Introduction
Stevie Smith’s fifth volume of verse Not Waving but Drowning was published in 1957. Pain, sadness, despair and death are common subjects in these poems and they are all punctuated everywhere by a strong will to freedom. Freedom is the right to live or act without being restricted by anyone or anything; freedom is the state of not being a prisoner or a slave. In her poems, Stevie Smith deals with different kinds of freedom. The will to freedom is not always fulfilled easily or at all. This essay will discuss the reasons for the will of freedom that are presented in certain poems of Not Waving but Drowning, it will deal with the possible fulfilment of freedom and the conditions for it.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The will to freedom
3. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This essay explores the recurring theme of the "will to freedom" within Stevie Smith's 1957 poetry collection, Not Waving but Drowning, analyzing how various characters attempt to escape societal, familial, or personal "prisons" and the conditions or consequences attached to such liberation.
- Analysis of familial expectations and female autonomy in "My Hat" and "The Queen and the Young Princess."
- Examination of social isolation and societal norms in "The English Visitor."
- Interpretation of death as a form of liberation in "Not Waving but Drowning" and "The Light of Life."
- Critique of captivity and the role of anger in achieving freedom in "This is disgraceful and abominable" and "Anger's Freeing Power."
- Discussion on the necessity of moving beyond the past to achieve present freedom in "The Past."
Excerpt from the Book
The will to freedom
The first three poems I want to discuss are “My Hat”, “The Queen and the Young Princess” and “The English Visitor”.
In the poem “My Hat”, the speaker, who is a girl, has a strong will to freedom. Her mother wants her to attract “the right sort of chap” and to marry. The girl does not want to, she wants to escape her family and the expectations they have of her. The mother regards the hat as a means for attracting men but when the girl puts it on, she realises that she has to escape. On the one hand, the hat is a negative symbol of getting married; on the other hand, it is a positive symbol for escaping, running away and freedom. The parents expect the daughter to get married but she enjoys her freedom on the desert island. She is happy there but alone. The hat is the key to freedom for her, she is afraid that she has to go home again if she takes it off. Therefore she decides to wear it always. Hats represent “women’s freedom”. The girl in the poem wears the hat to go out and to attract a young man but the hat is also an impulse to leave her home. The moment she puts the hat on her mother told her to wear, she realises that she can no longer stand the pressure that lies on her. The more she gets away from home, the happier she is. The desert island will be her own world where she can do whatever she wants to do and where she can live in freedom without being forced to get married. The only thing she really has to do is to wear the hat always, which means that she is not completely free.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Stevie Smith’s 1957 poetry collection and defines the central theme of the "will to freedom" as an escape from various forms of restriction.
2. The will to freedom: This section analyzes selected poems to demonstrate how characters struggle against societal and familial constraints, often finding that freedom requires difficult conditions or is only attainable through death.
3. Conclusion: The concluding chapter synthesizes the findings, noting that while the will to freedom is universal in the poems, true liberation is often costly or incomplete.
Keywords
Stevie Smith, Not Waving but Drowning, freedom, will to freedom, poetry, feminism, domesticity, social isolation, suicide, existentialism, alienation, gender roles, liberation, captivity, autonomy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work examines the pervasive "will to freedom" in Stevie Smith's collection Not Waving but Drowning, analyzing how different protagonists seek to break free from life's various restrictions.
What are the central themes discussed in the analysis?
The central themes include the tension between familial expectations and individual autonomy, the struggle against social alienation, the concept of death as a form of escape, and the psychological impact of trapped existence.
What is the main research objective?
The primary goal is to discuss the reasons behind the characters' desire for freedom and to analyze whether this freedom is successfully achieved or if it remains subject to limiting conditions.
Which methodology is applied in the essay?
The essay employs a close textual analysis of specific poems by Stevie Smith, supported by academic references, to interpret symbols of freedom and the context of interwar gender roles.
What does the main body of the text cover?
The main body investigates poems like "My Hat," "The Queen and the Young Princess," "The English Visitor," "Not Waving but Drowning," and others to illustrate various manifestations of the struggle for liberation.
Which keywords characterize this study?
Keywords such as freedom, social alienation, gender roles, domesticity, and existentialism define the scope of the study.
How does the author interpret the symbol of the "hat" in the poem "My Hat"?
The hat serves a dual purpose: it is a tool for social expectation (marriage) from the mother's perspective, but it becomes a symbol of personal autonomy and a key to freedom for the daughter who wears it to escape her life.
Why is "Not Waving but Drowning" interpreted as a poem about freedom?
The essay argues that the protagonist's suicide is presented as a final escape from an existence of isolation and the pressure to conform to a society that never truly understood or accepted him.
What role does anger play in the poem "Anger's Freeing Power"?
Anger acts as the necessary catalyst for the raven to realize his confinement, transforming his perception of his surroundings and prompting his eventual escape into freedom.
- Quote paper
- Sylvia Hadjetian (Author), 2001, 'Stevie Smith: The poems of Not Waving but Drowning are punctuated everywhere with a strong will to freedom.' Discuss., Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/43119
