An Explication of Washing Day
One Source Cited The poem Washing Day by Anna Letitia Barbauld illustrates two different points of view of the events that are happening on washing day. The first view is how the people surrounding the author feel towards the chores to be done that day. The second is the view from the author when she was a child, observing all that is happening. The idea of the poem is to bring to the reader's attention the joy and innocence of childhood, while at the same time noting the importance of the events of the day. The author accomplishes this by her choice of words used to describe the various tasks.
As soon as the poem begins, the reader detects a feeling of melancholy. The opening line "The Muses are turned gossips" immediately creates a negative tone. Muses (inspirations) are usually thought of as being good and uplifting, here they are being turned into something that is generally thought of as being bad. As the poem continues, a sense of sarcasm can be detected at the end of the author's reference to this day. She details the way the women ("domestic Muse") come from where they live in a most woeful way "prattling on" and going by mud where there are drowning flies and an old shoe. Then she ends this section by saying, "Come, Muse; and sing the dreaded Washing-Day." If something is dreaded, a person is not going to be singing about it, even though the men would probably like to see that. The description of marriage in the next line is interestingly negative. " Beneath the yoke of wedlock bend,..." a yoke is put on an ox which is a beast of burden! I suppose the women feel exactly this way because they seem to have no choice in the matter.
As the women are getting ready the sky looks as though it is going to rain, which makes the task even worse. Barbauld's description of the attitude at the breakfast table continues the melancholy. She uses the word "silent" and "dispatched" to depict breakfast, words that are not associated with an enjoyable meal (line 19). The next few lines illustrate the effect of the rain on such a day.
The poem is written in the style of free verse. The poet chooses not to separate the poem into stanzas, but only by punctuation. There is no rhyme scheme or individual rhyme present in the poem. The poems structure creates a personal feel for the reader. The reader can personally experience what the narrator is feeling while she experiences stereotyping.
The readers are apt to feel confused in the contrasting ways the woman in this poem has been depicted. The lady described in the poem leads to contrasting lives during the day and night. She is a normal girl in her Cadillac in the day while in her pink Mustang she is a prostitute driving on highways in the night. In the poem the imagery of body recurs frequently as “moving in the dust” and “every time she is touched”. The reference to woman’s body could possibly be the metaphor for the derogatory ways women’s labor, especially the physical labor is represented. The contrast between day and night possibly highlights the two contrasting ways the women are represented in society.
The time that began the poem is completely shattered and served as a jolt of reality to the reader. Yet that raises a pertinent question: why is, in line 4, she is weaving a garland for “your living head”? In the 1930s, who would have perpetrated violent acts against women in the name of sexual gratification yet still hold expectations that women take care of them? By making men in general the placeholder for “you” in the poem, it creates a much stronger and universal statement about the sexual inequality women faced. She relates to women who have had “a god for [a] guest” yet it seems ironic because she is criticising the way these women have been treated (10). It could be argued, instead, that it is not that she sees men as gods, but that is the way they see themselves. Zeus was a god who ruled Olympus and felt entitled to any woman he wanted, immortal or otherwise. He encapsulates the societal mindset that men were dominant and women were there to benefit them. In all the allusions to the Greek myths, Zeus disguises himself in order to trick the women of his desires. The entitlement men felt towards women and their bodies was easily guised as the “social norm”. Embracing a wider meaning to “you” than just as a reference to a single person adds complexity to the poem; it creates a sense of universality. Not all women can identify with an act of violence
Samuel L Jackson has then came to appear in many great movies such as Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, A Time To Kill, One Eight Seven, Shaft, Coach Carter, Star Wars and many others. He has also been nominated for many of these and has received many awards for a lot of these films. He is still acting and does not seem to be thinking of retirement any time soon. He truly is a great example of a great actor who rose to fame in the time of blaxploitation and also an inspiration to all those with addiction problems as someone who was able to overcome his problem and make something of himself.
...ight. The centuries that have elapsed between the two poems indicate that the power of women has increased in direct proportion to the later centuries. Though both these women have power, and each one of them practices it in her own right in accordance to the time period that each inhabits, the perception of their power is nowhere near that of their husbands. Where does that leave these women in their own societies? Though it may seem that both Wealhtheow and the Lady are in their husbands shadow, both considerably contribute to the control of the society in which they are part of the ruling class.
He was born in Eaglesfield, Cumberland (now know as Cumbria). In school he was so successful that at the age of 12 he became a Teacher. In 1785 he became one of the principles and in 1787 he made a journal that was later made into a book, describing his thoughts on mixtures of gases and how each gas acted independently and the mixtures pressure (which is the same as the gases volume if it had one). Therefore the law of partial pressures was made. It is said that in 1790, Dalton?s aims were to pick up in law or medicine, but he got no encouragement from his family. In 1793 he moved to Manchester where he was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at a Dissenting New College. He stayed there until 1799 when he made his own academy.
Surprisingly, the poem shifts its focus off of love and to a very similar subject, although it has a slightly less favorable connotation: desire. "Tomorrow [is] getting shorter, even as we speak. In this flinty age of materialism we've gorown fond of witches - they embody our with to believe, to immerse ourselves...to be welcomed into imprudence, the elevated tor, unbreakable oath." She seems to be reaching out, saying that people in general have succumbed to materialism, that the ideal of love as it was presented previously was something which is quickly becoming lost to humanity. The people will now turn to "witches," symbolically implying that mankind will follow a false path in the hopes of his own advancement.
