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''Lady Freedom Among Us'' by Rita Dove (1993)

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Terminale Littéraire – Section internationale Américaine

COMMENTARY

''Lady Freedom Among Us'' by Rita Dove (1993)

        ''Lady Freedom Among Us'' is an ekphrastic poem which has been written in 1993 by Rita Dove. On a first level of understanding, it celebrates the restauration of the Capital Building of Washington's lady freedom statue. On second thoughts, with a more symbolic perspective, the poet expresses a tribute to the fundamental access to liberty rights for everyone. Rita Dove uses a persuasive and determined tone combined to a free verse structure, a personification along with an extended metaphor of the lady freedom statue and numerous allusions to American symbols to remind how freedom is essential for every social class in the United States and has been hardly acquired, so that it must be protected under all conditions.

        At first sight, the speaker seems convinced by his ideas and directs his message to everybody. Indeed, the words Dove used to define the audience of her poem are clear and apply to everyone ''you'' ''your'' '' all of you   even the least of you''. Thanks to that, every person who hears the poem feels concerned and pays attention to what is said. Moreover, the ''us'' pronoun unites the speaker to its audience. It helps to establish a confident ambiance, which is indispensable to express a tribute to freedom.

        Similarly, one can remark that the tone is persuasive and determined. The ''don't'' anaphoras, the ''get'', ''fly'', ''go'' verbs joined to ''no choice'' ''resolute ''will not'', as well as the caesura ''all of you    even the least of you'' obstinately tell how one has to behave towards the freedom right and reinforce the large audience impression. The speaker affirms one has to be self-confident because there is no possible change about the right to freedom. It is protected by everyone since it has been acquired, and it will still be protected.

        Then, the poem has been written in a free verse structure that is visible through the absence of rhyme scheme and metrical pattern.         Dove's intention to follow the rhythm of natural speech tends to reinforce the idea that freedom concerns everyone. One can argue that it implicitly expresses the speaker/poet refers to himself through the poem's form in order to reveal he is as free as the audience. Consequently, the poem's motive is rapidly understood by its listeners.

        Secondly, the poet introduces the description of the lady freedom statue of the Capital Building's as a personification and extended metaphor/allegory for the general ideas conveyed by freedom in general. One can understand that the speaker is portraying the statue through ''leaden skirts'' meaning metallic skirts and ''blunt reproach'' meaning that the piece is on the top of the monument. On the first hand, the personification is set through the human attitudes which are attributed to the statue ''she has risen'' ''she has fitted […] and spruced'' ''drenched gaze''. In fact, the statue is used to symbolize every social class which struggled to obtain freedom – ''leaden skirts'' suggesting armor, ''hand-me-down cap'' ''layers of charity'' as metonymies for the poor and homeless people, and ''blunt reproach'' as a proof of their desire for justice. It emphasizes the fact that everyone is concerned by freedom.

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