Persephone, Falling by Rita Dove

[Ms. Knarr]

Persephone, Falling by Rita Dove





One narcissus among the ordinary beautiful

flowers, one unlike all the others! She pulled,

stooped to pull harder—

when, sprung out of the earth

on his glittering terrible

carriage, he claimed his due.

It is finished. No one heard her.



No one! She had strayed from the herd.

(Remember: go straight to school.

This is important, stop fooling around!

Don't answer to strangers. Stick

with your playmates. Keep your eyes down.)

This is how easily the pit

opens. This is how one foot sinks into the ground.

[mattteryek]

1. I feel this poem is about a mother who is very protective of her son. When it says "She had strayed from the herd" it seems like she is changing from the normal. "Go straight to school. This is important, stop fooling around! Don't answer to strangers. Stick with your playmates. Keep your eyes down," shows how picky the woman that 'strayed' from the herd is. However, it seems like she makes her son do this to make sure he succeeds in life, so he doesn't "sink into the ground."

2. I also liked this poem because it shows how a person can be different in a good sense. The mother that 'strayed' from the pack gave her son ridiculous tasks so that he could be safe and succeed in life. However, what seems puzzling to me is that she will not let anyone get to her son. It is as if she wants him completely separated from the world.

3.
Q1- Do you think the mother made a good choice in the sense that "she claimed him"?
Q2- What do you think is meant by the "glittering terrible carriage"?
Q3- Why do you think she gave her son a list of 'remembers'?
Q4- Do you think that by not following the 'remember' list, her son will sink into the grounds?

[samentwistle]

1. I believe, like Matt that this poem is about a mother talking to her son. By making her son follow her strict orders, the mother is causing her child to be sheltered and not interested in having firends. "Stick with you playmates. Keep your eyes down." By telling her son this the mother is creating an anti social son who will be stuck in his social standing in society. When the author states ,"This is how one foot sinks into the ground," I believe that he is stating that the boy being anti social he gets no where in life. He will be stuck in the "pit" of society until he strays from his mother's advice.

2. I didn't like this poem at all because in the end, the mother simply set her son up for failure. The author states that he will fail at whatever he starts becuase of the way that is mother baby-ed him as a child.I also did not enjoy reading this becuase the poem went from the mental image of a beautiful flower to the idea of a son failing at life.

3. 1) Answering Matt's 3rd question, I believe that the mother gave her son a list of remembers to protect him from the dangers of the outside world. I also think she gave him this list to make sure that he would succceed in life, but the reverse happened from what she wanted. 2) Do you think the mother knew that her son would fail based on this poem?

[abigaildolan]

1) I don't agree with what Matt and Sam thought about this poem. I did not think it was about a mother and her son. I think this poem is about a relationship, and how it damaged a woman. It sounds as though it is talking about a woman, a beautiful woman like a flower. She was taken by a man who wanted her after straying from her friends. The man was a bad man and he whisked her away on his 'carriage' before she knew what was happening, refusing to give her up. She was warned against the dangers (perhaps by her mother), but she did not heed them and now she has to face her punishment. She was beautiful she was told to keep her head down so people did not notice her but it didn't work and she strayed. She was all alone (perhaps tempted by the man) when the he took her. I also believe this because the name is Persephone, Falling. In Greek mythology Persephone was taken by Hades because, he believed her beautiful, to be his wife in the underworld away from her home of beautiful gardens with her mother.

2) It was a good poem, but I'm not sure I liked it. It was beautiful, but it didn't flow, I had to stop between words. I did not like the lack of feeling I got from it though. I think when people write poetry they write poetry to express a feeling, but I got very little from this one. I enjoyed reading it but it isn't one of my favorites, and I probably wouldn't seek it out or read it often.

3) I'll be answering Matt's third question. I think the author says 'glittering terrible carriage' because the man is meant to be handsome but bad. Perhaps like a wealthy man who has gained his wealth through less than savory means. Sticking with the idea that it is so connection to Hades and Persephone, Hades was one of the three most powerful gods in Greek mythology. He ruled the underworld, but he dealt in death and misery. It is glittering because it is tempting for the woman to go with the man, but it is terrible because she does not want to go with this bad person.

My Question - In this poem the Author has inserted brackets around a section and then listed several things the person was to remember. Do you think the Author is warning the person in the poem or warning the reader?

[mattteryek]

1. I really like Abigail's interpretation. She provided a different view of the poem that makes more sense and included Greek mythology to support her opinion. Overall I would agree more with her interpretation.

2. I also liked Allie's interpretation of 'glittering terrible carriage.' She described it so that the carriage is very misleading. It may seem appealing on the outside but on the inside it's another world.

3. (Answering Allie's question) I feel the author is warning the reader. Today, most children and women are taken because they do not follow the 'smart' rules. If we do not talk to strangers, or keep to our group of friends inside school, then there is a less likely chance of being taken; like Persephone was by Hades.

[darbycasey]

1. I partically agree with Matt and Sam. I do think it is about a mother talking to her son, but I think she is telling him what she is because she has made mistakes in her past that she doesn't wish for him to make. Therefore, she seems strict, but she doesn't mean for it to come off that way she is just trying to protect him. Even though, like Sam said, she may be creating an anti-social child. Some of what the mother says is valid information, like not talking to strangers, but telling him to keep his eyes down and strange not neccessary. It seems that his mother is teaching him to fear situations he may encounter in his life rather than face them and try to overcome them.

2. I didn't really like this poem either. I think the message of the poem is that sometimes our intentions do not come across as we planned. Here we see a mother who is trying to protect her child, but most people would just view her as a strict mother who is sheltering her child from the world. I like the message, but not the way it was portrayed. To me the poem was portrayed in a negative light and I didn't like that. It's as though the author was trying to show you the negative side so you will go and do the opposite and do the right thing. I don't like that because I dont think that is a very effective way of dealing with the situation at hand.
'
3. In response to Matt's first question: No I don't think the mother maded a good choice in "claiming him." I think by claiming him and trying to shelter him the way it seems she is, she is only going to end up harming him when it comes time for him to grow up and move on with his life.
My Question: What does "It is finished" mean? What is finished?

[mikeriga]

1.) I kind of agree with most of the previous comments, but I think knowing about who Persephone is helps a lot. In my freshman year I remembered that Persephone was kidnapped and held prisoner by Hades, the God of the Underworld. The two Greek characters are shown in this poem. Persephone is the girl, and the kidnapper is Hades; he is shown when he comes out of the ground in his carriage and snatches her. The man coming out of the ground reinforces that it is Hades because it was believed that the underworld was under Earth. The story though is not just about a Greek myth, but it is a message to stay close to your parents, be careful what you say, and stay out of trouble.

2.) I really like this poem because it uses Greek mythology and I personally love stories like that. The message of this story is also very current still today, which is that there are evil people in the world who would kidnap or kill, so be careful and aware. This type of poem I would believe is one that is read to children to keep them safe, but it is also suitable for all ages. This poem is awesome in how it describes Persephone as beautiful, and Hades all evil and sly as depicted in Ancient Greece. Rita Dove wrote a beautiful piece of literature that I will most likely be reading to my kids one day.

3.) To answer Darby when she says "It is finished," she is talking about how the kidnapping is done with and no will know about it. This explained better in the following sentence when it says, "No one heard her."

4.) My question: Why was Persephone pulling flowers? Was it actually flowers she was pulling from the ground?