Order and Disorder

Geometry is the branch of mathematics devoted to understanding physical space in terms of logical theorems. In Rita Dove's poem "Geometry" human beings' ability to understand the world in terms of logic is viewed as a mixed blessing. In the first stanza, the expansion of a house can be taken as a symbol that the intellect has conquered the limitations of the physical world, making what is there bigger and better. The poem's speaker seems to control the dimensions of the house by understanding them. Up to this point, humanity's ability to understand the principles of order that already exist in nature is presented as a marvelous skill because it has not only made the house possible but has also improved beyond its original sense of order, creating this expansion.

By the second stanza, however, the poem raises doubts about the overall worth of geometric order...