Symbolism And Imagery In The Century Quilt By Marilyn Nelson

“The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson is a profound piece that many can relate to depending on what direction one chooses. As a piece of literature, there are many literary devices that are distinguishable. A few of those distinguishable devices are theme, symbolism and imagery.

Upon reading and analyzing “The Century Quilt”, it soon becomes evident that theme is everywhere in each of the stanzas. With a bit of reading between the lines and interpretation, the theme can be seen as the feeling of having to find yourself. The speaker in this poem longed for the family “blanket”, but soon, realized that what she needed the most was her own “quilt.” The first stanza states, “.. blanket I found on my sister’s bed... i remember how I’d planned to inherit that blanket..” Moving forward within the poem, stanza two states, “Now I’ve found a quilt I’d like to die under;..” Not only do those few lines display the speakers self

In lines 15-20, two big things happen; the author finally mentions her mother, for the first time, after she expressed strong feelings for Meema and Daddy, in stanza one. The second thing is the author uses “gum leaf” to symbolize the mother. Lines 18-20 state, “Each square holds a sweet gum leaf whose fingers I imagine would caress me into silence.” It has always been said that a mother has a gentle or tender touch. When reading the this poem, it can be detected that there is a bit of disconnect between the speaker and her family. Therefore, the significance of the lines mentioned is displaying a child longing for that gentle touch of a mother. To further explain, the speaker says “I’d dream of myself, of my childhood miracles..” The “childhood miracles” that she speaker mentions symbolizes what she never had. That becomes evident in lines 4-5 of stanza four when the speaker further elaborates on what she did not have from her mother nor