Provide evidence from the poem to support one of the two following interpretations of it (or offer your own idea based on evidence
(1) The poet’s father, who is quoted throughout most of the poem, is a sexist man who silences his daughter’s speech, instructs her, though she is an adult, and uses cold and menacing language (and imagery) to keep her in her place. By the end of the poem, though, she puts him in his place.
OR
(2) The poet’s father, who is quoted through most of the poem, is giving his daughter “tough love” advice as she is about ready to venture out in the world. In the poem, he makes it clear what she should and should not do. Tell here what his advice is and why it is good advice. Refer to specific lines or images in the poem.
“the glass flowers of Harvard” = You should look at the item above to learn what the “glass flowers of Harvard” look like. The glass flowers are from the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants. Here is some important information about them.
The collection of flowers that are made of glass but look like real flowers were created by a father (Leopold Blaschka and his son (Rudolf Blaschka) who came to the United States from Czechoslovakia. They did not have the funds to make this art, but a wealthy patron, Elizabeth C. Ware, and her daughter Mary Lee Ware, financed the collection and presented it to Harvard University as a memoral to Mrs. Ware’s husband, Dr. Charles Eliot Ware, class of 1834, Harvard. The father and son artists created 4,300 glass models that represent about 780 plant species from 1886-1936.
“Longfellow’s gave” = Another point that might be helpful to your work with the poem is to know that Longfellow was once one of the most famous poets in the United States. He was buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts, so anyone who is from the east coast, specifically Cambridge, would know where he is buried. (It would be the same as referring to our Brewers’ stadium in Milwaukee.