Cozy Apologia

• What is the poem about?  

  Written in 1999, ‘Cozy Apologia’ is a poem about the poet’s profound love for her husband, set against the arrival of Hurricane Floyd, the deadliest hurricane in US history. As the couple shelter from the storm at home, Dove depicts the strength of her emotion, proving that even ordinary love is worthy of poetic tribute. 
• Poems for comparison:

  • ‘Valentine’ by Carol An Duffy: unconventional love and its complexities
  • ‘Afternoons’ by Philip Larkin: ordinary life and marriage
  • ‘She Walks in Beauty’ by Lord Byron: love and adoration
  • ‘Sonnet 43’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: love 
  • ‘The Manhunt’ by Simon Armitage: love and external events
• “This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blueMy pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page”


  The speaker finds reminders of her husband in everything,  even in an ordinary lamp. This contrasts with the poetic tradition of comparing a lover with grandiose images such as summer, heaven and stars. This implies the authenticity of their love and strength in the ordinary
• “I could pick anything and think of you—This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue”

  The first two lines are written in iambic pentameter (a common structure found in love sonnets) but lacks a fixed metrical structure throughout. This departure from the established form suggests the speaker’s love does not conform to an idealised stereotype
• “And, sure as shooting arrows to the heart,Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart”

  The allusion to "arrows to the heart" humorously parallels Cupid's influence on their love, while the next line parodies a heroic knight's tale. These grandiose genres contrast with the poem’s depiction of a warm, intimate bond that does not need elevation
• “We’re content, but fall short of the Divine.Still, it’s embarrassing, this happiness—”

  Caesura highlights the contrast between their current contentment and the ideal of divine happiness. It highlights the poem's message of valuing ordinary moments of happiness, however mundane they appear