Dec 23, 2009

It’s a Woman’s World | Themes

History

The poem argues for two things: the recognition of women’s contributions to art and history and the greater inclusion of women in public life outside of the domestic sphere. Throughout the poem, the speaker laments that the way of life for women has barely changed since the dawn of history, which she states in the first stanza. Boland emphasizes that women have been too preoccupied with daily household chores such as purchasing bread, doing the wash, and cooking soup to participate in more public events that would qualify for the historical record. Although...