Woman To Man Essay, Research Paper
At first
glance, the title seemed to have more than one connotation."Woman
to Man;" is the woman giving something to the man, maybe a gift?"Woman
to Man."Maybe the
title is trying to compare the two genders?I was
slightly confused when I read this poem at first, but it became apparent from
the rich metaphors, that it was about the sexual relation between the woman and
man. It is also about conception – or rather the potential of creating a child
from this sexual act – told from the woman’s point of view.Judith
Wright was very bold in writing such a poem since it was published in 1949,
when such issues weren’t discussed in the public, but as a well regarded poet,
she had achieved a good reputation for expressing herself, and therefore could
write a subjective poem about this issue.The main
idea of this poem, is based upon female sexuality and sensuality, and that sex
is symbolic of life, or death if pregnancy fails.The title
seems to mean now, "Woman to Man" as if the woman is offering herself
to the Man, offering her body to create a child, through the act of sex. It
also means that the woman has something to give to the man, not only the
pleasure, but through blood and pain, a child.The
language compliments the mood of this poem, as it varies from a sad and
melancholy cry, to a voice of hope, all in a constant confident feel, and by
this, the poet’s reflections and contemplation’s are communicated successfully
to us, making us feel in the same way she has felt.The first
stanza begins with a bold and confident entry describing in a simple way the
sexual relation between the man and the woman; or better said; Woman to Man.
The ’seed’ which the woman holds – has the potential of becoming a child. The
image of the day of birth as a ‘resurrection day’ is important in this respect
for, just as the resurrection of Christ defeated death, so too, does each
individual conception and birth.The use of
alliteration in this first stanza contributes a crescendo of confidence, which
relates to the pain, and stress building up until the conception. This also can
be interpreted as the excitement during the sexual act. The relief following is
shown in the three remaining stanzas which are quieter, and are more explanatory,
and by this the poet has intended to show us the relief emancipated from the
mother after the birth, or also, after their sexual act.There are
many strong metaphors, which compliment this poem, making the reader think of
the meanings:In line 4,
in the first stanza, the child who is active throughout, "foresees"
the "unimagined" light: it foresees the light of life which is
unimagined, because the embryo cannot possibly comprehend something which it
has never experienced.The second
stanza shows how the child which they are creating, is unforeseen to them, but
they feel its presence, it is an intimate moment where both the parents feel
a
was to create the child.The third
stanza talks about the strength of the man ‘this is the strength that your arm
knows’, and about the beauty of the woman ‘the arc of flesh that is my breast’,
and how focused they are on each other, ‘the precise crystal of our eyes.’ The
image of the "blood’s wild tree that grows/ the intricate and folded
rose" ‘in stanza three, hints at the passion of the lovers, as well as
suggesting both the embryo’s physical dependence upon its mother, and also its
place in the generations of humanity. If we take the "intricate and folded
rose" to be the embryo, which is certainly both "intricate" and
"folded", then the "bloods wild tree" on which it grows is
the mother’s circulatory system, a great tree-like system of arteries and veins
rooted to the beating heart. The embryo is the flower and the fruit of this
tree, hanging on it, sustained by it. At the same time the tree suggests both
the family tree and the tree of life, a symbol for the continuity of life.In the
last stanza "the blaze of light along the blade" – probably the blade
of the knife which cuts the umbilical cord – frees the child to independent
life. The "blaze of light along the blade"also
suggests the pain and suffering of life which the child will not be able to
escape.Meanwhile
in a series of paradoxes, the poet suggests the mystery which the creation of
newlife
involves:This is no
child with a child’s face; this has no name to name it by…This is our hunter
and our chase …This is
the maker and the made; This is the question and the reply …Through
these paradoxes Wright conveys a sense of destiny, of an event which is both
sought and pre-ordained. Not only have the lovers sought out the child, but the
child actively seeks itsown
incarnation; it is "our hunter" as well as "our chase." The
child is active of the life force and the woman it too, controlled by its
power. This accounts for her fearful response in thefinal line
- "Oh hold me, for I am afraid." This line is wholly successful on a
dramatic level; for here the real world of passion and pain breaks in. At the
same time the poem as a whole hassuggested
that in each sexual act there is the potential for the creation of new life
which challenges time and death. The woman is the proud yet fearful instrument
of this process.The peom
has a rhythmic pattern that compliments the metaphors and paradoxes. The
stanzas begin and end, individually, for the first and last lines rhyme, which
creates a feeling of ‘wholleness’ to each stanza, quite appropriate to the act
of creating or bearing a child.It is like
a song, a pentameter that begins bold, but ends in a quiet tone, making its
reader reflect, not only about the ending, but the entire poem as a serious
issue, that fornication is, or can be, a holy act.?