Analysis of the poem Eve
"We are women, we are strong, stand together, fight what's wrong!" (www) is but one of the slogans that could be heard chanted throughout campuses all over North-America during the 1970's, as women were tired of being treated as second class citizens. This large-scale feminist movement was often coupled with a rejection of religious value, since many women considered that religion restricted them to conform to an ancient patriarchal mould dating back to Genesis. In fact, the old view of Eve as a tragic hero that is helpless in her misery was becoming marginalised and a new defiant Eve emerged. This defiance of God and of the typical role of women is expressed in a poem by Dorothy Livesay entitled "Eve", which portrays women as survivors who are finally taking control of their lives by rebelling against the authority of God. The poem expresses this view of Eve by exposing the ways in which women have been able to survive injustice, the fact that they are gaining precious knowledge through their adversities, and by revealing the necessity not to repress sexual temptations, which society advocates.The poem "Eve" attempts to demonstrate the tenacity of women who are still standing strong after having suffer
Most importantly, a tree is usually considered to be deeply rooted and resistant. This passage also evokes a sense of subservience and respect, as if the speaker was bowing down to honour the privilege of acquiring knowledge. In fact, the consonance of the t-sound throughout the poem seems to constantly evoke the word "temptation". The strength of the tree is meant to symbolize women's strong will and there ability to withstand abuse. In fact, the poem pictures women as constantly yearning for knowledge, because the speaker of the poem actually decides to "stoop" (l. All of this sexual imagery is expressed in a positive light, as the speaker of the poem seems to be frolic in her narration describing the experience as being "earth-sweet" (l. Moreover, the Eve embodied in the poem is glad to have left the security of the Garden of Eden, because it has exposed her to a world filled with new experiences, which have made her a much wiser and knowledgeable person. Her poem attempts to also discourage the conception that the Fall of Eden should be considered a punishment, but suggests that it opened the world to a whole array of pleasurable experiences. Dorothy Livesay's poem "Eve" thus advocates social and religious defiance as the means by which women can truly become free and in control of their destiny. The use of the word "thud" evokes an echo, perhaps to symbolise the original quest for knowledge that is still resonating in the minds of women today.
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