Woman to Man by Judith Wright

By tanya neuendorf, Student

Critical analysis of poetry by Judith Wright

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

The particular poem that I have decided to present today gave Wright’s second book its title and was admittedly written by Wright for her husband whilst she was pregnant with his child. The poem’s title ‘Woman to May’ has several connotations at first glance. Once could interpret it as a woman bestowing certain gifts to a man, specifically sexual favours. Or perhaps the title is a comp0arison or even a challenge between the sexes, on to interpreted more as ‘Woman vs. Man’. The title also leaves the poem open – it can be read and appreciated by any man or woman across the globe.

I believe that Wright’s main purpose in writing the text was to express her feelings about the creation of her soon-to-be-born child. As her primary intended audience was her husband, Wright wishes to convey her feelings about the child they have created, while it grows ever-more inside of her. Her poem not only explores fertility and birth, but also speaks boldly and almost proudly of female sexuality, highlighting sex as a symbol of life.

Wright wrote this piece during 1949, a time then such things as conception and pregnancy were not topics of public discussion. By writing such a piece, Wright took a stance against the social pressures and norms of the post-war years when men were once again asserting themselves as masters of their domain. Wright could be called a feminist, even a revolutionary for composing such a daring and emotive text during such an era. Pieces like ‘Woman to Man’ highlight how no barriers or limits can hold back the power of the written word.

Yet despite Wright’s possible feminist stance, I doubt she wrote the poem with the purpose of educating the male population about pregnancy; rather, it is my belief that she is attempting to share the joy of creation that exists between two people – woman and man.

Wright’s use of personal pronouns illustrates the level of intimacy that she shared with her husband, as well as prompts the reader to make connections with similar moments of intimacy in his or her own life. The use of such lines as ‘you and I have known it well’, ‘our embrace’ and ‘our eyes’ describe, with a certain amount of intimacy, the act of creating a child. In fact, the style of the piece is highly intimate, as well as confronting and uses a wide range of poetic techniques to convey her intended message.

The use of words associated with nature such as ‘seed, ‘wild tree’, ‘rose’ and ‘crystal’ help present a direct message about the importance of creation and birth. In addition, Wright uses a number of striking metaphors: ‘This is the blood’s wild tree that grows, the intricate and folded rose’ describes the network of veins and arteries in the human body that connect mother to child, whilst the word term ‘wild tree’ suggests the passion that created the child; the tree of life.

Wright also uses alliteration. The sound of the poem is soft and gentle until Wright almost spits out the line ‘the blind head butting in the dark’. In the final Stanza she turns from her joyful contemplation to face harsh reality. This image is suggestive of the violence implicit in labour as the child’s head s thrust against the neck of the womb. It is also suggestive to sperm finding its way to the ovum. Additionally, the line ‘the blaze of light along the blade’ most likely refers to the blade of the knife which cuts the umbilical cord and frees the child for the first time into a lifetime of independence. Through such suggestive imagery, the potential danger that exists in childbirth is illustrated for the audience.
The poem ends on a reflective note that keeps the audience guessing. The final line ‘oh hold me for I am afraid’ could be interpreted on a number of different levels. Is Wright expressing her fear of childbirth, or of the responsibility she must bear? Or is she talking about a different kind of fear, the fear of raises a child in a post-war world?

The poem has a rhythmic pattern that compliments the metaphors and imagery. It’s like a song, beginning bold, building up, but ending in a quiet tone, making the reader reflect about the celebration of life and love and creation conveyed in ‘Woman to Man’.

Its quality as a poem has ensured its status as one of the better poems in Australian literature. The sensitive handling of a topic that has a universal relevance among women is a credit to Judith Wright.