Essay Questions

What is the main idea transmitted through the poem "My Box’’?

The box, as the narrator admits, was a handmade gift for her made by her lover. The box was crafted over many days, the lover spending days and nights working on the box and then giving it to the narrator. The narrator describes the contents of the box: twelve diaries she wrote, detailing the way in which she and her partner made their relationship work. The process of making the box, keeping a relationship alive and writing the twelve diaries is described as being a tedious one, which took an extremely long time. The narrator ends the poem by claiming she wants to leave the box to those who will come after her, to make them realize how good things come through hard work and with a lot of patience. Thus, through this poem, the narrator urges her readers to have patience and to never give up, no matter how hard everything seems to be.

What could the falling symbolize in the poem "Falling’’?

In the poem mentioned above, the narrator describes an instance where she fell in her kitchen. The narrator hoped her partner would be there to catch her but unfortunately he let her fall and then he helped her back to her feet and nursed her back to health. The falling could symbolize here the idea of falling in love with a person who does not have the same feelings or with someone who may be manipulative and have a negative influence on a person. These ideas are suggested in the poem through the descriptions of the injuries sustained by the narrator after the fall and through the description of the pain felt by the narrator.

What could the hare symbolize in the poem "The Hare’’?

In the poem mentioned above, the narrator has a conversation with one of her friends, a slightly older woman who still wants to have a child. While the two women are talking, they hear a baby crying and after a few moments they realize that it was not a baby, but instead a hare. The small animal is similar to a rabbit but is a very solitary creature. The hare is used in many legends to suggest fertility, impatience and change. The hare ends up representing the unknown female character in the poem, a woman who does not have any patience and who ends up having to deal with the consequences of her impatience.