I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed by

I, being born a woman and distressed

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 15:33:44 UTC

I, being born a woman and distressed             A
By all the needs and notions of my kind,            B
Am urged by your propinquity to find                B
Your person fair, and feel a certain zest           A
To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:        A
So subtly is the fume of life designed,         B
To clarify the pulse and cloud the mind,        B
And leave me once again undone, possessed.     A
Think not for this, however, the poor treason       C
Of my stout blood against my staggering brain,      D
I shall remember you with love, or season        E
My scorn with pity, —let me make it plain:         C
I find this frenzy insufficient reason    D
For conversation when we meet again.            E

Vocabulary

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 15:35:55 UTC

Propinquity- the state of being close to someone or something; proximity
Zest- enjoyably exciting quality
Fume- anything that weakens clear thinking
Stout- brave and determined

Repetitions

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 15:44:17 UTC

Alliterate:
being born
needs notions
fair feel
bear body's breasts
so subtly
clarify cloud
think this treason
stout staggering
blood brain
shall season
my me make
pity plain
find frenzy
when we

Assonance:
being distressed
by my kind
the needs
urged your
person feel certain
body's upon
life designed
clarify mind
leave me
not however poor treason of blood

remember season
let me
frenzy reason
we meet

Echoes

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 15:52:33 UTC

The lines "cloud the mind" and "staggering brain."

The word "find" is in the poem twice.

The idea that the person is "fair" and then again "I shall remember you with love."

'Fume" and "cloud the mind"

Stanza/Free Verse?

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:08:46 UTC

This poem does not have any line breaks so it is not written with stanzas. It also is not a free verse because it rhymes and has a meter.

Tensions

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:11:13 UTC

The author describes attraction to another person in the beginning of the poem but then describes dislike at the end.
"clarify" and "cloud"
"stout" and "staggering"
"love" and "scorn"

Images

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:19:46 UTC

This poem evokes images of a woman in the early 1900's in her wool dress and white undergarments laying on her bed, writing in a journal. She is writing about a sexual partner that she was physically attracted to but doesn't want anything from him. I see her expressing her feelings in a personal way instead of saying it aloud to anyone. This is something intimate and private. She isn't upset or angry, just simply reflective. She seems to feel compelled to write about this person and then she's done with it.

Memories

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:25:29 UTC

1. This poem makes me think of watching an old western. For some reason I associate the writer as looking like one of the promiscuous women that they always portrayed in those old movies that I used to watch with my father.
2. I was reminded of high school when I would talk to my girl friends about boys. Sharing my feelings about who I liked and didn't or who I wanted to date or didn't.
3. I was also reminded of myself reading some erotica novels recently. I was in a book club for local women and every once in awhile someone would suggest reading a romance novel. To be fair to one another we would all read them and discuss them. At first glance, I did not realize how erotic this poem was. Once I analyzed it, I was reminded of some of the other erotica type reading I have done.

The Speaker

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:34:14 UTC

Again, I imagine the speaker as a woman in the early 1900's. I think she had a decent education for the time period. I get the feeling that this could have maybe been an affair and done in private since at the end she doesn't want a conversation if they were to meet again. It makes me think she might have been wealthy or married to a wealthy person. She seems to be confident with herself. She states she recognizes the attraction between her and the lover but she is content with the one time encounter. She doesn't need them or want a further relationship with them.

Value

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:43:02 UTC

To me, I see this poem as fairly valuable. As a feminist, I admire the writer. This was written in 1923, in a time when women were especially oppressed. I can imagine it wasn't well received, a woman writing about having intercourse with someone, then to say she did not want to have a relationship with that person. In that time, women were thought of as mousy housewives that did not dare express these types of feelings or desires. I think in 1923, this was gutsy to print and I love that the author gave women then and now this piece. We still have a long fight ahead for equality but I love seeing this boldness from a woman in a much harder time for women, This poem is not for everyone, but why should men be the only one's that can write provocatively? This was inspirational and empowering to me and I quite enjoyed it.

My Favorite Line?

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 16:50:52 UTC

"I find this frenzy insufficient reason
For conversation when we meet again."

Picture of the Poem

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 17:04:20 UTC

Unfortunately, I could not find the exact picture I wanted. I imagine the woman on the left in the same exact position as this woman below. In her mind she is thinking about how to put her thoughts on paper.

Woman I envision

hannah_brill — 2017-11-12 17:05:24 UTC

This is the woman I envision as the speaker. A beautiful, strong and confident woman who know what she wants. When I read the poem this is exactly the woman I see.