Petry

Homage to My Hips ' by Lucille Clifton

Clifton 's poem is a funny way of portraying the hips as an important part of a woman 's body . What appealed to me was its apparent simplicity and its being commonplace . The hips are very much a part of the body of a human being yet through this poem it was given a special emphasis and related it to issues of gender treatment and women empowerment . The big hips probably belong to a big woman , which is in direct opposition to what media and consumerist

culture portray as the ideal woman - skinny and flawless

The hips ' were used as metaphor in portraying various qualities of an independent , strong and willful woman . The hips need space to move around in . This line portrays that she can neither be contained nor imprisoned . She cannot be put into her place ' because she defines her own space and place . The hips are also free ' and have never been enslaved , which can be read to mean that a woman is a free individual and cannot be shackled . She goes where she wants to go and she does what she wants to do . In addition , she can be mighty ' in the things that she does , which can be taken to mean that her being a woman is not a weakness but rather through being a woman , she is strong and can do a lot of great things . The poem also gives some hint on the sexual power of women over men . The hips put a spell on a man and spin him like a top ' - women , therefore , can use their charm to get a man 's attention and put him under the power of a woman

Homage to my Hips ' is a declaration of a woman 's independence . It affirms a woman 's special place in society and the freedom that women are enjoying and what they are supposed to be enjoying . This statement may appear cryptic . On a deeper consideration , even in this supposedly enlightened world , there are still cultural and social practices that view women as inferior to men . Indeed , society has made strides in women empowerment . However , there are still a lot of chauvinists in the world and they cringe upon encountering an empowered woman . Hence , the poem is also a celebration of women empowerment

At the Mosque ' by Chairil Anwar

Similar to Clifton 's poem , At the Mosque ' also explores gender politics , which is what led me to choose this poem . Specifically , Anwar effectively juxtaposed a religious place and the struggles between a man and a woman . It heightens the drama and shows the religious undertones of the treating of women as inferior to men

It is a little startling to see the way that the mosque became the room where the persona and the man in the poem fight . I am of the impression that the persona speaking in the poem is a woman and the relationship she has with the man...