Women's Poetry and Women's Politics

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the poetry of Muriel Ruckeyser, as found in her book "The Book of the Dead", and that of Adrienne Rich, using her work entitled "Twenty-one Love Poems". The paper gives a biographical background on each of the poets, stressing their importance to the contemporary women's movement and to American poetry. Rich's poems are explored for their ideas on the relationships between women, and Ruckeyser's are studied in terms of their comparison to a documentary and in relation to her strong political view.

From the Paper:

"To many, Poetry is the voice of women. It is the way in which women can express their inner thoughts and feelings, to write the things that they can not say. Poetry is more than words on paper but someone's feelings and life poured into the readers mind. Poets let the readers climb inside their heads and taste what the poet feels, sees, and thinks.
Two major women poets that are in the inner ring of American feminist poets are Muriel Ruckeyser and Adrienne Rich. Though their poetry may be different in content, many of their messages are the same: we need to be heard. Ruckeyser's "The Book of the Dead" describes conditions and feelings of the Gauley Bridge tragedy through actual courtroom testimonies to words from actual citizens of the town. Adrienne Rich's "Twenty-one Love Poems" describes in many ways, her love of her companion as well as their struggles and times together."

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