Poetry is way to express oneself by using unique thoughts and putting them into words. Specifically, female poets, use their poetry as a way to show their experience with internal conflicts. Throughout this anthology we decided on the theme of “women.” Being the only table with strictly females, as a group we agreed that choosing poems with this topic would be beneficial to us, and the reader. Over time, females have experienced oppression, abuse and inequality. Learning how to cope with these issues, has enabled women to realize their self-worth. Through understanding our capabilities as women, we have begun to take pride in ourselves and our bodies. The poems we chose go into depth with some of the issues that women face in their lifetime. The empowerment of women is crucial to benefiting today’s society and without experiencing hardships, women would have never been able to …show more content…
They also show that women are more than just their physical appearance. In the beginning of the poem “Pretty” it shows how society makes girls insecure towards their outwardly looks. However, towards the end it signifies the fact that there is so much more than just being “pretty.” The next two poems are very similar in that they focus more on how to believe you are more important, than what society wants you to believe. “A Lady” by Amy Lowell talks about a younger woman looking up to an older woman, that has found her true identity. The younger woman uses an analogy to compare the older lady to “an old opera tune.” The poem explains that with age, comes maturity; and with maturity comes self-love. In the poem “You are More than Beautiful” Rupi Kaur, feminist and author of Milk and Honey, states she “wants to apologize to all the women [she has] called beautiful before [she’s] called them intelligent or brave. This exemplifies that inwardly beauty will always out rule outwardly
In response to “The Man We Carry in Our Minds”, having a different point of view after discovering what I woman actually goes through in life can be related to a life situation. A man always put a title on what I woman can or can not do. I believe a woman can perform any work that the mankind has placed together rather it is welding, cutting grass, or driving truck. No man should label a woman wellbeing. The purpose of the story was to show how man stereotypes a woman.
It’s detailed like a memory and provides the audience of just one incidence the narrator was able to recollect. The poem’s main focus is to take a little look into the disparity between traditional feminine
“Poetry Is Not a Luxury” (1982) intertwines feminism and poetry together. Author Audre Lorde says that for women, “poetry is not a luxury, but a necessity of our existence” (Lorde, 1982, pg. 281). In today’s society, women’s opinions aren’t really expressed, because it’s not widely accepted in this man-built world. Lorde’s quote “poetry is not a luxury, but a necessity of our existence” means that women should use their voices and channel their energy into poetry. Since poetry is accepted, women aren’t being deviant.
In the case of the Lowell Mill girls, some young women felt liberated, but some also felt subjugated in the cruel environment. The Lowell girls were young female workers who came to work in industrial corporations in Lowell, Massachusetts during the Industrial Revolution in the United States. While their wages were only half of what men were paid, many were able to attain economic independence for the first time. For many of the mill girls, employment brought a taste of freedom. They escaped parental authority, were able to earn their own bit of money, and several educational opportunities.
She asks her readers to rise above their defeats, to not allow anyone to stop their dreams. In demonstrating how she succeeded she has been a role model for women of all cultures and races. The “Phenomenal Women” poem is a celebration
This becomes evident in a lack of information about the type of society, and the reader therefore lacks a complete understanding of how the women are oppressed. As a whole, this poem sets forth the idea that female gender is fluid, and asks its readers to questions what it means to be a woman in a male dominant
4. Abject in “About Face” Similarly to the crucial aspects above, the poem “About Face” represents some issues already mentioned. The poem “About Face”, by Patience Agbabi is a poetic depiction of the mythological painting of the goddess of the hunt Diana and a hunter Actaeon. First of all, the poem has an interesting structure and way of representing and conveying its meaning.
The different key features also plays an important role for example the tone that is being formed by the lyrical voice that can be seen as a nephew or niece. This specific poem is also seen as an exposition of what Judith Butler will call a ‘gender trouble’ and it consist of an ABBA rhyming pattern that makes the reading of the poem better to understand. The poem emphasizes feminist, gender and queer theories that explains the life of the past and modern women and how they are made to see the world they are supposed to live in. The main theories that will be discussed in this poem will be described while analyzing the poem and this will make the poem and the theories clear to the reader. Different principals of the Feminist Theory.
It can be said that society has always been quite judgmental, and at times misguided when it comes to women. The negative perceptions that society has towards females are often times directly related toward her actions. What a female does seems to degrade her identity and capabilities in the eyes of some men. In the poems “The Lady’s Dressing Room” and The essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we can see both authors use of tone, form and style to develop their works. These poems are mainly driven by men’s attitudes towards women.
June Jordan’s poetry is known for its immediacy and accessibility as well as its interest in identity and the representation of personal experiences. Her poetry is often deeply autobiographical, political and often displays a radical, globalized notion of solidarity amongst the worlds oppressed. “Poem about my rights” by the poet, June Jordan can be seen as spoken word poetry rather than page poetry where oral performance and repetition are used to convey her feelings and messages to the listeners. Poetry can be divided into two groups; written poetry and spoken word poetry. Written poetry, also known as page poetry, is written and is analysed by the reader.
Walt Whitman uses his poems to demonstrate gender equality by addressing the male and female forms as equals. After describing himself as a universal poet, of both “the woman the same as the man.” Whitman says that it is, “As great to be a woman as it is to be a man”(Whitman 24). During his lifetime, women were viewed as inferior to men; they did not have voting rights, and “contained fewer multitudes economically, intellectually, and psychologically” (Pollak 108). Whitman, on the contrary, expresses his respect for women as equals to men, and does not view one above the other.
“Phenomenal Woman” Phenomenal Woman, by Maya Angelou is an inspiring poem that encourages women, including myself to be confident and to love themselves just the way they are. It encourages women to be independent and confident despite what others think about them, especially men. In “Phenomenal Woman”, there are various literary devices used, some of which include repetition, parallelism, metaphors and personification. The obvious repetition in the poem is at the end of every stanza, through the phrases” I am a woman, phenomenally, phenomenal woman, that’s me”.
This is different from the other poem Women because in the poem by Nikki Giovanni the speaker keeps changing for someone and they constantly reject her. This shows that she does not have the confidence to be who she truly is without their approval. “She wanted to be a blade / of grass amid the fields / but he wouldn 't agree / to be the dandelion,” (Giovanni 1-4). These lines show that they do not want to be amongst
This is shown in the opening line when she says, “If you grow up the type of women...” Throughout this poem, Kay explores the themes of empowerment and identity, through the use of repetition and connotation. Through the frequent use of repetition, Kay puts emphasis on how women are defined in relation to males. Additionally, she also uses connotation to remind women they are more than what they are perceived to be in relation to others and they have the power to define themselves. Therefore the main idea of the poem is to perhaps remind women of their worth and inspire them to define themselves on their own terms, and not through the eyes of men or in comparison/relation to their relationship with others.
Sylvia Plath is considered to be one of the most significant female poets known not only to Americans but also to the whole world. Her death in 1963, followed by an unfortunate and short life did not end her input and influence inliterature, she became an icon to the female literary society. Sylvia's outstanding style of writing and themes which she portrayed in her works such as death, seeking for an identity or oppression on women in a patriarchal society began the feminist movementin America and changed the role of women. This topic is of a great importance because they way that Sylvia Plath was expressing her feelings and showing her negative view on a patriarchal society and oppression on women was a giant leap in the world of a women's liberation movement.