Sonnet in Primary Colors and Rosa poem analysis

Poems Essay
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Poems essay
Rita Dove is a renowned poet of the 20th century. Her poet works reflect on the lives on many iconic persons. Her poem “Rosa” reflects on racial segregation that was experienced by Rosa Park, an Africa-American woman. “Sonnet in Primary Colors” focuses on Frida Kahlo, a famous painter from Mexico City. The two poems bring out Rita’s unmatched style of writing. Engaging different stylistic devices and themes, Rita makes the two poems exceptional.
The poem "Rosa" brings out a number of themes. One of the outstanding themes depicted by the poem is Race. Racism was at its peak in Montgomery in Alabama. Black-American residents had to seat at the back of the bus and the whites sat on fronts. Rosa Parks decided to sit on the seat that was reserved for white people. This stirred a lot of racial overtones from the white people in the bus. The first stanza describes the situation like “The time was right inside a place, so wrong it was ready.” (Dove, 2000) Being in a section that was secluded for the white people amounted to a wrong doing.
The extremism of racism is described in the fourth. "How she stood up, when they bent down to retrieve her purse." The police got involved in the incident after the whites refused that the bus would not move an inch until Rosa left the seat. The police came in and arrested Rosa parks, demonstrating the highest order of racism. Another theme in the poem is power. Power struggle is usually experienced in communities with people of different culture, race and social beliefs.
The white people wanted to establish that they were more superior to the black people. The relationship between the two groups was that of a master and servant. The black people tried to stand up for their rights. The white people were hell-bent on oppressing the blacks. This is evident when the police arrested Rosa Parks for sitting in a bus segment reserved for the white people. The whites vowed to do whatever it takes to impose their power on the black people.
The theme of courage stands out in the poem. Rosa Parks stood against the odds and sat on a seat that belonged to the white people. This was a daring act. She knew the consequences were dire but went ahead to sit. Her courage was a great step in liberating the black people from segregation. One cannot help to admire Rosa Parks. Her bravery was unexpected because of her gender. One would have expected a man to do what Rosa Parks did.
On the other hand, “Sonnet in Primary Colors” reveals more about Frida Kahlo’s life as a communist and her love life. Kahlo used her paintings to express her feelings. Through her paintings, Kahlo connected with her audience. The second paragraph states, “And rose to her easel, the hundred dogs panting.” The panting dogs define the lovers of Kahlo’s work who are yearning to see more of her work. Dove begins by describing the beautiful Kahlo. It is evident that not only her paintings are beautiful, but Kahlo is also beautiful. "Lovely Frida, erect among parrot." (Dove, 2000) The line describes Kahlo's beauty.
Kahlo relayed her communist ideas through the use of paintings. The second stanza describes one of her paintings where she includes pictures of three renowned communists. The stanza states, “Lenin and Max and Stalin arrayed at the foot stead.” Including the paintings of the three communicates to the world that Kahlo believes in communism.
Another theme in this poem is pain. Kahlo had been involved in a bus accident that caused her pain. Kahlo also separated with her husband Diego which tormented her so much. The events of their separation changed her. "Each night she lay down in pain and rose to the celluloid butterflies of her Beloved Dead." This line clearly defines the pain Kahlo underwent after the accident. Waking up in the morning, there was no one to console her except for the memories of her husband who she had divorced.
In both poems, Dove employs different stylistic devices with a few similarities. The poem “Rosa” is made up of four stanzas each having three lines. The poem “Sonnet in Primary Colors” has two stanzas each having seven lines. Both poems are a free verse. Dove has used this style to create a flow in her poems. The lines in Rosa are comparatively shorter than the lines in Sonnet of Primary Colors. Rosa is somehow simple and easy to understand compared to Sonnet in Primary Colors. Both poems lack meter and rhyme.
The personas in both poems are f...