

This poem is the third in a series of three poems about being young that she has written. As dinner plates and eyelashes like sharpened tines. Then they come, the three seal men with eyes as round.

Venetian blinds slice up the moon the tiles quiver in pale strips. Sweat prickles behind my knees, the baby-breasts are alert. She often gives public readings of her poems and intends them to be read aloud. Showcases the diversity of the poets work, including such topics as love, Greek myths, and Americas kaleidoscopic cultural heritage. Although it is night, I sit in the bathroom, waiting. Over his shoulder, I see my father coming toward us: Dove wants to audience to find a sense of innocence in their life in order to still be a child at heart.Along the window-sill, the lipstick stubsĪnd chicken maure, I dreamed how it would happen: This however changes with Linda's comment about boys, which eventually makes her wonder about adolescence.ĭove uses the topic of innocence to conclude the theme that people should have innocence in their life, because they will never know to view the world from a child's view. Although it is night, I sit in the bathroom, waiting. The friendly tone adds to the innocence of children, saying that children are always playful and their view of the world is different from the way the "streetlights ping" and turn "into miniature suns". Her poems range from describing the highs and lows of dance ('the audience / forget them') to the twisting path of growing up in 'Adolescence II': One on the bathtub edge one leans against the door. It is as though the author is trying to relive the happy memory before learning about being an adolescent. Dove is a natural fit for the the collaboration. The way she says "tickling grasses and whispered" and "A firefly whirred near my ear" shows that its a friendly attitude. C Then they come, the three seal men with eyes as round D As dinner plates and eyelashes like sharpened tines. B Venetian blinds slice up the moon the tiles quiver in pale strips. A Sweat prickles behind my knees, the baby-breasts are alert. The way Dove presents the poem shows the innocent mind of children. Adolescence-II BY RITA DOVE Although it is night, I sit in the bathroom, waiting. This is the start of letting the speaker wonder about becoming a teenager or adolescence. Linda adds the comment in order to show the child's innocence, because the speaker may not want to know about boys or how a boy's lips are. As they glowed orange in sunlightAnd rotted in shadow, I tooGrew orange and softer, swelling outStarched cotton slips.The texture of twilight made me think ofLengths of Dotted Swiss.

We can assume that there are at least three girls. In Adolescence -I, we are introduced to young girls whispering behind their Grandmother's porch. These poems have no definite structure and differ from each other in style.

However, the girls are not talking about relationships they are basically playing and whispering to each other. With Dad gone, Mom and I workedThe dusky rows of tomatoes. The poem Adolescence by Rita Dove has been written in three parts and through them the growing up of a girl is portrayed. At this time, Linda says, "A boy's lips are soft, As soft as a baby's skin," which is the start of introducing a lesson about relationships. Rita Dove (she/her) was born in Akron, Ohio in 1952. Dove’s first poetry collection The Yellow House on the Corner was published in 1980. She was an excellent student, graduating high school as a Presidential Scholar and eventually moving on to Miami University of Ohio as a National Merit Scholar. The child is playing with her friend or sister when the grandmother, Linda, shows up. Rita Dove was born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio. The three parts poem portrays the different stages of growth and development in the life of the female gender. The speaker of the poem may be unclear, but it can be inferred that the speaker is a child. Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Number Date Rita Doves: Adolescence II Rita Dove’s Adolescence II is the second part of her three parts poem entitled, A Colored Woman’s Adolescence. As Dove presents, innocence is something that is best kept in people all around, so they can see the world differently. This poem reflects the innocence of a child before turning into the change of the century: becoming a teenager. The poem reveals her childhood memories before the change of her life has started. This is one of Rita Dove's famous poems, "Adolescence I". Linda's face hung before us, pale as a pecan,Ī firefly whirred near my ear, and in the distance We knelt in the tickling grasses and whispered: In water-heavy nights behind grandmother's porch
