Author “Eavan Boland”. The poem title is “A woman without a country.”
Author
Institutional Affiliation
Author “Eavan Boland”. The Poem Title is “A woman Without a Country
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Massive social development correctly described the beginning of the 21st Century. American contemporary culture underwent a significant shift in idealism and perception. US citizens stopped focusing on the various aspects that made everyone different but instead focused on centrism and pluralism (Halliwell, 2008). Modern American culture recognized the need for incorporating everyone as part of society regardless of beliefs, race, or gender identification. Art played a pivotal role in ensuring that modern society accepted new views. Today, young students produce films and plays that display the existence of talent regardless of social boundaries. The assessment of Eavan Boland’s poem, “A woman Without a Country” could prove useful in the development of ideas and guidelines that could help in shaping modern contemporary culture in the United States.
Dublin wakes to horses and rain.
Street hawkers call.
All the news is famine and famine.
The flat graver, the round graver
The angle tint tool wait for him.
He bends to his work and begins.
He starts with the head, cutting in
To the line of the cheek, finding
The slope of the skull, incising
The shape of a face that becomes
A foundry of shadows, rendering-
With a deeper cut into copper-
The whole woman as a skeleton,
The rags of her skirt, her wrist
Is a bony line forever
Severing
Her body from its native air until
She is ready for the page,
For the street vendor, for
A new inventory which now
To loss and to laissez-faire adds
The odor of acid and the little,
Pitiless tragedy of being imagined.
He puts his tools away,
One by one; lays them out carefully
One the deal table, his work done.
(retrieved from Boland, 2014)
The poem is about an engraver who engraves the portrait of a Dublin woman. The poem starts in a setting filled with famine, yet there is rain. The poem then proceeds to describe the specific procedure of engraving the woman from her visage to the hem of the skirt. Finally, the poem ends when the engraver finishes his work and lays down the chosen tools. Objectively, the poem talked about the famine situation that happened in Ireland in the 1840s. The great famine raised several questions about the leadership of Ireland and provided an opportunity for citizens to learn from the process. Analysis of the poem creates multiple pointers that could prove useful in contemporary American culture.
Nationality plays an integral role in shaping many of the decisions that politicians and individuals make. The impact of nationality becomes evident whenever a nation faces a national calamity that affects every aspect of life. During the Irish calamity, the nationality of Ireland was significantly challenged. The citizens faced severe famine as indicated in the third stanza, “All the news is famine and famine.” (Boland, 2014). The statement showed that the country faced a severe food shortage to the extent that the only news in the country was about famine. During the Potato blight, the nationality of Ireland faced considerable tests. The various policies that the politicians developed did not seem to work.
Gradually, citizens lost their sense of nationalism as the effects of the famine etched deeper into their memory and bodies. The famine created a rift between the government and its citizens (Haas, 2018). Citizens lost complete faith in the country to the extent that those that survived migrated the country. One factor that was evident throughout the period was the reforms that were meant to ease the burden on the citizens (Fernihough & Gráda, 2018). The government adopted a free-reign policy where it expected that Ireland’s economic market would naturally take care of the famine (Donnelly, 2011). The notion that the economy would take care of itself allowed the government to continue trading instead of creating sanctions to internally deal with the famine using all available resources (Donnelly, 2011). Slowly, the government lost faith from its citizens who lost their nationalism, as shown in the stanzas:
“To loss and to laissez-faire adds
The odor of acid and the little,
Pitiless tragedy of being imagined.”(Boland, 2014).
The great hunger of 1849 caused individuals to appear skeletal in appearance, as shown by the stanza that describes the whole woman as a skeleton. The death process was slow and gave hunger victims ample time to contemplate n their lives. Hunger causes an individual to develop lines n the cheek, slope in the skull, and a shape that portrays a foundry of shadows because of emancipated features due to hunger.
“He bends to his work and begins.
He starts with the head, cutting in
To the line of the cheek, finding
The slope of the skull, incising
The shape of a face that becomes
A foundry of shadows, rendering-
With a deeper cut into copper-
The whole woman as a skeleton,
The rags of her skirt, her wrist
Is a bony line forever”(Boland, 2014).
