Virginia Britannia (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Marianne Moore
- First Published: 1941
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: African Americans, History, Blacks, Colonies or colonization, South or Southerners, Nature, Slavery or slaves, Flowers, Native Americans or American Indians, Horses, Great Britain, Tobacco
The Poem
The twelve stanzas of this poem focus on the visual aspects of Virginia (the colony and then the state), with an emphasis on the British and Latin origins of its early settlers and nomenclature. The poem’s title combines both elements: “Virginia,” in deference to England’s Elizabeth I (known as “the virgin Queen”), and “Britannia,” the Latin name for Britain. Approaching the subject of the poem like an English mariner arriving at the New World, the poet describes the shore of “Old Dominion,” Virginia’s first name. Natural elements mingle with bits...
[The entire page is 1539 words long]
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