Women Who Love Angels

As with all theories, this feminist approach to Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” does not come without its flaws. While it can be argued that this poem criticizes the performativity of feminine gender roles in a patriarchal society, this cannot be proven definitively without knowing the author’s original intentions. Furthermore, the poem does not give its readers enough information to conclude that the society the women live in is in fact a patriarchal society. This becomes evident, as there is no reference to any masculine figure – so any assumptions about the masculine-dominant culture are purely speculative. It is possible that Halfe wrote this poem in an attempt to challenge the gender binary, however one stands to question how successfully she is in doing so. In Butler’s theory, she introduces the idea that each woman’s feminism is her

The Rape of Proserpina from Ted Hughes’ Tales from Ovid recounts the myth of Pluto, god of the Underworld, who abducts Proserpina, daughter of Ceres, and brings her to the Underworld to live with him. Through this story, the speaking voice that narrates the poem explains that change is a painful but necessary and natural aspect of life by illustrating that stillness is by contrast impossible and unnatural. The speaking voice then illustrates the inevitability of change by comparing it to rape throughout the poem, then by integrating change as a part of a cycle instead of presenting it as a permanent modification by associating cyclical change with harvest and condemning the rape of Proserpina as a disruption of the natural cyclical order.

Jane Evershed is one of those people that has the ability to speak through her artwork. This is a wonderful skill to have, as a picture is worth a thousand words. She speaks most openly to women, those who may or may not have endured the discrimination, oppression, sexual assault, and abuse from loved ones or society itself. Society makes it harder for women to accept themselves as they are. They come in all shapes and sizes, ethnicities and backgrounds, religions and sexualities. Evershed realizes this, and uses her personal struggles and the ongoing struggles of women everywhere to get a message across: women are beautiful, powerful, and strong. This is why there have been many women to join together and promote feminism; to stand proud

Cofer uses illuminating vignettes to illustrate the different situations she encountered as a Latina while growing up and living in America. For example, in reflecting on her own feelings, she describes her own childhood experience: "I often felt humiliated when I appeared at an American friends party wearing a dress more suitable to a semi-formal than to a playroom birthday celebration" (paragraph 4). Here, Cofer describes her life while growing up in a family that embraced one culture and in a country that had another. By saying that she was "humiliated" for expressing a part of her culture through dressing up fancy, she shows the struggle of being different in a vanilla atmosphere. This vignette highlights Cofer's expressions towards the cultural chasms she approached as a Latin

a. Maya Angelou was an avid writer, speaker, activist and teacher. As a result of the many hardships that she suffered while growing up as a poor black woman in the south she has used her own experiences as the subject matter of her written work. In doing this she effectively shows how she was able to overcome her personal obstacles. Her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970) tells the story of her life and how she overcame and moved forward triumphantly in spite of her circumstances. 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

Loose Women, is a collection of poetry written by Sandra Cisneros. A wonderful collection of words that speak to the beauty, disgusting, painful, extraordinary things about love, sexuality, women, bodies. Throughout the novel Cisneros revels in sort of “bad girl” image: however the overall persona is that of a passionate, sexual woman who’s had her share of both joy and disappointment. We all know Sandra Cisneros roots come from Mexico and is from Mexican American immigrant family and the culture for her is very different. I can relate to Cisneros’ culture different, since I am from Indian and in India women are considered to be the goddess from ancient time, however they are not being treated like goddess. Cisneros poetic style makes the book easier to read and comprehend and I think her Mexican roots play big part of her writing. In the book Loose Woman, the author seems to be talking about herself in each poems and is trying to express woman’s journey through the collections of her poems. Through her poems Cisneros’ voice shows love, hate and all the stages of feelings the woman goes through and sends message of bravery.

“I hope she’ll be a fool--that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 17). This line, stated by Daisy, accurately demonstrates the perception of women during the 1920s. Women were seen as objects and deemed incapable of intelligent thought. In The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays women based on similar stereotypes from this time period. Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker are all prominent female characters in the story whose behaviors and actions, although different, showcase the common desires and struggles of women at the time.

In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, author Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses many literary techniques to allow the reader to understand the universal truth that a woman’s class is seen as lower than that of a man’s, due to their sex. We see this truth throughout the literary work, when the main character who is a woman, is put in confinement and later becomesdistraught and mentally unstablebecause her husband and brother who are both Physicians diagnoses her as “nervously depressed”. Two techniques author Gilman uses is tone and diction to illustrate how the narrator, among most women in that time period is treated as below men in class, with little say in their own mental or physical issues.

Poetry is an important part of literature which conveys an author 's ideas across to the reader through the use of descriptive language. Poetry helps an author to express their inner emotions and often incorporates various poetic devices which enriches the text. Poetry gives the reader a different perspective and when read closely, can give the audience a look into the authors imagination. Likewise, poetic devices enhance the writing and can drastically change the mood of the poem, as well as, how the reader interprets the poem. Poetic devices are important in literature because they help to convey a message, add spontaneity to a poem, and give the reader a strong visual. Some poems are lengthy, and some poems can be very short, however when analyzed, they all express a deeper message. For example, when examining the poem, "The Changeling," by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the reader can easily spot the important message which the author is trying to reveal to the reader through the use of poetic devices. When closely reading this poem, the language and the terminology applied by Cofer enhances the readers ability to make connections between the theme of this poem and how it can be applied to real world scenarios.

Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.

The poem “Sign Your Name” by Kim Addonizio is about how society attempts to take away a person's individualism. Addonizio uses poetic structure, diction, and figurative language, in “Sign Your Name” to illustrate how society can throw an individual's identity away and if you get the opportunity to sign your name, write your life story.

“What’s That Smell in the Kitchen?” by Marge Piercy examines the universal experience of American women under gender expectations of the 20th century. Having every women as its main character, the poem criticizes and challenges the social expectations that systematically confine and oppress them.

“I have traveled far but where have I reached? I have adapted to roles that have

The speakers in the two poems; “To Coy His Mistress” and “My Last Duchess”, were flawed due to the ignorance of their view of women; given that all they believe is that women are on earth to please every man’s need, which is mainly sex. The similarities, and differences, between the two speakers of the two poems, show the real intentions of the speakers have towards the women in the two poems. The speakers in the poem had one belief about women, they are only meant to make men happy and feel good.

Imtiaz Dharker’s “Blessing” tells the story a slum in India plagued by drought. Coming from the third person, it captures the bleak circumstances and conditions of those who live in the slum. It expresses ideas of hopelessness and it appears to pity those affected by these conditions. The poem suggests that the people in the slum have been affected by the lack water for quite some time and then are suddenly “blessed” by the presence of water. Being narrated this way, causes the poem to carry the idea that water is particularly precious to the people of this town. The pitiful tone of the poem creates a feeling of sympathy for those who are affected by the lack of water, but upon rereading, it appears to be ironic showing how the people of the