Quotations:
- From “Mourning Picture” (Seelye): “With doll and lamb in a brown study, waiting for a transcendent school bus to carry her away. The nervous parents avoid each other’s eyes, hoping she’ll make the heavenly grade”
- From “Mourning Picture” (Rich): “I could remake each shaft of grass feeling its rasp on my fingers, draw out the map of every lilac leaf or the net of veins on my father’s grief-tranced hand.”
Comment:
The Seelye example comes from a third-person point of view, included in a poem which is more of a description of what the painting is about. The Rich example is much more emotional, coming from the point of view of the child who seems to have passed away. I felt that these quotes both describe the same situation, but from different points of view. The first quote discusses the nervous emotions of the parents, comparing them to emotions that they might have felt when their child was alive. The second quote describes the heavenly child watching their parents feel these emotions. These quotes both have heavy, painful language, which is why I feel they connect really well.
Question:
- How does the historical context given in Seelye’s poem change the feeling of Rich’s poem? Does it feel more emotional?
