Comparison between ‘Woman Workˇ and ‘Overheard
in County Sligoˇ
Woman Work and overheard in County Sligo are both poems which give us an
image of the role of woman in the past, and how she contributed to society
Through reading both these poems, it is apparent that both of the poetsˇ
backgrounds have influenced the poems. In the past, women were not
considered important in society, and their efforts were not valued, not even by
woman herself. Women were expected to stay at home, and become
housewives. Woman lived in a society in which there was pressure to get
married, wither by family pressure or societal pressure. It was not necessary for
woman to conform to the beliefs and wishes of society, but many women felt
compelled to follow the typical image expected of woman.
Maya Angelou and Gillian Clarke are two female poets who felt it was
important to write about the situation that some woman had to live in. Maya
Angelou is a black female who felt compelled to write about how woman were
treated in the years before her. She felt her ancestors were suppressed, not
only because of their African race but because they were woman. Her poem,
Woman Work, is about a womanˇs struggle everyday to keep up with life,
and dothe housework.
The woman in Woman work is unhappy with her life. She has many jobs to do,
and does not show any positive emotion towards them. She is constantly
working, and this is her main priority in life. We know that she has children.
She says ‘lˇve got the tots to dressˇˇ. There is no mention of the childrenˇs fat
her in the poem, which may indicate that he gives her no help in the
housework.
The woman is very tired and flustered. She says ‘Let me rest tonightˇ, which
implies that it is almost a privilege for her to rest, and she is too busy to rest.
We know she is flustered as she saysˇ Cool my brow againˇ, which implies that
she is hot and bothered. Woman Work starts with a long list of chores that
she needs to do. This highlights her massive workload that she has to deal
with. This verse is the largest to emphasise all the jobs that she must do.
ln Woman Work, l feel the atmosphere is very sad. She is very tired, and needs
to rest, which shows she is unhappy. ln the first verse, she repeatedly uses
the word ‘lˇ. This emphasises that no one helps her with her chores, and she is
responsible for everything. The woman in Woman work is not well off. We know
this as she says ‘Star shine, Moon glow, youˇre all that l can call my own.ˇ This
implies that she does not own materialistic possessions. lt could also imply
that she does not even own her own time, as it is always taken up by doing the
household chores.
The structure of the first verse uses no punctuation. This speeds the first verse
up, to reflect her life, and all she has to do. The use of concrete nouns in the
first verse also suggests all she has to do.The woman in Woman Work could be
angry with her situation. She says ‘Storm, blow me from hereˇ This could
reflect her anger and aggression at her situation, as storms are ferocious.
We know that she wants to get away. She says ‘Blow me from hereˇ This
implies she wants to get away, and is unhappy. It can also imply that she
feels trapped, and feels oppressed, as she can not leave.The last four verses of
the poem are much slower. This could reflect what she would ideally like her
life to be like. Nature is used in the last four verses to show….
The picture of womanhood conveyed in Woman Work is a very negative one.
Woman is oppressed, and man is more domineering. We get no mention of a
man helping out in the housework, and the woman has a great responsibility
placed on to her. The woman in Woman Work is unhappy, feels she has no
control over her life; her life is monotonous and unhappy. She is trapped in
this cycle and feels she can not escape.
Overheard in County Sligo is a poem with similarities and differences to
Woman Work. Overheard in County Sligo is written by Gillian Clarke. Gillian
Clarke is a welsh poet who felt many women in the past suffered as a result
of societal pressure. Her poem is about a woman who is not happy with her
life but feels compelled to act the way she is expected to as a woman.
The poem ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ starts off peacefully and calmly. It says
‘with a field of cows and a yard of hens and six white geese on the pondˇ. These
lines give us an image of an idyllic and fulfilled life that this woman is living,
while the reality of her life is much harsher. This image we are given does not
show the womanˇs inner emotions and feelings and emotions on her life, but
just show the way society would see her life.
In comparison to ‘Woman Workˇ, ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ starts off much
differently to ‘Woman Workˇ. ‘Woman Workˇ starts off by giving us a large list
of chores the woman needs to do, which show the reality and harshness of her
life, while ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ starts off in a way where we are given an
image of an idyllic, pleasant and stress free life.
The woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ says ‘I live at the back of beyond. This
line may imply that she is isolated from companionship, and is lonely. Similarly,
in ‘Woman Workˇ, we are given no mention of her having a social life or
companions, but for different reasons to the woman in ‘Overheard in County
Sligoˇ. While the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ may be lonely
because she lives in an isolated place, the woman in ‘Woman Workˇ has no
time for a social life, and could, also, be lonely, like the woman in ‘Overheard in
County Sligoˇ.
We learn that the woman could have freedom, but has not taken it. The poem
says ‘The road runs down the open gate and freedomˇs there for the takingˇ.
These lines imply that she is not free, as she says ‘freedoms there for the
takingˇ. She obviously feels that she can not take her freedom, as though
something is stopping her.
