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1. Describe the prosody using the description of a sestina.

Prosody is a term refering to speech elements. A sestina is a poem composed of 6 stanzas each containing 6 lines, a sestina also has a 3 line closing stanza called an envoy.  The prosody of the poem is the language used, not only does the poet use english, she also adds spanish into the poem to get her point accrossed, that language (as spoken) is not as effective to providing meaning as the feeling that comes along with the word. I don’t know how else to answer this, it is not an actualy question in the book.

2.  In first staza, what is the effect of personification and allusion? What is the spanish counterpart to each? Sum up the meaning of the stanza.

The stanza basically means that the author is having trouble saying what she truly means in English and she has trouble translating small words.  The personification and allusion give the reader the fealing that the english words aren’t as important or meaningful as the spanish terms.

3. What mood or feelings are envoked in stanza 2? How does language create this mood?

The second stanza is soothing, calming, with the spanish words as calming sounds.  She says they was over her, like the warm waters of her childhood home.  The language of the spanish vocabulary help to add to this.

4. What do we learn about stanzas two and three about the difference between names and vocabulary words? How does the example of the plant called the morivivir help illustrate this gap?  What does the metaphor of the genii in the bottle tell us about the nature of the language?

Names soothe the poet, the Spanish ones helping her feel calm.  We learn that names are not the same as vocabulary words, they hold more meaning.  Words are just labels, with no feeling to them.  The morivivr’s leaves close when poked at too much, just like words lose their meanings when messed with or over-analyzed.  A frail word can not do what legends may believe they can.

5. Why does the speaker invoke Gladys and Rosario from her childhood? How is her childhood sensitivity to words inextricably bound to Spanish, her first language?  What is significant about the allusion to Adam, the first man?

She is hoping to evoke old memories of happiness when she was back living where she loved.  Her childhood is bound to her and her first language of Spanish, causing her to feel soothed and happy whenever she thinks of memories or speaks Spanish.  Even though she was not the first to use these words, she feels like they have the impact on her as they would if she were the first.