ipl-logo

Similarities Between Emily Dickinson And Sylvia Plath

1072 Words5 Pages

This thesis will be dealing with the life and work of two most prominent women writers of the 19th and 20th century, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath. For better understanding of complex topics their work reflects, I will describe important events from their biographies. Although Dickinson and Plath lived in two different centuries they were connected by a common thread, the position of women in the male-dominated world. Not only that they wanted for women to have the same rights as men, but also to be free from the roles of housewives and mothers which were imposed on them by a conservative society. They fought for these rights in only way they could, by writing. In order to show the manner in which Dickinson’s and Plath's poems portray gender relations and, more specifically, how they granted women a strong voice, I will analyze several poems and a novel. Historical background of that time will allow us an insight of the important processes in which many women were engaged. These processes refer to the First and Second Wave of Feminism. Although Dickinson and Plath were not active members of these movements, they are considered to be one of the cornerstones of modern and more equal world.

2. THE UNDERSTANDING OF FIRST WAVE OF FEMINISM

"Feminism is the …show more content…

“Writing was the world of each woman. In a world of exaltation of his imagination, feminine inscription seems single and sudden” . With the right for an education they gained skills which they used for their talent. Many social reforms led by suffragettes and their awareness of the situation in which they were, gave women writers an audience and a form in which they manifested their opinion. Women writers such as Emily Dickinson, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Kate Chopin, Gail Hamilton and many others wrote poetry, novels, letters, essays, articles in which they portrayed the often conflicting expectations imposed on them by

Show More
Related
1443 Words | 6 Pages

In summary, writing enables women to receive social recognition with their scholarship, participate in public affairs and increase their domestic status within

Read More
642 Words | 3 Pages

After skimming through Volume 1 of The Norton Anthology Literature by Women, I noticed the reoccurring themes of patriarchy, women subordination, and the strength to be creative despite oppression. During the times that these literary pieces were written, women were constantly battling the patriarchy in order to get basic rights. During the earlier time periods, intelligence was seen as a sign of an evil spirit in a woman, resulting in miniscule amounts of literary works written by women. Women were not provided with equal spaces to creatively express themselves, as mentioned by Virginia Woolf. Moreover, they were not given the same publishing opportunities, many women either went anonymous or by a fake male name to have their works published.

Read More
1075 Words | 5 Pages

It may skew her thinking and at times be subjective. The intended audience is someone who is studying literature and interested in how women are portrayed in novels in the 19th century. The organization of the article allows anyone to be capable of reading it.

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

Gender Equality Throughout America’s history, women have struggled to obtain basic human rights, gender equality, and general respect from men. These issues continue on into our current day-to-day life and will seem to continue for many years to come. In American literature, there are two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth, amongst many, who voiced their struggles as women in America. Stanton’s piece, “Declaration of Sentiments”, is a revised version of the “Declaration of Independence”, and it outlines the many rights women have been withheld from.

Read More
505 Words | 3 Pages

During the beginning of the war Venet’s writing suggests that many didn’t know quite what to do. However, as time lingered on many women abolitionists both young and old began to find their role in different important movements that had a key focus on emancipation. Further on in the book Venet concentrates her writing on a woman by the name of Anna Elizabeth Dickinson. Regarded as the “Abolition’s Joan of Arc,” Dickinson would become one of the most “popular women lecturers of the abolitionist cause” (Venet 37). Forced in to work due to her father’s death, Dickinson obtained the ability to connect with the working class.

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

Religion is undoubtedly something that is incredibly important for many people. It at times serves as a source of comfort, a sense of purpose, or even a sense of belonging. Because of this, it has been a common origin of inspiration for many poets regardless of origin and time. Anne Bradstreet and Emily Dickinson are no exception. Both reference religious beliefs and God numerous times throughout their works, but they do so in different ways.

Read More
803 Words | 4 Pages

Historically, women have been discriminated in many fields—art, science, and politics. People believed that women had no talent and they all needed to be housewives without doing anything special outside of the house. Even though women have been isolated from doing active roles in history, British female writers showed their abilities as women and gave huge impact on the history. There are three exemplary female authors in Britain, Jane Austen, Mary Shelly and George Eliot, who changed the history. Jane Austen was raised under the respected parents who emphasized the necessity of education(Anderson).

Read More
1279 Words | 6 Pages

Both poets are very similar to each other in a way that both of them lived in the nineteenth century. "The two giants of 19th-century American poetry who played the greatest role in redefining modern verse are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (Burt)". Both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are considered as the founders of today’s modern American poetry, whose they put the keystone, and which was further developed by other poets over the years. The poetry has been redefined. The modern poetry becomes more discreet which uses the topics of everyday life.

Read More
1622 Words | 7 Pages

The authors of these pieces deserve most of the credit for the progressive society today, their writing and their ability to present female sexuality permitted society to mold and accept the basic fact of the existence of female

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

Through the centuries writers have contributed to the local and global community written works that capture the reader’s inner most thoughts, ambitious, desires and perspective of reality. Poetry is a unique form of writing that has the ability to influence generation past, present and future. Through the a few selected authors; Shakespeare, Blake, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost and Rich the average reader can find from each author’s unique style and perspective their culture and issues or philosophical idea of their era. William Shakespeare an ancient writer of the 16th century composed his famous sonnets, a 14 line pattern that depicts a philosophical thought of that time period. Shakespeare portrait his view on life, love, and death using

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth

Read More
1082 Words | 5 Pages

The portrayal and role depicted in the literature helped women in the long run to gain acceptance and equality in society. The literary contributions made and for women continue to be a springboard for women to gain equality to men. Finally, the accomplishment of these women writers who struggled to publish their fragile poems and stories could spread a template for other women around the word on how they can actually voice out their thoughts and help improve their own rights. Thus, women will continue to gain equality and recognition, and this success will also continuously impact the

Read More
1678 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout time, women have typically had to work harder than men to be recognized in a field. This has made it difficult for women to receive recognition for their achievements and this has been especially prominent throughout history as the most famous artists have been men. Women have been used as an object and taught to be seen rather than heard. During the late Victorian era, women were reduced to their looks and their success in life was determined by how closely they fit the beauty standard and who they married. They were often seen as helpless and dependant through their restricting fashion and lack of freedom.

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

The way that Sylvia Plath presented the image of women in her poems drawattention of many to the problem of patriarchy and overshadowing the importance of the female role in the society. She was a great poetess and a literary revolutionist in a female world. By combining irony, extendedmetaphors and a great use of language she was able to show the inequality and the dominance of man over woman in the society. She showed that even as, according to the society,a comparatively weak personcould fight for the right cause with her firmest weapon,her extraordinary style of writing. She revolutionised the world of poetry and presented women as a very strong part of the society capable of accomplishinggreat things.

Read More
1117 Words | 5 Pages

Therefore, she presents the sad reality of those women who were primarily judge by their physical appearance and not by their intelligence. It is important to note that the poem’s title uses indefinite article and in that Barbauld implies that these rules were imposed on all woman, and that this poem is not just a pure description of some particular description. One modern critic expressed his opinion that this poem refuses to consider women 's writing as anything but 'correct ' strokes of the pen, nevertheless it is the society who refuses to consider women’s writing as anything but correct, neat, elegant strokes of the pen. That’s exactly what Barbauld tries to present in this short poem. The society never expects nor lets women to express themselves as intellectual

Read More

More about Similarities Between Emily Dickinson And Sylvia Plath

Related Topics

Open Document