"Flower Feet"

Term Paper # 101439

English > Analysis
Literature > Poetry

"Flower Feet"

An analysis of Ruth Fainlight's poem "Flower Feet".

947 words () | 0 sources | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper briefly analyzes and assesses Ruth Fainlight's memorable poem, "Flower Feet". In so doing, the paper looks at the physical shape of the poem, the curious decision by Fainlight to abandon many commonplace poetic devices (while still judiciously using others) and the powerful relevance of the poem even to today's world.

From the Paper:

"One of the most obvious things about Ruth Fainlight's impressive poem is how the lines of the work vary in length; they are disjointed, in other words. For instance, the opening line of the poem has eight syllables in it; the second line has ten and the third line has eleven syllables. This uneven pattern is continued throughout the course of the poem and the unevenness of this sort of construction can be seen as a sort of metaphor for the inequality of forcing women into what amounts to crippled servitude just so that they can satisfy male ideals of what constitutes beauty and femininity.|"