Sunday, September 11, 2011

In Dana Gioia's poem about money, what does "Greenbacks, double eagles, megabucks and Ginnie Mae" mean?

The poem in which these terms appears is titled "Money" and begins with a quotation from Wallace Stevens: "Money is a kind of poetry."

Each one of the terms you've asked about is used to refer to money:

Greenbacks originally referred to paper currency issued in 1861 to help pay for the Civil War. They were so green that people started calling them "greenbacks." Today, the term is used to mean any US paper money.

Double eagles are $20 US gold coins. They are called double eagles because the $10 coin is called an "eagle." The double eagle today is very valuable because it is rare.

Megabucks refers to having lots and lots of money.

Ginnie Mae is an acronym--GNMA--for the Government National Mortgage Association, which provides guarantees on mortgage-backed securities.

Visit the links below for more information.

No comments:

Post a Comment

In Act III, scene 2, why may the establishment of Claudius's guilt be considered the crisis of the revenge plot?

The crisis of a drama usually proceeds and leads to the climax.  In Shakespeare's Hamlet , the proof that Claudius is guilty...