Topic > Deconstructing phallogocentrism in Rich's poems

Like a continuum approaching the limit at which we can hear its voice independently of male discourse, A Wild Patience celebrates a new consciousness as Rich attempts to construct an Amazonian utopia, a no man's land free from a phallocentric linguistic structure, a fantasy of female utopia – Her playground. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Rich's poems in A Wild Patience (1981) are a call to action for women's self-representation and self-creation; we must rewrite what has been lost in our history; “the book of myths/in which our names do not appear”. Moving away from her past adherence to a male-oriented poetic process, A Wild Patience is the product of a turn towards a genuinely feminine aesthetic, requiring a purely female-centered vision and an authentic feminine art form in her poetry. This collection deals so intimately with the language of language, and Rich conveys an acute awareness of the way that even grammar and punctuation, the rules that govern our use of language, are patriarchal tools. From Rich's conservative voice in A Change of World to his radical revolutionary voice in Diving into the Wreck and finally, to the playground development of L'ecriture Feminine in A Wild Patience, we can see Rich's individual continuum; it is a journey, a process, an evolution, that seeks to approach the limit at which we can hear His voice, independent of male speech. First, Rich elevates poetry from all literary genres as the best space for His collective resistance. against exclusive linguistic binaries. This notion is immensely valuable as it underpins how he chooses to manipulate form; he often writes with a lack of grammar and punctuation. Feminist poets argue that the poetic tradition of concentrated insights and brevity of form constitutes the most appropriate and malleable means for women to challenge a language that has always excluded them; “they locked me up in prose”. Consequently, His expansions of form are a true act of resistance against the oppressive binary language; it is when she makes her language subtle that she can be heard. Every active decision to betray the logic of language is another hole dug in this digging process. Whether it's the absence of points in 'Coast to Coast', or the great gaps - the "shattered language" - in 'Heroines', each action carves out more space for its bars, its swing, its slippery dive - his playground. . Let's be patient so that this construction site flourishes; because in this quarry Rich plants his landscape. When we examine Rich's early writings in A Change of World, we can detect a conservative voice that conforms to the scientific language of logic and formalism. Therefore, it is evident that the male literary canon has in fact shaped the origins of his work; it is at the same time the child of the masculine tradition, of its teachers, its professors and its editors – a tradition that asks all of us to be rational, marginal and grateful. The rich woman, among many others, had no alternative but to be an obedient daughter to her male masters to gain the approval of the male judges who had the power to publish and accredit her work. As a result, women writers are forced to internalize the standards of male culture and imitate established ways of construction. With all this in mind, when we look at Rich's female voice in A Wild Patience we can truly admire its development and departure from her..