One of the themes discussed by Steinbeck is race. Although the dust bowl affected a large number of American farmers, those who migrated west were mostly Caucasian farmers. Nonetheless there are a few instances of racial tension in the novel that prove to be significant. The topic of race is not as much an overlying subject compared to the other themes of the novel. The subject of race is mostly visible in discussions between characters. Steinbeck subtly placed the issue of race in the dialogue of his characters. A perfect example of this is found...
Growing up in the early 1600's was a tough time for many people, especially women. Women were very much discriminated against and made to fulfill the duties that were in the household and nothing else beyond that. Anne Bradstreet was a woman that grew up during this time as a Puritan. Puritans believed that humans could only achieve goodness if they worked hard, were self-disciplined, and constantly examining themselves to make sure that they were living their lives for God. Due to this way of looking at life, Anne Bradstreet had little time for writing her poetry. Being a mother of eight children and a devoted wife one would think that Bradstreet wasn't carrying out her duties to her family and God if she was busy writing poetry. Therefore if people knew that she was writing this poetry she would not want them to think less of her so she would write it in a happy and family oriented sense showing how devoted she was to her family through her poetry. That is why Bradstreet writes how she does in the poem To My Dear and Loving Husband. She writes as if to portray that she has a great relationship with her husband and God. Although from her other poem, Prologue, one can see that underneath she truly feels betrayed by the men in her life and by men in general.
Although the black performing arts population had to take the road of survival to gain self satisfaction in the theater, it was not painless. For a long time, black people were not allowed on the stage; instead black actors were mocked by white actors in "black face." Black face was a technique where white actors would physically cover their face with black paint and act as a black character. It was from this misrepresentation of the "black actor" that the names tom, coon, mulatto, mammy and buck derived. According to Donald Bogle, none of the types were meant to do great harm, although...
I believe that civil disobedience is justified as a method of trying to change the law. I think that civil disobedience is an expression of one's viewpoints. If someone is willing to break a law for what they believe in, more power to them! Civil disobedience is defined as, "the refusal to obey the demands or commands of a government or occupying power, without resorting to violence or active measures of opposition" (Webster's Dictionary). This refusal usually takes the form of passive resistance. Its usual purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. Civil disobedience has been a major tactic and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa and India, in the civil rights movement of U.S. blacks, and of labor and anti-war movements in many countries. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider it unjust and hope to call attention to it. In his essay, "Civil Disobedience," American author Henry David Thoreau set forth the basic tenets of civil disobedience for the first time. The independence of India in the 1930's was largely a result of the nonviolent resistance by Mohandas Gandhi to the British colonial laws. In the United States, the nonmilitant efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., helped bring about civil rights legislation. There are numerous examples that illustrate how civil disobedience is justified.
... after reading the phrases “dirty smock” (11), or “careless wench” (108), forget about the context in which it was written and immediately form opinions if not beliefs on those phrases alone. In modern times, this poem still withholds its true meaning because we constantly judge women on their looks. If a woman is attractive, we immediately assume her as successful or high-class. This also holds true for women who now more than ever are applying make-up and other things to make themselves look more physically attractive. Women also believe that enhancing their appearance will give them more value amongst society. The true meaning of the poem is that we all do routinely things that make us who we are and we should not judge others for the same things that we do. Essentially the authors point was to say that men and women are the same and should be treated equally.
She also did many activities such as spinning, weaving, keeping the house up and also nursed the sick, which could relate to the time period this poem is taking place in also. The intent that the author was trying to get across is one that, people could live happy lives in a very simplistic way, such as Lucinda did. In his poems, Masters used free verse patterns to make his subjects seem more natural. There are no historical or literary allusions to this poem. Although she barely includes any similes or metaphors in her poem, there are a few.
Anna Letta Barbuld provides insight into the physical and mental hardships experienced by women. Romanticism seem to be an opposing response to the neoclassical period as it takes the focus off of the classics and placed value on creativity, emotion, the spiritual and self-expression. However, one can still detect classical components within the poem. Barbuld’s use of parody, understatement, and irony echo’s Pope’s mock- epic; hence the relation to the classics. The language used is liken unto an epic challenge. “Come, Muse, and sing the dreaded washing day/ Too soon; for to that day nor peace belongs/ Nor comfort ere the first grey streak of dawn (8, 12, 13). The mock epic format however produces an uneven iambic pentameter with no rhyming scheme at the end of the lines (as the blank verse was gaining popularity). References to classical themes such as duty and sacrifice for the greater good as well as the coming of age are made. The speaker explicates in her childhood days “…the awe/ This day struck into [her] (58-59). The invocation is ironic nature as the speaker points out that the muses are “turned gossips” (1). Instead of calling on them for inspiration she calls on them to begin the task at hand. The poem also cites the Greek god of darkness Erebus and the use of the ancient word for sky; “welkin.” Through these classical implications Anna Letitia Barbuld elevates the mundane domesticity to a status more associated with the standard of a classic
This, in fact, is an example of “dynamic decomposition” of which the speaker claims she understands nothing. The ironic contradiction of form and content underlines the contradiction between the women’s presentation of her outer self and that of her inner self. The poem concludes with the line “’Let us go home she is tired and wants to go to bed.’” which is a statement made by the man. Hence, it “appears to give the last word to the men” but, in reality, it mirrors the poem’s opening lines and emphasises the role the woman assumes on the outside as well as her inner awareness and criticism. This echoes Loy’s proclamation in her “Feminist Manifesto” in which she states that women should “[l]eave off looking to men to find out what [they] are not [but] seek within [themselves] to find out what [they] are”. Therefore, the poem presents a “new woman” confined in the traditional social order but resisting it as she is aware and critical of