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Feminism: Heaney and Dickinson
Feminist literary criticism emerges from the feminist movement that arose in the United States during the 1960s. As a literary theory, feminism became dominant during the 1970s. In general, feminist theory focuses on how language is used in literature in order to describe and delineate the role of the woman and her position in society. As such, feminist theory lends itself well to the interpretation of poems such as "I cannot live with you" by Emily Dickinson, and "Punishment" by Seamus Heaney.
Dickinson's poem echoes her self-selected seclusion from society at large. Seen from a feminist point-of-view, this seclusion is chosen as the only option against complete dominance and personality annihilation in a world dominated by men. As such, the poem also describes her impossible love. Dickinson does not deny the existence of her love. But she does deny that such a love can be allowed in her world if she is to realize her true potential as a woman, and not as a housewife. This is delineated by the progression of her poem (Academy of American Poets). For Dickinson, love is as impossible as the life taken for granted by most members of society. Because society compromises the value of the woman, it is allowed the life of domesticity and life. The speaker however remains forever beyond this because she chooses self-realization instead.
In Heaney's "Punishment," feminism can be seen from the male viewpoint, as it were. The corpse of a bog girl, an adulteress, educates the narrator regarding issues of gender and politics. The narrator, far from the conventional male reaction of disgust, instead becomes infatuated with her. It is as if he is the male representative of the feminist viewpoint; that women offer value and education rather than objects of sex or symbols of domesticity. The intimacy between the speakers involve no blame. Instead of man and woman, they are equals, in strong contrast with the society that would condemn them both for their actions and their association.
Sources
Academy of American Poets. A Close Reading of "I Cannot Live With You." 2007. http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/310
Tagle, Stephen. The Bog Girl Re-sexualized: An Analysis of Seamus Heaney's "Punishment." 13 April, 2005. http://www.stanford.edu/~stagle/ESSAYS/SPR%20ENG160%20E01%20Punishment.htm
Seamus Heaney Few writers can boast such an impressive volume of work as Seamus Heaney has produced in the last thirty years: nineteen books of poetry, nine poetry pamphlets, two books of selected poems, one-book length verse translation, three collection of essays, one play, and two anthologies of poetry. And few writers in their lifet6ime achieve the kind of popularity and reputation that Seamus Heaney has" http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0231119275/ref=sib_rdr_ex/103-2?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S008#reader-link Seamus Heaney is one of
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