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    A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet"
    A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet"
    A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet"
    Ebook34 pages23 minutes

    A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateSep 2, 2016
    ISBN9781535824170
    A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet"

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      Book preview

      A Study Guide for Rita Dove's "Grape Sherbet" - Gale

      11

      Grape Sherbet

      Rita Dove

      1983

      Introduction

      Former Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Frances Dove is known for her confident, multidimensional verse that reflects her insight into what it means to be a woman, an African American, an American, and a person. Her poetry is not about advancing an agenda but sharing something personal and meaningful with the reader. Much of her poetry is set in the past, giving the speaker the advantage of perspective and wisdom. Although some of it is emotionally charged, it can also be nostalgic without veering into idealism. Published in 1983 in the collection Museum, Grape Sherbet is such a poem. The speaker shares a specific childhood memory, part of a tradition in which her father took the children to play in the cemetery on Memorial Day. The speaker has fond feelings as she looks back. She remembers feeling carefree at the time, and now the benefit of maturity leaves her feeling grateful to and appreciative of her father.

      Grape Sherbet is not a poem whose meaning is clear on first glance, it requires the reader to do some work to uncover the significance of the memory. The process forces the reader deeper into the speaker's memory, slowly arriving at the meaning of the event. It is likely the same process the speaker herself went through to understand why her father held such a tradition. The poem's themes include impermanence, memory, and family.

      Author Biography

      Dove was born in Akron, Ohio, on August 28, 1952. Her parents were Elvira and Ray Dove. Her father was a research chemist who was successful in the tire industry despite the challenges that African Americans faced. As a child, Dove was encouraged to read the many books around her home. Her love of reading and natural creativity led to the writing and production of plays. Dove attended Miami University in Oxford,

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