Adrienne Rich Research Paper

Experiences and events in people’s lives have an effect on people’s choices and who they become. Adrienne Rich’s life impacted her poems, such as “Power” and “Diving into the Wreck” in her book, The Fact of the Doorframe: Selected Poems, 1950-2001. “"One of America's leading contemporary poets, Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929, in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Arnold Rich, was a professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins University, and her mother, Helen Jones Rich, was a pianist and composer.” (Diving into the Wreck). Adrienne Rich lived during the feminist and women’s movements. This largely influenced her life, including accepting herself. This led her to accept she was a lesbian. Her poetry, style, and themes were changed because

Adrienne Rich learns from her experiences and what is going on around her. She examines the labels people are put under by society. Through her writing she learns about herself and others (Concise Dictionary). Since Adrienne Rich incorporates her life and experiences into her poetry, events going on while she was writing would influence her. "It was in 1973, in the midst of the feminist and civil rights movements, the Vietnam War, and her own personal distress, that Rich wrote Diving into the Wreck (W. W. Norton), a collection of exploratory and often angry poems, which garnered her the National Book Award in 1974. Rich accepted the award on behalf of all women, and shared it with her fellow nominees, Alice Walker and Audre Lorde” (Poets.org). Since she includes developments happening during this time period, these movements would have influence over her writing. Her poetry demonstrates the influence of these movements. From her poem, “Power”, "She died a famous woman denying/her wounds/denying/her wounds came from the same source as her power..." (Rich 135) Marie Curie’s source of power was being a woman, who was strong and able to accomplish so much. Adrienne Rich looked up to empowering women, like Marie Curie, who broke the glass ceiling. Adrienne Rich was influenced by the women’s movement and feminism, which she was involved in, and put them into her

According to Adrienne Rich, "In the late fifties I was able to write, for the first time, directly about experiencing myself as a woman.... Until then I had tried very hard not to identify myself as a female poet. Over two years I wrote a ten-part poem called "Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law" (1958-1960), in a longer looser mode than I'd ever trusted myself with before. It was an extraordinary relief to write that poem" (Concise Dictionary). Before feminism, women were seen as lesser, and so Adrienne Rich would not want her poetry associated with women directly, but as the women’s movement began to become more known, she began to see women in a different light. This allowed her to feel good about writing as a woman poet. Even more change began happening in the ‘60s. "The status quo between the genders began to change in the 1960s, a decade of immense social upheaval that included the civil rights movement. A landmark year for feminism was 1963, which coincidentally was also the year when Rich began to find her own authentic poetic voice” (Diving into the Wreck). Adrienne Rich was beginning to find her true voice and as the women’s movement strengthened, she was finally able to express her true self, and embrace being a women, both in her life and in her poetry. During ‘50s and ‘60s Adrienne Rich was bringing up three children. Females are treated better now, than