Margaret Atwood
Analysis of the writing style:
Best known for her books, Margaret Atwood is perceived as one of Canada's most noticeable and productive contemporary journalists. Atwood's notoriety, be that as it may, likewise lays on her voluminous commitments to the class of verse and short story. In addition, as a basic expert, student of history, and writer, Atwood's compositions have showed up in an extensive variety of academic material spreading over from school and college course readings to critical scholarly diaries and anthologies. Her universal notoriety started with the production of her first gathering of verse, Double Persephone in 1961. Following the time when then Atwood has progressively added to all the primary classes of …show more content…
As Margaret Atwood demonstrates in her 1996 poem entitled “Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing”, objectification runs far deeper than women simply being demeaned by men’s desires. In the poem, Atwood appropriates the voice of Helen of Troy, an otherwise voiceless icon.
In Atwood’s tale, Helen of Troy is an exotic dancer and a generally unpleasant woman. Atwood uses Helen in this context to convey a very important message: that objectification is a cyclical power struggle in which there is no winner.
The first stanza of “Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing” establishes the starting point from which the cycle of objectification begins. Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships, is put in a position in which all that can be seen of her is her body. What is significant about the first stanza is that it is quite clear that Helen is more than simply a hapless victim. Although it is not addressed in Atwood’s poem, the mythological Helen of Troy was an object of men’s desires from a very young age. Mythological Helen was also never given a voice, but Atwood has explored the effect of long term exposure to this type of attention on a young woman, and has created a bitter, disingenuous personality for her. Atwood’s Helen sees the power she has over …show more content…
While Helen feels she has the ability to destroy anyone that may cross her, she also lives in a constant state of mistrust and the only emotion she can openly convey is anger. This is a direct result of years of abuse, praise and objectification at the hands of all the men in her life.
“Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing” is a cleverly written and very important poem about the dangers of objectification and how it can simultaneously build up and destroy a person. Atwood uses the mysterious character of Helen of Troy to point out that rather than breeding insecurity and degradation, objectification is a means of control that can work in both directions and may even harden its subject in very damaging
Analysis of the writing style:
Best known for her books, Margaret Atwood is perceived as one of Canada's most noticeable and productive contemporary journalists. Atwood's notoriety, be that as it may, likewise lays on her voluminous commitments to the class of verse and short story. In addition, as a basic expert, student of history, and writer, Atwood's compositions have showed up in an extensive variety of academic material spreading over from school and college course readings to critical scholarly diaries and anthologies. Her universal notoriety started with the production of her first gathering of verse, Double Persephone in 1961. Following the time when then Atwood has progressively added to all the primary classes of …show more content…
As Margaret Atwood demonstrates in her 1996 poem entitled “Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing”, objectification runs far deeper than women simply being demeaned by men’s desires. In the poem, Atwood appropriates the voice of Helen of Troy, an otherwise voiceless icon.
In Atwood’s tale, Helen of Troy is an exotic dancer and a generally unpleasant woman. Atwood uses Helen in this context to convey a very important message: that objectification is a cyclical power struggle in which there is no winner.
The first stanza of “Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing” establishes the starting point from which the cycle of objectification begins. Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships, is put in a position in which all that can be seen of her is her body. What is significant about the first stanza is that it is quite clear that Helen is more than simply a hapless victim. Although it is not addressed in Atwood’s poem, the mythological Helen of Troy was an object of men’s desires from a very young age. Mythological Helen was also never given a voice, but Atwood has explored the effect of long term exposure to this type of attention on a young woman, and has created a bitter, disingenuous personality for her. Atwood’s Helen sees the power she has over …show more content…
While Helen feels she has the ability to destroy anyone that may cross her, she also lives in a constant state of mistrust and the only emotion she can openly convey is anger. This is a direct result of years of abuse, praise and objectification at the hands of all the men in her life.
“Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing” is a cleverly written and very important poem about the dangers of objectification and how it can simultaneously build up and destroy a person. Atwood uses the mysterious character of Helen of Troy to point out that rather than breeding insecurity and degradation, objectification is a means of control that can work in both directions and may even harden its subject in very damaging