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Transcript

"ALZHEIMER'S"

A poem by Kelly Cherry

Alzheimer's as a Medical Condition

About the Disease

  • Discovered in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer when he uncovered shrinkage and depleted brain tissue in one of his patients.
  • The disease is a type of advanced dementia that causes problems with memory, behaviour and the loss of cognitive functioning.

Signs and Symptoms

  • Memory loss/problems
  • Vision issues
  • Impaired judgment or reasoning
  • Wandering
  • Confusion
  • Troubles recognizing familiar faces
  • Problems reading/writing
  • Inability to learn new things, cope with new situations,
  • Agitation/Anxiety
  • Sleeplessness
  • Aggression

Cherry's Background

Timeline

  • Born in December of 1940 in Louisiana, and grew up in New York and Virginia.
  • Studied philosophy at the University of Virginia, received her MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
  • Retired in 1999, currently resides in Virginia.

About Her Writings

  • Has published over 17 books on poetry and over 20 different other works.
  • The poem comes from Cherry's book Death and Transfiguration.

Context of Poem

  • Both of Cherry's parents were professional violinists.
  • “Alzheimer's” may have been written about her father, who was diagnosed with the disease.

Formal Elements

Tone

“crazy old man, mind rattling”

  • In opening lines.
  • Speaker seems frustrated with old man.
  • Attitude changes from frustration to sadness throughout the poem.

Structure

  • Free form of poetry, represents his scattered thoughts.

  • Poor punctuation acts as further evidence of the character’s scattered thoughts.
  • The poor punctuation and structure of the poem worsens throughout the poem, showing the progression of the disease.
  • The unconventional way that the end of some phrases are at the beginning of the next line represent his "broken" mind.

Symbolism

“import”

  • Represents him forgetting words, instead of Cherry using “importance.”

“roses and columbine slug it out for space”

  • Symbolic of his thoughts battling for space against the disease in his mind.

“peculiar screeching of strings”

  • Represents how music, something that used to be of great value to him, is now foreign and strange because of the disease.

Symbolism

continued

Significant Symbols:

  • "Clutter"
  • "Rain" and "Sun"
  • "Plants"
  • "Woman"
  • "Memory"

Conclusion

Personal Anecdotes

Personal Anecdotes

Any Questions?

Any Questions?

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