Role of women in For me from you and Poem at thirty nine

In “For me from you” The writer almost negotiates with the language. This is inflicted on the speaker, thus trying to obliterate her individuality.  This is conveyed by the last sentence of the poem “my place for me from you”.   However, in “Poem at thirty nine” the woman is has already gained her independence. This is shown by the phrase “the woman I’ve become”. Another example that outlines her independence is expressed by the title “Poem at thirty nine”. This creates emphasis upon her independence, thus making her as the character stand out more as an individual.  The independence is also portrayed by the use of adjectives “Writing”, “cooking, cleaning, chopping” and “tossing”. This emphasises on the woman’s strength of character and her determinism of conveying a twenty first century woman.

In “For me from you” the writer’s uses capital letters to force expression of emoticon into the speakers voice “EVERYTHING.....FROM YOU”. This outlines the lack of independence that  the woman had, whether with her husband or by the writer as well.  The use of repetition expresses the lack of ingenuity the man had “how much love, how much care”. Although the reciprocate agreement of the marriage proposal shows the woman in an inferior position.  However, the speaker’s use of puns demonstrate the negotiation upon society she has taken to help her regain her figure in society “proposing, come disposing”. On the other hand the puns also emphasise on the lack of freedom she had. The word “disposing” encloses the speaker in a barrier by her husband who is perceived as a semi God.  However, in “Poem at thirty nine” the writer structures the poem in free verse. The varying length of the sentences and the unrhymed lines almost emphasise on the speaker’s individuality. The free verse is also used to set the conservative tone the speaker portrays and emphasises on the individual struggle she faced alone to reach her independence “staring into the fire”.

In “For me from you” the speaker is portrayed as a pushover as she is easily driven by words “your words poured and poured”. The repetition of “poured” is used as a form of drag to manipulate the woman into marriage. This emphasises on the lack of character the woman had, and how easily led she was.  Another example of manipulation is emphasised by the repetition of “a”. This use of the indefinite article could indicate the woman’s struggle of escaping from the “box” which she has been boxed into by the culture. However, in “Poem at thirty nine” the use of enjambment emphasises on the complete freedom she as an individual had. The long sentences with lack of punctuation also are used to create that effect of freedom.