Analysis Of The Poem A Sorrowful Woman - 960 Words

â€Å"Once upon a time there was a wife and mother one too many times† (Godwin 39). This short story begins with the famous opening, once upon a time, which foreshadows that the story line will be similar to a fairy tale. It raises expectations for the story that all will be magical and end happily. A typical modern-day fairy tale is that of a distressed character who overcomes an obstacle, falls in love with prince charming, and they ride off into the sunset; living happily ever after never to be heard from again. Godwin however, puts an unexpected twist on â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman†. This short story is a tale about what can happen when everyday roles take over our identity. Ultimately, this short story challenges societal expectations of marriage†¦show more content†¦Divorce from marriage would break the bounds of normality for this time period. Traditionally, women were stay at home who tended to the children, house chores, and duties when needed. Purposely, Godwin doesn’t give the characters names. This is important because it implies that the characters are not people, but they represent their role within the family. Godwin mocks a fairy tale by having the characters actions contradict expectations. This is shown when the mother is literally sick at the sight of her family (Godwin 39). Also when the child pretends to be a tiger and scratches the mother, scaring her off so she didn’t want to be alone with the boy anymore. The husband doesn’t save the wife from her state, he simply â€Å"understands† it and finds other solutions. He hires a girl to help care for the boy, but the mother resents this. The mother wishes to be happy with her roles but she cannot accept them, and despises the perfect girl for doing what she is unable to (Godwin 40-41 ). The mother leads a life where her duties and societal expectations are met, but by doing this her happiness is lost. Once upon a time implies that she thought her life as a wife and mother would be perfect. The wife even attempts to find new roles to replace the ones she holds which do not suit her, â€Å"She tried these personalities on like costumes, then discarded them† (Godwin 42).Show MoreRelatedLoss and Reflection in The Wifes Lament860 Words   |  3 PagesLoss and Reflection in â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† Isolation from society can evoke a deep loneliness and self-reflection. The poem The Wifes Lament from the Exeter Book expresses the desolation of exile. The dominant theme is the contrast of a happy past and a bleak present of isolation. The anonymous author of The Wifes Lament uses setting, tone, and conflict to develop the theme of great loss. He/she augments a situation in which meditation on lifes past joys is the only redemption in a life sentencedRead MoreSomebodys Mother Analysis Essay1037 Words   |  5 PagesSomebody’s Mother Analysis Somebody’s Mother, by: Mary Dow Brine, is basically about somebody’s mother. The title of this poem implies that you will probably be reading about a mother and what she does. When you think of a mother, you think of a woman maybe in her thirties with kids who are around age five through nine, and possibly not afraid of anything you throw at her. That’s what is expected of a mother right? The first two lines of this poem imply the physical features of the mother. SheRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou Analysis840 Words   |  4 Pages There is one person that is a civil rights activist, memoirist, a poet and above all a woman, this person is none other than Maya Angelou. Angelou has been a famous American poet since the release of her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Angelou has inspired many people by telling her life story to the public, but not only did she inspire, she also created a very different and personal point of view of the world we live in. The poem’s she has written transition from painRead MorePoetry Analysis: The Vacuum1171 Words   |  5 Pages POEM ANALYSIS The Vacuum by Howard Nemerov talks about a widower and his late wife, and how he uses the vacuum as a symbol for her death. The poem expresses deep sorrow and sadness that derive from the loneliness of the speaker, after his other half’s passing away. Nemerov attempts to take his readers on a grief-stricken journey, by strategically employing figurative language (mainly personification, metaphor, simile, and alliteration), fractured rhyme schemes and turns in stanza breaks inRead MoreRomanticism, By Charles Baudelaire1235 Words   |  5 PagesWaterhouse, the subject of the painting is a woman, sitting alone in a boat. It takes inspiration from a scene from a poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The poem tells the story of the young woman and her unrequited love for Sir Lancelot. Even though the focus of the image is the sorrowful woman, the composition of the background makes for a picturesque painting. The background elements work together to symbolize the emoti onal elements of the poem from which the painting takes inspirationRead MoreOscar Wilde1403 Words   |  6 PagesWilde able to capture the meaning of love throughout his poetry to convey his true feelings during his life time? Oscar Wilde connects the meaning of Her Voice to be the words of a women falling in and out of a relationship (Finemen, Kelly). The poem is written in a story form explaining events on how a couple can fall in love and out of love so easily. Wilde begins by explaining the feelings you get when you first meet someone and how the character falls madly in love. He then explains how theyRead MorePoetic Devices In The Raven1061 Words   |  5 Pagesthe death of the woman he deeply loved. He constructs a self-destructive meaning around a raven’s repetition of the word â€Å"Nevermore,† as he despairs being reunited with his beloved Lenore, in the after life. The first seven stanzas establish the setting and the narrator’s state of mind. Weak and overwhelmed with grief, the speaker tries to overshadow his sorrow by reading curiously obscure books. Narrated in first person, the poem conveys the speaker’s shift from weary, sorrowful composure to a stateRead More An Analysis of Donne’s A Valediction: of Weeping Essay1687 Words   |  7 PagesAn Analysis of Donne’s A Valediction: of Weeping    William Empson begins his critical essay on John Donnes A Valediction: of Weeping with the statement below.   Empson here plays the provocateur for the critic who wishes to disagree with the notion that Donnes intentions were perhaps less than the sincere valediction of a weeping man.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, A Valediction concerns a parting; Donne is going to sea and is leaving his nameless, loved other in England, and the Valediction is his emotiveRead MoreEssay on A Womans Struggle 1373 Words   |  6 PagesA Woman’s struggle Analysis The plague of male dominancy and female oppression has spread throughout time and cultures like a pandemic infection, targeting women. Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Daddy† and Janice Mirikitani’s â€Å"Suicide Note,† show the struggle and pain that oppressive forces perpetrated on women. Although, both speakers are oppressed the way they end the oppression and the cause of it are very different. Patriarchy has always existed, and it affects women all over the world. For example, bannedRead MorePoetry Analysis : Extended Response1593 Words   |  7 PagesPoetry Analysis – Extended Response Worthwhile poetry does make the audience think, it impacts the ways individuals think and how they interpret the hidden messages and morals taught throughout them. Poetry is a point of interest for many people as it informs. This essay aims to explore and discuss two of the following poems that make the audience think about poetry. The essay will also compare and contrast the subject matter, themes, rhyme, forms and the poetic devices and features. These poems to