Adrienne Rich 1929-Present: Adrienne Rich 1929-Present By Megan, Kathryn, and Eleanor
Biography: Biography Born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore Maryland to Dr. Arnold Rich (Pathology professor at Johns Hopkins) and Helen Rich (pianist and composer).
She was home schooled until the 4th grade.
Graduated from Radcliffe College in 1951.
In 1951, Rich published her first poetry collection, A Change of World. Her earlier influences were T.S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, and Robert Frost.
In 1953, she married Alfred Conrad (Harvard economist). Later, she gave birth to 3 sons.
First change in Rich’s poetry style was seen in Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law, where Rich expressed her political activism towards women’s political and social roles.
In1966, Rich moved to New York, where she protested the Vietnam War.
Biography continued...: Biography continued... In 1970, Rich broke off her marriage with Conrad. Later, he committed suicide.
In 1974, Rich refused the acceptance of the National Book Award for Diving into the Wreck, claiming to celebrate it in the name of all women.
In 1976, Rich came out to the world about her lesbian relationships in her book, Twenty-One Love Poems.
Biography: Biography Rich has produced over 16 volumes of poetry and 4 of non-fiction prose. They have been translated in many different languages.
Rich has won many awards such as the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and the Lambda Book Award.
Rich currently lives in California.
“The Knight”: “The Knight” A knight rides into the noon,
and his helmet points to the sun,
and a thousand splintered suns
and the gaiety of his mail.
The soles of his feet glitter
and his palms flash in reply,
and under his crackling banner
he rides like a ship in sail.
A knight rides into the noon,
and only his eye is living,
a lump of bitter jelly
set in a metal mask,
betraying rags and tatters
that cling to the flesh beneath
and wear his nerves to ribbons
under the radiant casque. Who will unhorse this rider
and free him from between
the walls of iron, the emblems
crushing his chest with their weight?
Will they defeat him gently,
or leave him hurled on the green,
his rags and wounds still hidden
under the great breastplate?
1957
“The Knight” Criticism: “The Knight” Criticism Theme- Honor and bravery are unmasked by motive
Appearance vs. Reality
Uses heroic imagery such as “soles of his feet glitter” and “his palms flash in reply”
Makes an allusion in the first stanza to the stereotypical image of a British knight
Structure shift in poem occurs between the first and second stanza
The first stanza epitomizes a perfect knight through appearance; the second stanza reveals the reality of a cowardly man.
The imagery changes from beauty and awe to distasteful imagery from the first to the second stanza.
“The Knight” Criticism: “The Knight” Criticism The first stanza in itself is melodramatic almost to the point of hyperbole.
The third stanza uses rhetorical questions in order to convey the urgency of this man to be stripped from his false appearances. Ex. “Who will unhorse this rider” and “will they defeat him gently”
The speaker in this poem wants to unhorse the knight in order to allow him to be himself and not let his false appearances drive him to his death.
“Song”: “Song” You’re wondering if I’m lonely:
OK then, yes, I’m lonely
as a plane rides lonely and level
on its radio beam, aiming
across the Rockies
for the blue-strung aisles
of an airfield on the ocean
You want to ask, am I lonely?
Well, of course, lonely
as a woman driving across country
day after day, leaving behind
mile after mile
little towns she might have stopped
and lived and died in, lonely
If I’m lonely
it must be the loneliness
of waking first, of breathing
dawn’s first cold breath on the city
of being the one awake
in a house wrapped in sleep
If I’m lonely
it’s with the rowboat ice-fast on the shore
in the last red light of the year
that knows what it is, that knows it’s neither
ice nor mud nor winter light
but wood, with a gift for burning
1971
“Song” Criticism : “Song” Criticism Written one year after her divorce
Poem spurred by isolation and transition
Repetition of “lonely” demonstrates the feeling of isolation
Images of solitude and emptiness convey the speaker’s feeling that she’s the only one
Ex. needle in a haystack, plane on airfield, woman driving across country
Juxtaposed with a traditional woman
The contrast is indicated by the word “might”
The “little towns” are juxtaposed with the open areas
Juxtapositioning of being awake with being asleep
Ex. “breathing dawn’s first cold breath” and “with a house wrapped in sleep”
The last stanza conveys negative imagery of being metaphorically trapped
Ex. “rowboat ice-fast on the shore”, “the last red light”, and “ice nor mud”
The final image of wood
Wood is a “gift” for burning; but fire, both resourceful and admired, is destructive and feared.
