Woman To Man Essay, Research Paper

At first

glance, the title seemed to have more than one connotation."Woman

to Man;" is the woman giving something to the man, maybe a gift?"Woman

to Man."Maybe the

title is trying to compare the two genders?I was

slightly confused when I read this poem at first, but it became apparent from

the rich metaphors, that it was about the sexual relation between the woman and

man. It is also about conception – or rather the potential of creating a child

from this sexual act – told from the woman’s point of view.Judith

Wright was very bold in writing such a poem since it was published in 1949,

when such issues weren’t discussed in the public, but as a well regarded poet,

she had achieved a good reputation for expressing herself, and therefore could

write a subjective poem about this issue.The main

idea of this poem, is based upon female sexuality and sensuality, and that sex

is symbolic of life, or death if pregnancy fails.The title

seems to mean now, "Woman to Man" as if the woman is offering herself

to the Man, offering her body to create a child, through the act of sex. It

also means that the woman has something to give to the man, not only the

pleasure, but through blood and pain, a child.The

language compliments the mood of this poem, as it varies from a sad and

melancholy cry, to a voice of hope, all in a constant confident feel, and by

this, the poet’s reflections and contemplation’s are communicated successfully

to us, making us feel in the same way she has felt.The first

stanza begins with a bold and confident entry describing in a simple way the

sexual relation between the man and the woman; or better said; Woman to Man.

The ’seed’ which the woman holds – has the potential of becoming a child. The

image of the day of birth as a ‘resurrection day’ is important in this respect

for, just as the resurrection of Christ defeated death, so too, does each

individual conception and birth.The use of

alliteration in this first stanza contributes a crescendo of confidence, which

relates to the pain, and stress building up until the conception. This also can

be interpreted as the excitement during the sexual act. The relief following is

shown in the three remaining stanzas which are quieter, and are more explanatory,

and by this the poet has intended to show us the relief emancipated from the

mother after the birth, or also, after their sexual act.There are

many strong metaphors, which compliment this poem, making the reader think of

the meanings:In line 4,

in the first stanza, the child who is active throughout, "foresees"

the "unimagined" light: it foresees the light of life which is

unimagined, because the embryo cannot possibly comprehend something which it

has never experienced.The second

stanza shows how the child which they are creating, is unforeseen to them, but

they feel its presence, it is an intimate moment where both the parents feel

another, as well as the child presence, for the reason which they came together

was to create the child.The third

stanza talks about the strength of the man ‘this is the strength that your arm

knows’, and about the beauty of the woman ‘the arc of flesh that is my breast’,

and how focused they are on each other, ‘the precise crystal of our eyes.’ The

image of the "blood’s wild tree that grows/ the intricate and folded

rose" ‘in stanza three, hints at the passion of the lovers, as well as

suggesting both the embryo’s physical dependence upon its mother, and also its

place in the generations of humanity. If we take the "intricate and folded

rose" to be the embryo, which is certainly both "intricate" and

"folded", then the "bloods wild tree" on which it grows is

the mother’s circulatory system, a great tree-like system of arteries and veins

rooted to the beating heart. The embryo is the flower and the fruit of this

tree, hanging on it, sustained by it. At the same time the tree suggests both

the family tree and the tree of life, a symbol for the continuity of life.In the

last stanza "the blaze of light along the blade" – probably the blade

of the knife which cuts the umbilical cord – frees the child to independent

life. The "blaze of light along the blade"also

suggests the pain and suffering of life which the child will not be able to

escape.Meanwhile

in a series of paradoxes, the poet suggests the mystery which the creation of

newlife

involves:This is no

child with a child’s face; this has no name to name it by…This is our hunter

and our chase …This is

the maker and the made; This is the question and the reply …Through

these paradoxes Wright conveys a sense of destiny, of an event which is both

sought and pre-ordained. Not only have the lovers sought out the child, but the

child actively seeks itsown

incarnation; it is "our hunter" as well as "our chase." The

child is active of the life force and the woman it too, controlled by its

power. This accounts for her fearful response in thefinal line

- "Oh hold me, for I am afraid." This line is wholly successful on a

dramatic level; for here the real world of passion and pain breaks in. At the

same time the poem as a whole hassuggested

that in each sexual act there is the potential for the creation of new life

which challenges time and death. The woman is the proud yet fearful instrument

of this process.The peom

has a rhythmic pattern that compliments the metaphors and paradoxes. The

stanzas begin and end, individually, for the first and last lines rhyme, which

creates a feeling of ‘wholleness’ to each stanza, quite appropriate to the act

of creating or bearing a child.It is like

a song, a pentameter that begins bold, but ends in a quiet tone, making its

reader reflect, not only about the ending, but the entire poem as a serious

issue, that fornication is, or can be, a holy act.?