The words show the extent to which the famine attacked the Irish nationals. Boland reminds a reader of the history that took place by using the poem. The poem talks about a woman who does not have any nationality and is far away from her native land. The woman is slowly dissected, and her features of emancipation emerge as a result of the hunger affecting the country. The woman becomes ready for the page on the news talking about the news of famine. Once the engraver completes his work, the complete engravings are laid on the table as a reminder of the events that took place during the famine in Ireland. In the contemporary United States, Nationalism usually takes place because of several reasons. First, any form of historical context that brings individuals together (Hass, 2018). For example, surviving a hunger period together as a nation creates a sense of belonging and identity as a US national. Second, a governmental intervention that takes place through policies helps promote nationalism. Some policies inspire nationalism n individuals, for example, a nationwide celebration of key historical events such as achievement of independence.
The use of the woman without a country serves a specific purpose of communicating about nationalism. Boland avoided giving the woman a nationality to sever any ties that the woman had to any country. A woman with no country would help in the description of the process of nationality formation. In the United States, the citizens come from different backgrounds and thus they might have ideas about different nationalism. For example, African Americans, Irish nationals, or English nationals might feel they owe allegiance to their birth country.
When different individuals come together in a foreign land, they form a nation composed of the different cultures that the persons have. The different nationals breathe native air in a foreign country; however; the engraver takes time to carve out the specific aspects of nationalism required in the country. The engraver depicts the government and his tools relate the specific policies that the government uses. Sometimes the government opts to shape its citizens using specific policies. The policies aim at providing monetary gain to the country at the expense of the citizens. Consequently, the citizens lose their nationalism as well as their lives since all individuals subject them to free reign. Lack of a stand creates disunity and introduces various problems to the nation.
Nationalism requires delicate hands and response from the government. The government should use specific policies to ensure that its citizens are happy and feel as if they belong to the country (Haas, 2018). For example, the endorsement of bicultural education creates a sense of belonging to the Hispanic community that exists in the United States. Although the country does not constitutionally identify as a bicultural state, it still values the existence of other cultures in the land. Introduction of such reforms shows that the US government cares (Haas, 2018). However, the government should strive to include everyone as part of its culture to provide a stronger sense of pride and nationalism among its inhabitants.
The poem sought to teach readers the importance of nationalism and the various causes that could lead to the loss of nationalism among citizens. Boland also wished to use the poem as a reference point that reminded countries to learn from their past. If Ireland had acted otherwise, many nationals would not have migrated the country to go and settle in other countries. Nationalism plays a significant factor in the number of economic benefits and input that nationals produce. The ever-changing contemporary culture in the United States would require significant changes to ensure that US citizens foster utmost faith in US nationalism.
Overall, nationalism plays a fundamental role in the existence of a country. The government also actively takes part in shaping nationalism for its individuals. Depending on the tools or processes used, the government can either inspire nationalism or lead to the death of the nation. Response to national tragedies helps citizens assess the level of nationalism that the government officials have. Sometimes government officials only care about their wealth and do not care about the welfare f their citizens. Ireland continued exporting food produce even after the nation suffered from severe hunger. The government did not wish to stop its economic transactions to cater to the needs of its citizens. As a result, many individuals migrated from the country since they felt as if they did not belong there. The United States should learn from its history and avoid repetition of mistakes that could lead to the loss of faith of its nationals.
References
Halliwell, M. (2008). Contemporary American Culture. In M. Halliwell & C. Morley (Eds.), American Thought and Culture in the 21st Century (pp. 211-226). Edinburgh University Press.
Haas, E. B. (2018). Nationalism, liberalism, and progress: The rise and decline of nationalism. Cornell University Press.
Fernihough, A., & Gráda, C. (2018). Poverty and Population in Pre-Famine Ireland. Queen’s University Centre for Economic History Working Paper.
Donnelly, J. (2011). The Irish Famine. BBC: British History, 17.
Boland, E. (2014). A Woman Without a Country. Carcanet.