Poem Paper

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

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Poetry Paper The alternate versions of May Swenson's poem "Women"(pg 474 & pg 477) will be compared and discussed to point out several differences as well as similarities which make the poem more effective and why. At first glance, there are obvious differences in form because the poem on page 474 was open form, also known as free verse, while the same poem on page 477 was written in closed form or fixed form.

The form in which a poem is written can dramatically change the overall meaning of the poem. This was very obvious when comparing the poem and its two different forms to one another. When I first looked at the version written in open form on Pg 474, it painted a picture for me. First I saw the title of the poem and then my eyes were obviously drawn to the style in which the words were placed on the page.

My first reaction made the image out to be an upside down stool placed on top of another stool. The open form used along with the title illustrated the shape of a sexual nature. It gave me the impression of a woman's breast while the poem narrowed to that of a woman's waist and followed the contour down to approximately the upper thigh. With this in mind, Swenson immediately portrayed the curves of a woman. I believe Swenson chose this form with that in mind. It gets the reader thinking about how beautiful, soft contours, and curvy a woman's body is perceived.

As I read into the poem, I realized the meaning was not about how soft, beautiful, and curvy a woman may be. Instead it was depicting a woman who was to be the support for men. With the open form, I found it...