Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Literature - Essay Example She has been judged to be good at her art despite being a woman, because she fosters patriotism, however the poet questions the patriarchal roots of society that mandate the raising of boys as little soldiers and demanding the ultimate sacrifice from women rather than from men. According to Cooper (1988:147) the poem â€Å"Mother and Poet† appears to be an indictment of patriarchy. This work of the poet must be examined within the context of her earlier work in Aurora Leigh, where she described the poet’s act of creation as one that is invariably attributed to be male, since poets are those who produce poems which â€Å"are men, if true poems.† (Barrett-Browning, AL:5,1181, 3:90-91). However, in the poem â€Å"Mother and Poet†, the male figure of the boys’ father is dispensed with altogether and the mother appears to be the all encompassing figure in the poem, subtly alluding to the need for a resurgence of the importance of females. The entire poem is centered upon the female figure of the mother and the deliberate exclusion of the father figure appears to reinforce an underlying indictment of patriarchy which decries the ability of women to produce poetry, as illustrated in Browning’s earlier Aurora poem. The growing awareness of the poet about the tragedy of war is reflected in the poem â€Å"Mother and Poet†. The poet upholds the ideals behind the war, especially in the context of the Italian struggle for independence, and believes that the war is succeeding. But her focus in the poem is on the experiences of Italian women and she has highlighted how women actually give up more than the men, during a war, because â€Å"the birth pangs of nations will wring us [women] at length into wail such as this – and we sit on forlorn† (Barrett-Browning:93-94). Even the woman who is able to bear the pains of child birth