“Power”: “Power” Living in the earth-deposits of our history
Today a backhoe divulged out of a crumbling flank of earth
one bottle amber perfect a hundred-year-old
cure for fever or melancholy a tonic
for living on this earth in the winters of this climate.
Today I was reading about Marie Curie:
she must have known she suffered from radiation sickness
her body bombarded for years by the element
she had purified
It seems she denied to the end
the source of the cataracts on her eyes
the cracked and suppurating skin of her finger-ends
til she could no longer hold a test-tube or a pencil
She died a famous woman denying
her wounds
denying
her wounds came from the same source as her power.
-1974
“Power”: “Power” The poem is about sources and frustration of women’s power.
Uses irony in order to demonstrate women’s struggle to change society’s perception of a woman’s place in the world.
Ex. “her wounds came from the same source as her power”
It is ironic how the source of Marie Curie’s power is the same source that weakened her through illness.
Employs the juxtapositioning of male and female
The male represents selfishness.
The woman is representative of selflessness.
The word “tonic” represents medicines used by doctors, mostly men, to scam patients; medicines were not effective.
Makes an allusion to historical figure, Marie Curie.
Marie Curie was a crucial figure who struggled to prove to the world that women were capable of the same things as men. Marie was a woman who struggled for power and respect in the world through her use of science.
Uses the repetition of the word “denying” in order to demonstrate the constant denial women have about their own capability.
Annotated Bibliography: Annotated Bibliography Adrienne Rich’s Literary Works
Nelson, Cary. “An Adrienne Rich Bibliography.” Online Internet. 5 May 2005. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/rich/biblio.htm
This is the live link to the list of Adrienne Rich’s Bibliography.
Reference Resources
Rich, Adrienne. “Song.” Diving into The Wreck. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1973. 20.
This is where the poem “Song” can be found.
Rich, Adrienne. “The Knight”. Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law. New York: Harper & Row, 1956. 16.
This is where the poem “The Knight” can be found.
“Rusted Legacy.” Poetry for Students. Vol. 15.
This contains Adrienne Rich’s biography.
Credits: Credits Pictures
http://www.fineartandgiftdepot.com/fantasy/ny8222_lg.jpg
This is the picture of the knight on slide 5.
http://www.denison.edu/publicaffairs/pressreleases/richbeck.html
This picture can be found on slide 1.
http://www.mi-pagina.cl/patricioluco/exposiciones/poetas/adrienne%20richUSA.jpg
This picture can be found on slide 3.
http://www.bestamericanpoetry.com/pages/volumes/?id=1996
This picture can be found on slide 12. The book featured is a book in which Adrienne was a guest editor.
www.yale.edu/opa/v31.n19/story4.html
This picture can be found on slide 11.
www.ohiou.edu/theohioreview/Rich.HTML
This picture can be found on slide 6.
www.logan.pvt.k12.co.us/Graphics/borders.html
This frame was used on slide 1.
Credits: Credits http://www.nortonpoets.com/richa.htm
This picture was found on slide 11.
http://www.baymoon.com/~poetrysantacruz/books/books.html
This picture was found on slide 12.
http://www.britannica.com/nobel/art/ocuriem001p1.jpg
This picture was found on slide 10.
http://www.tongass.com/images/Paintings/Blue%20Rowboat.jpg
This picture was found on slide 8.