success that it leads to in life along with the understanding of her African American identity and passion for
In the poem “Geometry”, Dove presents a new view about the relationship between structured, sensible thinking and creative, imaginative expression. The first couple lines of the poem discuss how the barriers between the two types of thinking are starting to break down. In lines 4-6, Dove writes, “As the wall clear themselves of everything / but transparency, the scent of carnations / leaves with them” (Dove). These lines explain how the tight constrictions of rational thinking slowly disintegrate as the strong padding of the structure is removed when “the house expands” (Dove). As Judi Kettler remarks, the house is used as a metaphor for the mind (Kettler). This may frighten those who are not used to expanding into the world of the unknown; however, Dove incorporates the symbol of carnations to exemplify that this freedom into an open environment is quite beneficial and will in fact lead to a path of innovation. Carnations usually represent fascination, and in this example, these flowers may embody the speaker’s growing curiosity as their limits are expanded beyond the house of structured thinking (Green). As David Kelly comments, “It is too simple to say that logic and instinct are mutually exclusive, that the world has room for nature or rationality, but not both… The combination of reason with physicality is what defines humanity.” If humans did not apply both reason and instinct to solve issues, then everything in the world would be very systematic and homogeneous. Along with symbols, Dove also incorporates metaphors in her poem. According to Kettler, “Just as the house can be read as a metaphor for the mind, geometry itself has a metaphorical quality, especially as it relates to Dove’s true love: poetry.” Dove is not simply observing the relationship between rational and creative thinking, but she is also forging a foundation from which both methods of reasoning may combine into one. Another metaphor employed by Dove is the bright sunlight that is “glinting” (Dove) when the two worlds finally collide. This indicates that when the door of possibilities is ajar, the future is bright, and there are many new aspects to discover. “Geometry” explains the prospect of the collaboration of logic and instinct; furthermore, it provides a visual image of the benefits of combining these two qualities and proves that when both are considered, success may be achieved.
NOTE the bolded literary terms used by the writer.