Felicia Hemans
Hemans experienced what would today be considered discrimination. Her colleagues or fellow writers did not want her writing because she was a woman and they felt she belonged at home cooking a cleaning. They also did not approve of her being a "single mother", which happened because her husband left to start a new life. Some of what Hemans experienced in her day is still prevelant today. Some men still do not want to see women in the workplace with them and feel that they should be at home tending to the children.
The Wife of Asdrubal, in this poem Asdrubal had accepted defeat and had surrendered himself to the enemy. Did she stab her kids and throw them into the flames? Then go after them?
"Having thus spoken, she drew out a dagger, stabbed them both, and while they were yet struggling for life, threw them from the top of the temple, and leaped down after them into the flames"
In the poem,
Are those her infants, that with suppliant-cry
Cling round her, shrinking as the flame draws nigh,
Clasp with their feeble hands her gorgeous vest
I assume she is talking about the flames that were engulfing the children, and that the flames were raging as if the children belonged to it now.
This poem was about a mothers love the wife would have soon died and killed her children instead of having them stay with a coward who surrendered to the enemy and would not go down with out a fight.
And knelt to win the worthless boon of life
"Live, traitor, live!" she cries, "since dear to thee,
One cannot help but question did she feel her husband to be a traitor for walking out on her and her kids. Was this poem somehow a reference to how she felt? I would imagine that she felt betrayed when her husband walked out on her and her kids. She might have even felt as if he fed her and the kids to the fire, leaving them with nothing and to fend for themselves. Just speculation...I may be reaching... :-)
Hemans experienced what would today be considered discrimination. Her colleagues or fellow writers did not want her writing because she was a woman and they felt she belonged at home cooking a cleaning. They also did not approve of her being a "single mother", which happened because her husband left to start a new life. Some of what Hemans experienced in her day is still prevelant today. Some men still do not want to see women in the workplace with them and feel that they should be at home tending to the children.
The Wife of Asdrubal, in this poem Asdrubal had accepted defeat and had surrendered himself to the enemy. Did she stab her kids and throw them into the flames? Then go after them?
"Having thus spoken, she drew out a dagger, stabbed them both, and while they were yet struggling for life, threw them from the top of the temple, and leaped down after them into the flames"
In the poem,
Are those her infants, that with suppliant-cry
Cling round her, shrinking as the flame draws nigh,
Clasp with their feeble hands her gorgeous vest
I assume she is talking about the flames that were engulfing the children, and that the flames were raging as if the children belonged to it now.
This poem was about a mothers love the wife would have soon died and killed her children instead of having them stay with a coward who surrendered to the enemy and would not go down with out a fight.
And knelt to win the worthless boon of life
"Live, traitor, live!" she cries, "since dear to thee,
One cannot help but question did she feel her husband to be a traitor for walking out on her and her kids. Was this poem somehow a reference to how she felt? I would imagine that she felt betrayed when her husband walked out on her and her kids. She might have even felt as if he fed her and the kids to the fire, leaving them with nothing and to fend for themselves. Just speculation...I may be reaching... :-)
posted by frostygurl1 at 10:53 PM
1 Comments:
I liked Hemans particularly. I consider her poetry ver good. Moreover, I think that she was not liked not only because she was a woman, but also because in some of her poems she spoke against men. Moreover, I thouht that her poems had a lot of her personal experience in them, after all it is not possible to totally separate a poet from personal feelings (why should it be done anyway?). Hemans was hurt by the man, and we can certinly see that, but she was also a woman, who was not afraid to talk about her pain aloud.
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