Women

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“Women” is a free-verse poem, as it has no discernible rhyme scheme or meter. The poem is one stanza, consisting of 26 short lines. Each line has only one to five words, or no more than six syllables; as a result, the shape of the poem seems to sway in and out. The nouns that emphasize the main features of the women’s efforts, such as “step” (Line 4), “hands” (Line 6), and “armies” (Line 13), occupy their own lines. The beginning of each line is made significant with capitalization, but the only end punctuation is a period that comes at the finale of the poem, making the entire piece feel like one long breath. Walker uses enjambment with complete thoughts carrying on from line to line. For example, enjambment appears in the three lines it takes Walker to discuss one of the women’s domestic chores: “And ironed / Starched white / Shirts” (Lines 9-11), compelling the reader to reflect on each word before reading or speaking the next to complete the thought.

Metaphor

At the time of her writing and publishing this poem, the controversial Vietnam War was underway alongside the memory of slavery and the Civil War as Blacks and women battled against racism and misogyny in marches and protests. Walker compares the women in her poem to army personnel, following it up with visual imagery to set the scene for her comparison. Walker gives the women a traditionally-male role as leaders with “headragged generals” (Line 14) navigating “Across mined / Fields” (15-16) and other unpleasantries to opportunities for education to fill those heads with knowledge: “To discover books” (Line 19). Walker specifically generates the word “headragged” for this poem, which suggests far more protection for the head than footdragged. These women were not above using tactics to stop their enemies when they “Booby-trapped / Ditches (Lines 17-18) to make sure they reached their destination. Women had to play the game in order to overcome it. The idea of one generation helping another is only one type of sacrifice present in this comparison. The poem would also apply to the idea of a free person sacrificing to help a slave during the dangerous Underground Railroad conditions from the South to the North.

Alliteration

The repetitive use of a single consonant sound at the beginning of a word can contribute to the emotion and content of the poem while also adding a sense of rhythm to a poem with no specific rhyme or meter scheme. In “Women,” various examples come to light. The “st” sound of “stout of / Step” (Lines 3-4) beginning in the third line of the poem suggests the strength of the women’s movements, which are both forceful and direct. In order to make the “st” sound, the tongue has to exert a bit of control against the roof of the upper mouth in order not to offer a lisping quality. Beginning in Line 6, the breathy “h” in “Hands / How” (Lines 6-7) contrasts with the heavy “d” in “down / Doors” (Lines 7-8). Even though the women have a feminine touch, literally and figuratively, they also are not afraid to ball these hands into fists and knock down societal strictures that perceive women as one-dimensional.

Imagery

Visual imagery is most prominent in this poem, especially when Walker employs the use of the army metaphor and discusses “Headragged generals / Across mined / Fields” (Lines 14-16). The picture she paints of these strong women capable of manly work in “Stout of / Step” (Lines 3-4) is accompanied by the aural references of “Husky of voice” (Line 4), so the reader has a complete understanding of what these women are capable of achieving. Walker’s reference to “hands” (Line 5) as well as their counterpart “fists” (Line 6) brings forth the main tool for tactile imagery, which the women need throughout the poem to knock down doors and drag generals. “How they battered down / Doors” (Lines 7-8) combines tactile with visual and aural imagery to place these women in action mode. Walker then adds olfactory imagery to the mix in “And ironed / Starched white / Shirts” (Lines 9-11). The domesticity of the women’s chores conjures up the crisp feel of a starched shirt with the smell of the steam from the iron. The image of whiteness hovering all around a Black maid, slave, or wife makes it seem even more imperative that these women must act for change.