In comparison to ‘Woman Workˇ, the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ
has the chance to be free. The woman in ‘Woman Workˇ is trapped and has no
way out of her way of life. She is almost like a slave, and does not have the
option of having freedom, like the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ.
From this view point, they are totally different.
We learn that the woman in Overheard in County Sligo did not expect her life to
turn out in this way. She says ‘l had thought to work on the Abbey Stage;. The
word thought is significant as it shows she has not fulfilled her dreams, and
could therefore be unhappy because of this. ln comparison to ‘Overheard in
County Sligoˇ, the woman in ‘Woman Workˇ most probably expected her life to
turn out this way, as we are not given any indication of any other dreams,
hopes or ambitions she may have in her life. Her life is all about doing chores,
and she does not have the time to think about her ambitions, unlike the
woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ.
We know that she is unhappy. She says ‘l ought to feel lˇm a happy womanˇ.
What is significant in this line is that she uses the ‘oughtˇ. She uses this word as
through societyˇs eyes, her life is idyllic, and she would be seen as ungrateful
for not being satisfied with her life. This line shows she is not a happy woman.
Similarly, the woman in ‘Woman Workˇ is also unhappy. She saysˇ Storm, blow
me from hereˇ, which implies that she is unhappy, and wants to leave. Although
they are unhappy for different reasons (the woman in ‘Woman Workˇ is
overworked, while the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ feels she has not
fulfilled her ambitions) they are both unhappy with their lives as women, and are
not satisfied with the way they are living.
We learn about the womanˇs ambitions in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ. She says
‘l had thought to work on the Abbey Stageˇ. The most important word in this line
is the ‘thoughtˇ. This word implies that she had wanted to work on the Abbey
stage but she hasnˇt achieved her dreams, and may be feeling unfulfilled. She
wants fame, and recognition, which may indicate that she is not given much
attention. She may feel that her work as a housewife is not appreciated by
men, or society, and wants to do something that she will be recognized for.
In comparison to the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ, the woman in
‘Woman Workˇ has no time for ambitions or dreams. She lives in a very
harsh and gruelling lifestyle, and does not have the luxury of freedom
being an option, like the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ The next
verse gives us a contrast of the womanˇs reality in ‘Overheard in County
Sligoˇ. It is a contrast from the previous verse as what she is doing with her
life is totally different to how she wanted it to be. She says ‘But I turn to
fold the breakfast clothˇ. This verse gives us an idea of how her life is now,
and we now understand why she is unhappy.
The woman in Overheard in County Sligo may feel slightly disillusioned with
herself. She says ‘And to find my face in the glassˇ. This may suggest she feels
lost, and doesnˇt see the person she wants to be.
In the next verse, she goes on to say ‘I ought to feel Iˇm a happy womanˇ. She
thinks she ought to feel a happy woman because in societyˇs eyes she has the
idyllic and perfect life; she is a married woman, with a large house, and is rich.
At the start of the poem, the woman in Overheard in County Sligoˇ mentioned
living at the back of beyond. In the last verse, she says ‘I live at the back of
beyondˇ. She has changed the ‘atˇ to ‘inˇ , which is very significant as it implies
that she Is not going to leave and is going to carry on living her life unhappily.
Overheard in County Sligo is written in a traditional, four-line verse, with the
2nd and 4th lines rhyming to reflect the traditional role of woman at home. It
stays at the same speed all through the poem, and keeps the steady rhythm.
In both poems there is no mention of their husbands helping out with the
housework, which may suggest that these poems were written in times
when women were traditionally expected to stay at home, and look after the
house.
The tone in both poems are very pessimistic, and I feel it is no coincidence that
they are both poems about women. Men in the past were more domineering,
and women were not recognized for the hard work they did in the home. This is
why the majority of women were unhappy with their lives, as they did not feel
appreciated for the work they did.
Overall, both poems show similarities and differences. While Woman Work is
about a woman who has bo way out of working, and house-keeping, while
‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ is about a woman who is unhappy with her life,
and could have freedon, if she wanted, but feels pressure from society to keep
her life the way it is.
The similarity between both the women in these poems is, even though one is
rich and one is poor, they are both women who are unhappy, oppressed,
and feel trapped by their lives. I think that even though the woman in
‘Overheard in County Sligoˇ is richer, and may be more well-off than the
woman in ‘Woman Workˇ, they are both unfortunate and have the same
amount of pressure on them. I like both poems, but I prefer ‘Woman Workˇ as I
like the use of language and imagery in the last four verses. I like the lines ‘Fall
softly dewdrops and cover me with whiteˇ I think using nature at the end of
the poem makes the poem better, as it emphasises all the lack of materialistic
things she owns, and nature is all she has. I think the use of vocabulary is very
good, and Maya Angelou has made the majority of the last four verses very
peaceful.
On the other hand, I like that ‘Overheard in County Sligo starts off with an
overview of a woman, who, on the surface, has the perfect life, while she is
secretly living inmisery.