Women in Society

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the evolution of women through time by focusing on Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", written in the early 1600s, Dorothy Livesay's "The Three Emilys", written in 1972 and Michael Ondaatje's "To a Sad Daughter", witten in 1984. The paper shows how these three poems depict the way that women are viewed by society and the struggles they face being a part of it. The paper highlights how from the time of Herrick to that of Ondaatje, women have made considerable progress in their role from an object of beauty and virginity to a free and independent young adult entering the world without gender constraints.

From the Paper:

"Herrick's poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" illustrates how women are considered objects of beauty. They are prized for their looks and sexuality, not for their intellect or talent. The only power they have over men is their virginity. However, as the poem states, women have to "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,/ as Old Time is still a-flying:/ And this same flower that smiles to-day/ To-morrow will be dying." Since beauty is their only trait of importance, they have to use it while they are young, for with age it will disappear. This poem appeals to moral women to take advantage of what they have, while they have it. Herrick is stressing that time is short and youthful virgins should be finding a man to marry "For having lost but once your prime,/ You may for ever tarry.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dunn, Catherine M. "The Changing Image of Women in Renaissance Society and Literature." What Manner of Woman: Essays on English and American Life and Literature. Ed. Marlene Springer. New York: New York UP, 1977. 15-38.
• Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1963
• Herrick, Robert. A Selection from the Lyrical Poems of Robert Herrick. Charleston: Bibliobazaar, 2007.
• Landrum, David, "Robert Herrick and the Ambiguities of Gender." Texas Studies in Literature and Language 49.2 (2007): 181-207
• Meyer, Bruce. Arrivals: Canadian Poetry in the Eighties. New York: Greenfield Review Press, 1985.

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