The Shirt by Jane Kenyon and My Husband's Back by Susan Minot - Essay Example

Comparative Analysis of “The Shirt” by Jane Kenyon and “My Husband’s Back” by Susan Minot In the poem “The Shirt” by Jane Kenyon and “My Husband’s Back” by Susan Minot, both female speakers express their outstanding material admiration for the special men who occur to be designated at spots adequately near each woman’s point of observation. While either piece of literary work emerges as concrete narratives of how the two women are momentarily drawn to the external looks of their men from behind, Kenyon and Minot seem to have rendered distinct characterizations as reflected via the attitude of each speaker based on mood and tone. On one hand, the woman speaking in “My Husband’s Back” uses a tone of familiarity which evokes a type of adoration that originates from true love and affection toward her husband whereas on the other, the narrating woman in “The Shirt” makes use of an implicit mood of seduction which is quite evident in her own descriptive approach of the beloved man. The words “touches”, “smooths over”, and “slides” are particularly sensual verbs and it may be inferred that such preference goes with a woman who is still at the heat of a newly-found relationship. One may be disposed to imagine a passionate lover in the character of the woman whose intent look signifies how physically attracted she is toward the man of her desire. With the way she conveys herself in third person viewpoint upon describing the man and his seemingly adorable figure, however, it is also possible that she is merely in constant yearning of the man at sight for she appears to establish the relevant point of not actually possessing him through the allusion of the ‘shirt’. Apparently, the speaker could only stay at a distance watching the other person of the opposite sex, dreaming of the fortunes attached with the piece of cloth as she succulently confesses “Lucky shirt.” On the contrary, the wife in Minot’s composition embodies a feminine character who has grown and struggled with her husband through domestic hardships. This may be depicted through the lines “Weeping into / a pot of burnt rice” and “The baby flushed with the flu ... on the couch my spine / collides with all its bones.” As though, times and circumstances have altogether tested the couple yet the woman remains faithful and content with the view of her working spouse. She specifically resembles the other female subject in the aspect of finding delight while staring at the back of the men who constitute their utmost interest in life. Like Kenyon’s observer in “The Shirt”, Minot’s observer examines the bodily features of her husband as well with a deep sense of modest rather than indecent form of intimacy in her case. By norm, sex is a natural course between her and her better half so that the speaker’s voice registers a tone apart from malice not like that of a woman whose unlabelled man is spoken of with great degree of sensuality due to a desperate feeling and longing after a man whom she has not yet slept with. A critical reader may notice with significance how the wife speaks with maturity within an image of refined gesture and demeanor as she delivers “and I watch my husband ... His back in a snug plaid shirt / gray and white / leaning into the woodstove.” At this stage, the character of Minot’s poem may be thought of as a woman in her middle age who has known her husband well in terms of the man’s traditional involvement with career of the mundane living. He must have come of age as well since his partner further adds to former compliment “is firm and compact / like a young man’s back.” Colors ‘gray and white’ all the more indicate old age as opposed to the representation of the ‘shirt’ where the poet necessitates not to utilize shades but marks youth and dynamism by the shirt’s action of being worn. Somehow, it bears an impact of personifying a supposedly inanimate shirt in the way it ‘touches’ the ‘neck’, ‘smooths over’ the ‘back’, and ‘goes down below’ the ‘belt’. In this manner, the reader gradually gains understanding that Kenyon’s narrator makes reference to a young man who could be her contemporary. “The Shirt” turns out to have a structure of brief length and the author equivalently communicates just the superficial essence of a physical attribute of a man which can be treated as a commodity to women. More than such a typical object, nevertheless, Minot happens to elaborate “My Husband’s Back” with poignant details of imagery, so that the married woman becomes widely capable of building a thorough account of an important man in her life who is not just any person with whom to experience a fleeting love affair. As she declares with confidence “And the giant world which whirls / in my head / stopping most thought / suddenly ceases / to spin – It sits right there, the back I love”, one may ponder on what kind of remarkable man the husband has been to his wife that his reliable nature far exceeds anything that merely works by sharp attraction on the outside. Other than the man’s back, obviously, the woman pertains to the real dependable trait of her loving partner she considers as someone who holds the capacity of removing her bulk of worries. What she needs her husband for in truth is totally different from what the other woman wants to take advantage of in mentioning “down into his pants” which translates to a malicious connotation. Moreover, the poem “My Husband’s Back” sounds more humble and thoughtful compared to “The Shirt” which is may be felt too abrupt and direct to the point that it somewhat loses any intended thematic sincerity. Kenyon’s work via “The Shirt” is more inclined to captivate attention in the visual elements that seem to focus on a single bottom objective whereas Minot’s creation of “My Husband’s Back” attempts to make the theme move around perspectives so that the central issue or person being tackled may be ascertained with full respect and knowledge. Either literary composition may be argued to have justified its chief concern in portraying the attitudes of two women who are both in the realm of the modern world. Their stories are exemplified in such a way as to determine woman’s perception of a man in separate cases exhibiting liberal response and a conservative behavior. Both attitudes are essential in discerning what matters most to a woman when it comes to impressions cast upon the opposite gender and both poems have been able to exude emotions that are themselves flesh that illustrate the core of woman’s profoundest thoughts and desires. There ought to be neither wrong nor right claim on judging the positions taken by each female author because anyway, both works entail presentation of truth that must be confronted with by women who, as weak human beings, should be given the opportunity to experience learning from reality with men by their personal means of settlement or conflict resolution. Read More