In
order to understand this question, we first need to understand what a theme is. In literary
terms, a theme is a key topic or idea a work is discussing. Sometimes, the themes in a piece are
obvious, in which case, everyone will probably identify similar ones. Sometimes, they are harder
to detect. You can make an argument for a theme others have not spotted in a work, and, as long
as you give evidence for it, there is no reason your theme will be any less valid than
others.
In this poem, the themes are not necessarily obvious, but we can
make some suggestions. First, the poet is making a request for something: the
"attitude" of her great-great-grandmother, and the "firmness of her hand."
So, what is this attitude? The grandmother, in the anecdote related in the poem, has set aside
her own feelings about what should be a deeply distressing scene in favor of her dedication to
her artwork, because she knows that there is ultimately nothing she can do to save her child.
She actually...
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