Woman Poem Analysis

Register to read the introduction… “She tried to be a book, but he wouldn’t read” (lines15-16). She is trying everything she can to get the man to pay attention to her. A book contains many things form which you gain knowledge or entertainment or history. A book is a great resource for these and many other things. A book also signifies a source of authority, as it is a commonly used idiom referring to the final word on matters such as the following: “in my book”, “throw the book at”, “one for the books”, or “I can read you like a book”. The woman tried to be this resource for the man. She wanted to be his source for knowledge or entertainment. She wanted to be consulted as someone worthy of the final word. She thought if she could offer all the things a book can, then maybe he would appreciate her. “She turned herself into a bulb but he wouldn’t let her grow” (lines 17-18). A bulb is the rooted part of the plant. It stores food for the plant. It is the vital part of the plant just as the bulb is the most vital part of the human brain. It is also the reproductive part of the plant. A bulb has the potential to grow into something big. The woman here is trying to be the man’s life source; something he could not live without. She wanted to be a vital part of his life and wanted him to see her potential, but he made her feel as if he did not need her and that he saw her as …show more content…
“She decided to become a woman and though he still refused to be a man she decided it was all right” (lines 20-25). She decided that the changing was up to her. She did not have to wait for the man to give her permission to be what she wanted to be. The woman realized that she could depend on herself and did not need a man to reassure her of what she was doing.

Progression plays an important role in this poem. The woman starts out as a blade of grass, insignificant and simple. When she saw the man did not respond to this, she tried to be something more. Next, she tried to be a bird, happily dependent on him. Next, she tried being a spider, which is independent, aggressive, and predatory. Then she tried to be a book, a great resource. In her final attempt to get a response from him, she turned herself into a bulb, his vital life source. However she was a woman the whole time.

The author could have been using metaphors to show what she thought were the characteristics of men and women. The poem more likely shows the progression of women over time to find their place in society and the man’s struggle to deal with it. The woman in the poem was desperately trying to find her place of significance. She learned in the end, that being who she was in other people’s eyes was less important than being who she was in her own