My Favourite Chair
Sylvia DuVernet
Perceptions Poems for Young People of all Ages (pg 16)
Sylvia DuVernet is a Canadian poet, lecturer, author, and literary critic. She was born in Hamilton, Ontario. Sylvia loved language, reading, writing, books and learning. She found Muskoka a place where she and her husband could relax and where she found inspiration for her writing. She felt very strongly towards the arts and took time out of her life to experience many. This poem relates to that favourite chair everyone has in their house. The one they go to when they've had an exhausting day. This poem describes where in the room this chair is placed and the comfort of this chairs home. It expresses this through these particular lines:
By the window,
Of course,
Or rather, between
The window and the fire-place,
This chair in everyone's life is the place where most thoughts and inspiration comes from. My favourite line in the poem is:
In the window,
Of both out and in,
Together,
And apart;
In my opinion, these lines express how in this favourite chair you can feel both in and outside because of the calming setting that is seen outside. You have the peacefulness of nature just outside to relax you, but also have that cozy chair where you can experience relaxation and comfort. The part Together, and apart in my thoughts expresses how you are there in the room but also far off into the unknown of your own thoughts. I really enjoy how Sylvia expresses certain feelings in a deeper meaning and how she talks about a simple favourite chair in a different understanding than most people. Maybe it's because of the comfort of the chair or the place the chair surrounds or like she says in the poem that window that allows her to escape to her own thoughts.
