Last Wednesday I attended
the ‘Feminism in Poetry’ panel at a student conference in the University of
Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. In this panel three students read their analysis
essays about feminism in three different poems. The poems were “Mirror” by
Sylvia Plath, “Rape” by Adrienne Rich, and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepard” by
Sir Walter Raleigh. The one I liked most was “Mirror” in which the theme of beauty
standards for women. The student explained that the author presents that these
standards follows the woman in all ages. She also explained that the mirror can
be very cruel because the women are looking for a certain reflection and
society says what the “perfect” reflection is. Age makes it harder for women to
feel beautiful in the terms of society.
The experience
listening to this panel was different because it is not very common for me to
attend this kind of conferences in which students present their works and
knowledge. And it was different to be on the audience this time. The speakers
were very calmed and what they were saying was clear. They were on an advance
English class at the university. In this panel it was developed a very good discussion
in the question and answer section.
She was right, the reflection is not a match to what a person is expecting to see because of society standards of beauty. I guess it also depends on who is looking at the mirror, as they say beauty is in the aye of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy by Sylvia Plath very well known and an incredible read. Her work is definitely one that should be studied. Wish I could've attended this panel.
ReplyDeleteI wished I could have attended this panel also. I have heard great reviews about Sylvia Plath and Adrienne Rich. Maybe now that I graduate and will have some "me time" I take some time and read some of her works. I love when writters expose harsh, truthful and realistic life situations through poetry...ugh! love it!!!
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