(no subject)
Part 1: Reflection
Both Rita Dove’s “Persephone, Falling” and “The Pomegranate” by Eavan Boland make reference to the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Both poems address the myth, then switch and draw parallels from the myth’s messages to daily life. Boland describes the myth in the first stanza of her poem. Then in the second stanza, she describes situations with her own daughter that mimic the poem. Dove also describes the myth in the first stanza. She doesn’t come out and say “I am talking about the myth of Demeter and Persephone”, but she explains a situation close enough that the reader can draw the parallel. She then goes on to explain the myth by using phrases of caution from everyday life. Where Dove uses the myth as a cautionary tale to those who would put themselves in jeopardy of being taken, Boland takes a more sensitive approach. She describes Persephone as his daughter, and what she would do to save her if she was put in Demeter’s situation. Where both poems show similarities in how they compare the myth of Demeter and Persephone to real life, they differ in what they’ve taken from the myth as a theme. Dove perceives the myth as a sign of caution, where Boland decides to comment on the relationship between mother and daughter.
Part 2: Looking Ahead
Auden is using the myth of Icarus quite ingeniously to make a point about how human beings view their lives. The important events in a person’s life are only important to them. An amazing event in someone else’s life will have little to no effect on you because it is not your life.
The myth of Icarus may be popular because of how it touches on the relationship between father and son, as well as the pressures that a father can put on his son. When Icarus’ father makes the wings to help them escape from Crete, he warms Icarus of what he must avoid doing in order to fly successfully. By disobeying his father, Icarus receives the ultimate punishment, death.
Both Rita Dove’s “Persephone, Falling” and “The Pomegranate” by Eavan Boland make reference to the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Both poems address the myth, then switch and draw parallels from the myth’s messages to daily life. Boland describes the myth in the first stanza of her poem. Then in the second stanza, she describes situations with her own daughter that mimic the poem. Dove also describes the myth in the first stanza. She doesn’t come out and say “I am talking about the myth of Demeter and Persephone”, but she explains a situation close enough that the reader can draw the parallel. She then goes on to explain the myth by using phrases of caution from everyday life. Where Dove uses the myth as a cautionary tale to those who would put themselves in jeopardy of being taken, Boland takes a more sensitive approach. She describes Persephone as his daughter, and what she would do to save her if she was put in Demeter’s situation. Where both poems show similarities in how they compare the myth of Demeter and Persephone to real life, they differ in what they’ve taken from the myth as a theme. Dove perceives the myth as a sign of caution, where Boland decides to comment on the relationship between mother and daughter.
Part 2: Looking Ahead
Auden is using the myth of Icarus quite ingeniously to make a point about how human beings view their lives. The important events in a person’s life are only important to them. An amazing event in someone else’s life will have little to no effect on you because it is not your life.
The myth of Icarus may be popular because of how it touches on the relationship between father and son, as well as the pressures that a father can put on his son. When Icarus’ father makes the wings to help them escape from Crete, he warms Icarus of what he must avoid doing in order to fly successfully. By disobeying his father, Icarus receives the ultimate punishment, death.