Dovina28 May 2007

I also find the discussion about articles interesting. I’ll take your comments one at a time:

“On country road in mid-Virginia” Maybe it’s an American preference, but I think “a” shows that it could be any country road, where no article implies some particular road called “country.”

“The cyclist pulls up another hill” You are right in saying that the cyclist is a particular person and that she does not pull a hill, but rather ascends it or pulls up it. The cyclist is, as you say, at the center of the poem, so on that basis I could agree that “the” should be used. You say that she is “not just a cyclist,” but really she is. I want to show her as nothing great or worthy of separation from other cyclists.

“Past the house with mammoth lawn. The use of 'the' here specifies that the house is a landmark rather than just any house with big lawn.” But really it is just another house with a big lawn. The country people of Virginia take pride in their lawns. Sometimes I pass a run-down house trailer with three acres of mowed grass and a fine garden.

“Visual input does not soothe tired eyes.” I often find the opposite to be true when cycling. The sight of a well-kept dairy farm soothes the strain on my eyes that has come from staring on the road, avoiding death by coal truck or passing car.

“the cows look up,” Here I agree that the cows are almost as central to the poem as the cyclist, but they are not particular cows, and therefore the definite article “the” seems inappropriate.