- “They Shut Me Up In Prose”
In her poem, They Shut Me Up in Prose, Emily Dickinson discusses the constraints she faces as a writer during the Nineteenth century. ‘They’ (society) forbid her from writing freely, solely due to the fact that she is a woman. In line 2, she recounts her memories of being “a little girl… They put me in the Closet — / Because they liked me ‘still’ – “. Using the closet metaphor, she depicts the way women’s roles in society in the mid-1800s. Traditionally, girls were supposed to sit still, look pretty and not say much. They couldn’t share their own opinions and thoughts because, for the most part, they lacked a solid education compared to the boys. These girls grew up to be dependent on their husbands, barred from owning property or voting, and expected to follow outlined tasks/jobs in society. Women were virtually enslaved during this time, which this poem clearly indicates.
In the second stanza, Dickinson becomes almost rebellious as she mocks society for trying to shut her up. She states that if they “could themself have peeped – And seen my Brain – go round – They might as wise have lodged a Bird”, essentially saying that the more they try to keep her quiet, the more her mind comes up with new thoughts and idea, which “they” cannot control or access.
Overall, I find this poem powerful yet her contemptuous attitude is amusing. The metaphors she uses of the bird is also quite applicable and represents a sense of innocence and also her ability to resist or “fly away” from her imprisonment into freedom.
- “Aphorisms on Modernism” by Mina Loy.
This particular manifesto resonated with me due to Mina Loy’s originality, bluntness, and cynical expression. The manifesto is short in length, yet rich in context In “Aphorisms on Modernism”, Loy essentially gives her own redefinition of around 17 ‘buzz’ words of the time. The thing is, instead of giving a profound explanation to these usually philosophically discussed terms, Loy blatantly states the obvious. She does so in a very intellectual and cynical way, however. By doing so, she makes the task of life seem a little less heavy. Instead of going into deep philosophical thought and having long discourse on these issues, maybe she doesn’t believe in holding back her opinion, and tell it how it is. As I was reading through the list of aphorisms, I strangely agreed with how she expressed these terms.
Some that caught my eye were: in line 1, “Modernism is a prophet crying in the wilderness that humanity is wasting its time”. This phrase reminded me of modernism today. With innovation and technology being an immense part of our culture and its future, I do think that modernism today is about improving our lives and making the most productive use of our time. Our iPhones, for instance are completing our tasks for us so we can allocate that time for other useful and more important things. Next, line 2: “Living is projecting reflections of ourselves into the consciousness of our fellows”, well if you think about it, the act of living is merely that. When I was a girl, I thought my life was a movie and everyone else was watching my little film (which sounds self-centered in retrospect…) but that’s what life is if you have a disdainful outlook on it. Line 9: “Emotion looks at life through a magnifying glass”- I think this is a really interesting metaphor for emotions. I know that when I let my emotions take over, I tend to only focus on one, minute detail, rather than looking at the big picture without the magnification. Line 14: “Morality was invented as an excuse to kill the neighbors”- this one holds truth but is simultaneously very satirical.
I believe that through her interesting style, the overall message Loy is trying to convey in this manifesto is that of not-taking-life-too-seriously. The last line discusses anxiety and I believe that this poem teaches the reader to live a life of simplicity and humor, thus avoiding anxiety and frustration that comes with it.
- Personal Manifesto
People say that things are getting better, that it’s the 21st-century and times are changing for women. But they’re not.
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I do not want to undervalue the tremendous progress women have made in America, but if we look closely at the way our history has been recorded we can begin to understand the crucial role media has played in defining who we are.
The media can be an instrument of change, it can maintain the status quo and reflect the views of society or it can hopefully awaken people and change minds. I think it depends on who is piloting the plane.
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I am now cautious of the images the media is feeding me. I view advertisement and media from a marketing perspective, not that of a gullible consumer’s. In the back of my mind I know that these huge corporate conglomerations that control television, newspapers, and magazines, operate on the focus of the bottom-line which is to get attention and make money.
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We need to shift their focus from the bottom line to one of social responsibility.
I learned quickly that what’s real is the knowledge you obtain through experiences and learning, the meaningful relationships you have with everyone around you, the actions you take be become a genuinely good person.
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For the future, I want us to pursue our purpose and passions in life and to understand what’s really important is who we are on the inside. Its critical that all girls grow up in a world where their voice counts, where our culture embraces them in all of their diversity, that they’re offered equal opportunity to succeed in life and that they learn not to let anyone or anything take away their power.
- Response to my personal manifesto
My personal manifesto was inspired by similar form and vagueness that many of the writers in the manifesto packet use. I found that most of the manifesto’s leave the complete interpretation up to the reader. Thus, I have written a manifesto that is relevant and important to me, but is ambiguous enough to be interpreted in a different way by the reader.
Additionally, the format in which I wrote my manifesto is inspired by Mina Loy’s “Notes on Existence” She includes three asterisks separating each stanza/paragraph. I believe she does this is order to give the reader a moment to stop and reflect on the previous paragraph, which makes the entirety of the piece more powerful. Although my manifesto is not as powerful as any of the great writers included in this packet, I attempt to emulate that same style.