Poetry

Throughout the narrative, poetry symbolizes truth, beauty, and positive activism. Eileen’s central passion is poetry, and Eileen often discusses why it is so important to her. To Eileen, poetry seems to represent a true art form, where the artists are concerned only with discovering truth and beauty and furthering positive political causes rather than pursuing the art for things like money or fame. Eileen sees poetry as something magical and visceral, and she finds deep emotional fulfillment in being able to use the art form as a way of capturing her various feelings. Poetry is never described as a destructive force, but rather a pure form of expression that allows Eileen to fully realize her personal and artistic identities.

Dante’s Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy symbolizes the function of art as a way of viewing and interpreting the world around oneself. In...