Guinevere by David Crosby

A detailed Summary of Guinevere by David Crosby

A man who uses a metaphor for himself in the form of a sailboat spies a woman who entrances. She is trapped by her physical world, while the speaker is trapped by the memory of someone he loved before, whom he calls "Guinevere." In the first stanza, he sees a woman he is smitten by, but who seems not to notice him. In the second stanza, she notices him and is drawn into his self-metaphor. In the third and last stanza, he believes that she has become interested in her. This poem is a story about growing attraction between a man and a woman, and a love that will free them both.

In the first stanza, the speaker is immediately struck by how the woman he has noticed looks like his fantasy of Guinevere, who represents an ideal woman to her. He remembers Guinevere enjoying the beauties of nature but in a very constricted way, walking through a garden with orange trees and peacocks - a cultivated place. Each stanza contains some reference to water. In thi

s one, she chooses to take her walk after it has rained. The speaker cannot understand why this woman does not see her, but her view isn't wide enough yet to notice him. Her vision is constricted by where she is.

In this stanza, the speaker remembers Guinevere, who now seems like a real person from his past, fondly. However, he also sees himself as ready to move on if he does not find what he wants where he is. He wants to fall in love again. His new love has long flowing hair, and imagines it flowing in the wind as they sail. He needs a woman as ready to freely explore the world as he is. He believes that she will join him, and then they will both be free. She will broaden her horizons to a life that includes him, and he will love a real woman again instead of his memory or fantasy of the beautiful Guinevere. In this stanza's water reference, the sea frees them as they sail. Even the birds are freer: instead of beautiful birds used to decorate th

Some common words found in the essay are:
, believes join, join free, believes join free, water reference, memory woman, trapped memory, remembers guinevere, stanza speaker, woman noticed,

Approximate Word count = 642
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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