Woman's World

In It's A Woman's World, Eavan Boland passionately urges women to rise up from confinement and embrace their latent strength. Through her use of symbolism and structure of the poem, Boland argues that contrary to popular belief, "the weaker sex" are powerful and have the ability to break free of inequality, reaching their fullest potential (bad thesis? its supposed to have contrast.).

Boland employs symbols of times both old and new to show the progression of women's places in society over time. The long struggle of women begins in ancient times, for as Boland writes, "Our way of life/ has hardly changed/ since a wheel first/ whetted a knife." These traditional, prehistoric symbols convey the timelessness (and monotony?) of women's struggle (repeated idea). However, although women have remained (constricted) since the beginning of time, they are a constant force- like the wheel- holding the fabric of life together and keeping the world moving. Women are the center(s?) of the wheel and the world, imbuing all other parts with their central strength. The idea of women as a flame are introduced in the second stanza. While the author implies that flames and wheels- the makings of civilization- have advanced while women have remained trapped, the flame may be a symbol of women's strength. Although weak seeming at first when compared to the advances of society, deep down women burn with a passion for equality and a potential of power (bad wording). The eternal flame is women's desire to overcome their setbacks. The symbol of the flame is used later in the poem as well