Poem Analysis: The Mother By Gwendolyn Brooks

Far before abortions became such a widely discussed political issue, and close to forty years before Roe v. Wade, Gwendolyn Brooks took a risk by writing a blatantly honest poem about her experiences with her own abortions. “The mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks is a poem written in 1945 in which the speaker opens up about her emotional experiences struggling and coming to peace with getting abortions. In “The mother,” having a woman author is crucial. Brooks, as a woman, is able to provide a perspective on something that no man would ever be able to comment on so deeply. Brooks begins the poem with a title, “the mother,” that critiques how society views the term mother. She is calling herself a mother, because even though she never had children,

For example, the first stanza is all written in the second person, and discusses abortions generally, showing what all women go through, and normalizing what a woman goes through when getting one. When Brooks writes, “you remember the children you got that you did not get,” she illustrates that anyone could go through this, and it may be “you” at some point in your life, even if that it unimaginable at this moment (Brooks 2). Clearly, this will influence people to realize that the issue of abortions should be discussed with a respectful attitude towards the woman, because abortions are normal in society, and usually received because otherwise, the child would in some way and for a variety of reasons, have a negative quality of life. By contrast, in the second stanza, Brooks uses first person to move further into her personal story. At this point, it is proven that the issue of abortions is universal, but she chooses to contemplate her own decisions and give her own perspective. She describes her children in her own story as, “My dim dears at the breasts they could never suck” (line 13). The use of “dim” to describe them shows that they did exist, but in a dark, far away, and low-lit place in her memory and the world. She uses “they” instead of “you” because she at this

Rhymes are intentional and when rhymes are placed, the narrator is emotionally stable and able to concentrate. But, throughout the poem, she stops using rhymes when she loses control of her emotions and is instead ranting. “The mother” uses rhymes, similar to those of children’s nursery rhymes, to momentary bring the aborted children back to life, and make them able to concentrate on what the narrator is saying to make her children further understand why she made the decision that she did regarding getting an abortion. She ponders about, “If I stole your births and names, your straight baby tears and your games”, imagining her aborted children as real kids(17-18). She is discussing how she stripped them of their “tears” and “games” that they could have had in their lives if they were born, and she is blaming herself for these losses. But, her blame is in more of a mourning manner, and less of a regretting tone, making the reader feel empathy for her. She is sad about her decision, but most likely had to do it for a reason outside of her control. Additionally, at the end of the poem, Brooks writes, “Believe me, I loved you all. Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved, I loved you all”, rhyming “all” with itself (30-32). By