Chosen

Marilyn Nelson

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1990

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Summary

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

The Moon

In “Chosen” the literal moon may have hung in the sky “that August night” (Line 1) when Diverne was raped, which, in the narrator’s memory, is eclipsed by the figurative “sweating moon” (Line 2), or the face of the white man who assaults Diverne. Nelson’s choice to liken the man’s face to the moon is not only a nod to his whiteness, but also refers to his power.

On the other hand, he is also a satellite orbiting Diverne—after all, he goes to her and tracks his motions according to hers. Ultimately, the union between them results in a “starburst joy” (Line 8), Pomp, who becomes “her life’s one light” (Line 5). For Diverne, to use yet another astronomical metaphor, Pomp becomes the sun from which she draws sustenance.

The Whip

The whip is the most notorious symbol of a slave owner or overseer’s power over enslaved people. Whatever the white man’s feelings may have been toward Diverne, the narrator leaves the reader with the final thought that he bore a whip, never letting the reader forget the power he wielded over Diverne. Her awareness of that power evoked “her raw terror” (Line 14). Despite her attacker’s ability to evoke such terror, Diverne knows she wields the ability to bear life and, in turn, a source of joy despite the most dehumanizing circumstances.