Essay Questions

What is the legend of Ceres and Persephone?

In the poem ‘’The Pomegranate’’, the narrator mentions how the only legend she ever liked was that of Ceres and Persephone. Because the narrator liked the legend so much, she often compared herself and other members of her family with various elements in the legend. In the Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and the Goddess of crops, Demeter. Persephone was noticed by Ceres, or Hades, who promptly felt in love with her and kidnapped her, taking her to the Underworld. There, Ceres tried to convince Persephone but she refused, knowing that if she were to eat something, she will never be allowed to leave the Underworld. After a few days, Persephone gave in and ate some pomegranate seeds, thus sealing her fate. The pomegranate appears in the poem with the same name as well and the fruit is found near the narrator’s daughter. Just like in the legend the pomegranate had an important role, it is also important for the narrator and the future of her daughter.

What is the idea transmitted in the poem ‘’Harbor’’?

The poem ‘’Harbor’’can be read as a political poem because of the ideas promoted and alluded in the poem. The narrator focuses on the harbor that survived years after years until a treaty was signed in the water and the harbor lost its power and collapsed. The harbor may have been used in this poem as a way to make reference to the resilience of the Irish people who fought for their independence year after year. When they decided to cease the violence, a treaty was signed in the water and Ireland lost its power, symbolized here by the collapse of the harbor. It is also important to note that not only the harbor was affected, but also the rest of the city that slowly became engulfed in shadows and surrounded by darkness.

Why does the narrator claim that she becomes Anne Bradstreet?

In the poem ‘’Becoming Anne Bradstreet’’, the narrator describes one of her lectures of her favorite poet. As the narrator reads poem after poem, she feels as if she is there with the poet, watching the same things as she did when she wrote the poems read by the narrator. Slowly, through the poems, the narrator understands the type of life Anne Bradstreet had and the struggles she had to face. Because of this, the narrator fells as if she became Anne Bradstreet because those experiences were transmitted through the words the narrator read and then experienced almost first hand. This poem also wants to transmit the idea that literature allows us to live the lives of those about who we read about and that in a way, we become the characters in the books we enjoy.