American Women Poets: A story of longing and lamentation
Dr. Tanvir Orakzai
October 25, 2006
The American poetry is spanned over 400 years since 1600s, when first colonial poets explored the new world and expressed their hopes and expectations in poetry. American poetry like any other form of literature has been constantly growing through the course of centuries. For Puritans, life had one purpose; to follow the Christian beliefs. For these women; poetry became a forum where they express their hopes and fears in a sacred way bringing them closer to God.
In Puritan social setup women were mute and meant to cling to the homely life concentrating on the “harsh” system of beliefs. It was natural for these women poets to live in their own space seeking freedom in the world to come. Bradstreet was the first women poet in America, whose book “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America” was published in England in 1650. Being a Puritan to the core, her poetry speaks of her re-affirmation of faith and God fear. Bradstreet works records the events of women subservient to men. Finding herself torn in the Puritan setup and wrangling with the worldly temptations, she tries to overcome by seeking refuge in the world to come.
It is this single theme constantly appearing in majority of the American women poetry in the later centuries. For these American women, poetry became a vehicle to launch a “willful rebellion against the strict social control”. They exhibited un-flinching loyalty of “intense fascination” with heroic sacrifice and martyrdom, which can be found consistently from Bradstreet to Dickinson. For example, Bradstreet wrote verses on burning of her house in 1666 questioning the “harsh Puritan God”. Similarly Dickinson fascination with pain, death, torture, agony is constantly reflected in her poetry, portraying her as a person who is suffering pain in the hope of peace. Dickinson poetry indicates attachment to a phantom or imaginations. Coming from a middle class; these women were perhaps first to read write and indulge in literary activities. They could not find the openness they desired; instead poetry became the only way to vent out feelings. It was natural for Bradstreet, Dickinson to find peace in reclusion. They longed faith and spiritual console in immortality, questioning God for the contradiction in the world and finding refuge in hope of eternity through verses. Despite being educated; they were part of a social setup where women had little or no freedom. Their poems are the ultimate expression of constant longing, fear, anger and sometimes insanity. This trend of spiritual journey continues in the works of Dickinson, Wylie and Sylvia Plath. Women in their times were denied to become hero, these poets considered suffering and pain to reach the ultimate destiny. As Dickinson once wrote” power is only pain” renouncing her ambitions to find peace in eternity and finding glory in God’s favour.
In Puritan times, men enjoyed freedom but women suffered quietly pouring their heart in poems and expressing their feelings in a tragic way. It was believed that men could not explore the pain; this sense of power or achievement of knowing pain became attractive, to these women. The Puritan idea was that women should be submissive and be homely wives redeeming men through their patience and tolerance. It was under these circumstances that American women could not express their feelings directly. In the words of Dickinson, who advises all women; “tell all the truth but tell it slant”. The 21st century has brought freedom to women; Dickinson phrase of slant truth is still used by modern women. Perhaps most of them are still living in unconscious fear of men.
In Puritan social setup women were mute and meant to cling to the homely life concentrating on the “harsh” system of beliefs. It was natural for these women poets to live in their own space seeking freedom in the world to come. Bradstreet was the first women poet in America, whose book “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America” was published in England in 1650. Being a Puritan to the core, her poetry speaks of her re-affirmation of faith and God fear. Bradstreet works records the events of women subservient to men. Finding herself torn in the Puritan setup and wrangling with the worldly temptations, she tries to overcome by seeking refuge in the world to come.
It is this single theme constantly appearing in majority of the American women poetry in the later centuries. For these American women, poetry became a vehicle to launch a “willful rebellion against the strict social control”. They exhibited un-flinching loyalty of “intense fascination” with heroic sacrifice and martyrdom, which can be found consistently from Bradstreet to Dickinson. For example, Bradstreet wrote verses on burning of her house in 1666 questioning the “harsh Puritan God”. Similarly Dickinson fascination with pain, death, torture, agony is constantly reflected in her poetry, portraying her as a person who is suffering pain in the hope of peace. Dickinson poetry indicates attachment to a phantom or imaginations. Coming from a middle class; these women were perhaps first to read write and indulge in literary activities. They could not find the openness they desired; instead poetry became the only way to vent out feelings. It was natural for Bradstreet, Dickinson to find peace in reclusion. They longed faith and spiritual console in immortality, questioning God for the contradiction in the world and finding refuge in hope of eternity through verses. Despite being educated; they were part of a social setup where women had little or no freedom. Their poems are the ultimate expression of constant longing, fear, anger and sometimes insanity. This trend of spiritual journey continues in the works of Dickinson, Wylie and Sylvia Plath. Women in their times were denied to become hero, these poets considered suffering and pain to reach the ultimate destiny. As Dickinson once wrote” power is only pain” renouncing her ambitions to find peace in eternity and finding glory in God’s favour.
In Puritan times, men enjoyed freedom but women suffered quietly pouring their heart in poems and expressing their feelings in a tragic way. It was believed that men could not explore the pain; this sense of power or achievement of knowing pain became attractive, to these women. The Puritan idea was that women should be submissive and be homely wives redeeming men through their patience and tolerance. It was under these circumstances that American women could not express their feelings directly. In the words of Dickinson, who advises all women; “tell all the truth but tell it slant”. The 21st century has brought freedom to women; Dickinson phrase of slant truth is still used by modern women. Perhaps most of them are still living in unconscious fear of men.
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