"All American Sestina"

"All-American Sestina" by Florence Cassen Mayers

The "All-American Sestina" brings to light the materialism and consumerism of the American Dream and all that is associated with it. The form of the sestina highlights the numbers one to six, emphasizing the quantity, not quality, of All-American ideals. Americans value the biggest and the best of everything, from a "two pound lobster" to a "two- car garage."

However, American is "one nation, indivisible." Perhaps Mayers comments on the unity of the American people under the banner of these ideals, no matter the ethical standing of the ideals. The victorious tone of lines such as "three cheers" and "five-star general" reveal the idea that Americans are some sort of a master race, the best and the brightest. One might notice, however, that none of the listed words have a negative tone. Mayers could certainly have written the sestina with a negative view of America.

Mixed in with the modern facets of America, the "six-pack Bud" and the "five-karat diamond," are the old ideas associated with the young America: the lines "one-room schoolhouse," "four score and seven years ago, and "one-horse town." These images are inexpensive and seemingly archaic, however they represent the glory of America even better than do a "two-car garage" and "two tone Chevy."

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"Woman's Work," by Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez comments on the domestic lives of women and the dispute over their role in a household. Her conclusion, however, is unexpected. She writes that she "became [her] mother's child" and took up her own form of housekeeping. One might expect her to condemn "woman's work" as degrading or unjust, how­­ever, Alvarez seems to comment that "[scrubbing] the bathroom tiles" can be just as high an art as writing, or "housekeeping paper."

The repeated description of "woman's work" in the villanelle, "hard art" or "high art," seems mocking in the second stanza. However, her tone shifts after she works "at home on her [own] art." This change of meaning, though in like phrases, reveals the complexity of this villanelle.

Though Alvarez does not condone her imprisonment in her mother’s “housebound heart,” she comes to understand that housework is not inherently bad. Her mother’s housework revealed her pride and insecurity. This is evident in her “masterpiece”: her daughter. Alvarez became just another bathroom tile or wrinkly shirt for her mother to perfect and show off. This furthers a theme that the repetition highlights: the “heart” behind the “art.” The purpose behind one’s art determines its legitimacy. If a woman, or any person, enjoys serving his or her family through housework, it becomes an art. However, if one uses it as a means to gain popularity or status, it becomes a “prison” to oneself and to others. 

"Ode to a Grecian Urn," by John Keats

An ancient work of art in-hand, John Keats gazes on the beauty and paradox of the figures represented. He turns the urn in his hand, organizing his address to it by its physical attributes. Uniform iambic pentameter and semi-uniform rhyme dominate this apostrophe.

Comparing the Urn to an "unravish'd bride" and a "sylvan historian," Keats establishes his whimsical yet ultimately somber tone. The subjects of the Urn find themselves in passionate, "unwearied" frames. At first, Keats longingly describes these characters who do not age or grow weary of love. However, in the second and fourth stanzas, Keats describes two unfortunate situations where the characters are frozen in time: the first, a ""youth" awaiting a kiss from his lover, and, the second, a barren city "emptied of its folk" for a festival. Though these pictures are not inherently saddening, their inability to move in time deprives them of experiencing joy. On the other hand, Keats reflects on the frozen lover writing," For ever panting, and for ever young/All breathing human passion far above." Though the youth is unable to experience the kiss, he doesn't have to risk experiencing feelings of dissatisfaction or heartbreak.

This discussion of the characters’ position in time brings the ode to a deeper meaning. Though the idea of eternal youth and passion sounds enviable at first, Keats notes that the characters’ stagnation in time. Being frozen in youth means that the characters will not experience the wisdom and faithful relationships of old age. Being frozen in youth means that the characters “shlat remain in midst of other woe/than ours.”