"It's a Woman's World"

The view of women's role in society has shifted and varied over the centuries. Eavan Boland, a female Irish writer, describes her own interpretation of the role of women in her poem, "It's a Woman's World". She is not very pleased by the role of women in society but does do a good job of explaining how the role has stayed consistent over time. In her eyes, not a large amount of attention is paid to women but their position in the backdrop of events allows them to subtly make changes that keep the world in order. She expresses her view through exaggeration and metaphors.

Boland's first point is that women's "way of life" has stayed the same since the "wheel first/ whetted a knife". This, for one, is an exaggeration because the lives and the status of women have changed numerous times since ancient times. Boland is adamant in her opinion though and states that "flame" may have gotten greedier and "wheels" may turn more steadily, but the role of women has remained the same. Women have gained a heightened social status and various civil rights since ancient times. To say that their role has stayed the same is not very logical but Boland feels she needs to express her own opinion that women have not changed much. Another example she uses is pointing out that for "as far as history goes/ [women] were never/ on the scene of the crime". Of course there have been women in history that have caused a stir, but to Boland, women have remained harmless and civilized while the world of men contained violence and brutality. The advantage of this is that women have been able to observe and make minor changes to the world a safe distance away from all of the conflict. While her examples may not be entirely correct, she uses them to express her own views. To her, women have been stuck in the background of a world dominated by men. She wishes they could have a little more influence in history but does recognize that there are minor advantages to being away from the majority of attention.

Boland also uses metaphors to further elaborate upon her view of the role of women. She speaks of oversights such as the "loaf left/ by the cash register" and the "wash left wet". These examples are meant to represent the small situations in history that women have tidied up. They almost always go unnoticed and Boland is resentful of that, but the fact that they are being handled shows women's importance to keeping the world in order. One complaint Boland has is the lack of documentation on the "low music" of women's outrage. Expressing it as low music entails that the complaints of women go largely unnoticed and that many women do not speak out enough to receive attention. Though women are not satisfied with their status, their ideas are not heard by the world of men. These examples help to support Boland's argument that women are able to make small differences in the world but are never fully recognized for it.

The various literary element such as exaggeration and metaphors are present in Boland's poem to express her view that women are not recognized but still are able to cause change in the world. Boland's ideals and opinions may not be fitting to history but she believes in them strongly and is able to clearly express them in her poem.