Eve's Defense by Lauren Murphy

What event is depicted in the painting below?

Read an account of the Adam and Eve story here.

As you read, think about LAST: How does the poet use literary tools (symbolism, rhyme, meter)? What is the attitude of the speaker of the poem? When does the poem shift and why?: What is the poet trying to say with her poem?

Eve’s Defense

Lauren Murphy

What’s so wrong about an apple?

What’s so wrong about a tree?

There are trees and trees bear fruit

And that red fruit was right for me.

And yet I’m down in history as sinful, shameless, foolish Eve.

What about that Lucifer?

Wasn’t he an angel once?

Didn’t you praise him and then he fell and now he’s cursed?

And yet he slithers from the ground and takes the apple from the tree

And you did not go banish him so why would you go banish me?

In my defense, I simply ate.

I ate in Eden’s gold estate.

I ate what serpents are free to take

But I , you say, made a mistake.

A sin, rather, curse to my kind.

With half a rib, I wouldn’t mind.

But I was born of another’s flesh.

I send my descendants to avenge my death.