Portrait (Symbol)
The poem begins with the striking image of the portrait of Jefferson that hangs in his historical home. The speaker describes how Jefferson's forehead is illuminated brightly but the rest of his face is shadowed. She suggests that these shadows indicate the historical scandal that he was embroiled in at the time he sat for the painting. She adds that it was common knowledge by then that he had an affair with Sally Hemings, one of his slaves. Trethewey uses the poem as a symbol of the contradictions inherent to Jefferson's legacy.
Field Guide (Symbol)
As her father names various plants and animals in Virginia, Jefferson's home state, the speaker says that she thinks it indicates something about his beliefs. In commenting on all of these natural things in the vicinity of Jefferson's home, her father seems to demonstrate his faith in the pursuit of knowledge. In the speaker's view, this shows that he places more emphasis on the act of pursuing knowledge than on the personal shortcomings of those who do so, like Jefferson. In this way, the image of him as a field guide becomes a symbol of the elevation of learning and intellectual pursuits above all else.
Monticello (Symbol)
The speaker mentions Jefferson's home, Monticello, multiple times in the poem, noting that she and her father would visit it for tours. In the context of the poem, it functions as a symbol of history and Jefferson's tangled legacy. When a speaker asks the tour participants to envision the past, she comments to her father that she would have to "head around to the back" if that were really the case, showing the divides created by remarks like that. Monticello stands as a monument to Jefferson and, as such, the speaker notes that it represents the celebration of a figure whose real life was a great deal more complicated than his writings and portraits would suggest.
