BLOG # 10
PART: ONE
Eavan Boland's "Pomegranate" and Rita Dove's "Persephone, Falling" are both thoughtful interpretations of a popular greek myth concerning Ceres and Persephone. Although there are similarities between Dove's poem and Bolen's there are also distinct differences in the way that the two authour's have chosen to express the loss of innocence experienced within the two . Dove expresses the myth as one of a young girl whose foolish infatuation with a member of the opposite sex ends up having unforeseen consequences. "One narcissus among the ordinary beautiful flowers, one unlike all the others!". This description of how she unexpectedly stumbles upon a flower different from all the rest is symbolic of her falling in love with a man for the first time. "She pulled, stooped to pull harder- when, sprung out of the earth on his glittering terrible carriage, he claimed his due." Dove's description is pointed and shocks the reader into understanding how a young innocense has just been stolen when she unknowingly picks the flower and unleashes its wrath. Boland's approach is much softer and is told from the point of view of a mother who is watching her daughter make her passage into womanhood. " When she came running I was ready to make any bargain to keep her. I carried her back past whitebeams and wasps and honey-scented buddleias. But I was Ceres then and I knew winter was in store for every leaf on every tree on that road." Boland is describing her own experience as she entered motherhood and looked upon her newborn daughter for the first time knowing all to well the challenges that life had in store for her. "If I defer the grief I will diminish the gift".The authour describes wanting to warn her daughter of this impending peril yet she knows that the pain of growing up is crucial to her daughter's development and eventual realization of self. Both author's contribute an important point of view when analyzing the myth of Ceres and Persephone. Dove shares her point of view of a woman scorned and Boland expresses her loving plea for her daughter's safe passage into womanhood. The legend of Ceres and Persephone is timeless and will undoubtedly be debated and interpreted in many different ways for years to come - "I will say nothing".
PART: TWO
The point that Auden is making in his poem is one that implies that the selfish pursuits of man often go unoticed. Although important to Icarus that he be able to fly without boundaries It was this decision alone that resulted in his own death - no one elses. It is an open and shut case of natural selection where every decision has a consequence that must be accepted. That is part of having the responsibility in making one's own decisions: you must be willing to accept the consequences. We are not who we say we are; we are our choices- what we do. I believe this myth may be popular in describing the male experience in that every young man will inevitably challenge his father's will. It reminds me of a saying: An old wolf and a young wolf are sitting up high on a cliff watching a herd of sheep graze. The younger wolf says to the older wolf "lets run down there and get a sheep". The old wolf looks at the young wolf and calmly answers: "son lets walk down there and get them all". Youth and impatience go hand in hand. Icarus lacked the experience or foresight to understand the consequences of his decisions and it resulted in his death.
Eavan Boland's "Pomegranate" and Rita Dove's "Persephone, Falling" are both thoughtful interpretations of a popular greek myth concerning Ceres and Persephone. Although there are similarities between Dove's poem and Bolen's there are also distinct differences in the way that the two authour's have chosen to express the loss of innocence experienced within the two . Dove expresses the myth as one of a young girl whose foolish infatuation with a member of the opposite sex ends up having unforeseen consequences. "One narcissus among the ordinary beautiful flowers, one unlike all the others!". This description of how she unexpectedly stumbles upon a flower different from all the rest is symbolic of her falling in love with a man for the first time. "She pulled, stooped to pull harder- when, sprung out of the earth on his glittering terrible carriage, he claimed his due." Dove's description is pointed and shocks the reader into understanding how a young innocense has just been stolen when she unknowingly picks the flower and unleashes its wrath. Boland's approach is much softer and is told from the point of view of a mother who is watching her daughter make her passage into womanhood. " When she came running I was ready to make any bargain to keep her. I carried her back past whitebeams and wasps and honey-scented buddleias. But I was Ceres then and I knew winter was in store for every leaf on every tree on that road." Boland is describing her own experience as she entered motherhood and looked upon her newborn daughter for the first time knowing all to well the challenges that life had in store for her. "If I defer the grief I will diminish the gift".The authour describes wanting to warn her daughter of this impending peril yet she knows that the pain of growing up is crucial to her daughter's development and eventual realization of self. Both author's contribute an important point of view when analyzing the myth of Ceres and Persephone. Dove shares her point of view of a woman scorned and Boland expresses her loving plea for her daughter's safe passage into womanhood. The legend of Ceres and Persephone is timeless and will undoubtedly be debated and interpreted in many different ways for years to come - "I will say nothing".
PART: TWO
The point that Auden is making in his poem is one that implies that the selfish pursuits of man often go unoticed. Although important to Icarus that he be able to fly without boundaries It was this decision alone that resulted in his own death - no one elses. It is an open and shut case of natural selection where every decision has a consequence that must be accepted. That is part of having the responsibility in making one's own decisions: you must be willing to accept the consequences. We are not who we say we are; we are our choices- what we do. I believe this myth may be popular in describing the male experience in that every young man will inevitably challenge his father's will. It reminds me of a saying: An old wolf and a young wolf are sitting up high on a cliff watching a herd of sheep graze. The younger wolf says to the older wolf "lets run down there and get a sheep". The old wolf looks at the young wolf and calmly answers: "son lets walk down there and get them all". Youth and impatience go hand in hand. Icarus lacked the experience or foresight to understand the consequences of his decisions and it resulted in his death.