Symbol Analysis
For a poem so intent on painting a simple, modest picture of Rosa Parks, it does have some pretty complex phrases strung together. Dove probably isn't including these mind twisters because she's mean (we don't know her personally, but she seems like a pretty nice lady). She's likely doing it for two reasons: 1) They create balance in the poem. If most of the poem is really simple, then adding a little complexity with a mind twister makes for a more satisfying reading experience. 2) They slow us down a bit. Again, the poem is made up of short, simple lines. If Dove didn't include some mixed-up syntax (the arrangement of words in a sentence), we'd breeze right through. The mind twisters allow us to pause, think, and savor each line. And, let's face it, they're kind of fun to unravel.
- Lines 2–3: What the what? This does make sense; it just takes a sec to unravel. The time refers to the time in history. It's the 1950s and racial segregation and discrimination is common practice. The place is Montgomery, Alabama and it was "wrong" because, as part of the Deep South, it was pretty much the hotbed for racial tension.
- Lines 4–6: In the mind-twisting world of Rita Dove, names can have dreams. What do they dream of? Why, resting on a bench, of course! This idea becomes significantly less ridiculous when you figure out that the name stands for the actual person, Rosa Parks, and that the "dream of a bench" refers to her refusal to give up her seat.
- Line 7: Doing nothing isn't nothing, is it? In this case, weird as it sounds, it certainly is something! Don't get it twisted—doing nothing (not giving up her seat) was one of the most impressive acts of the Civil Rights Movement.