A Woman’s Hands
By Eva Bezwoda
A woman’s hands always hold something:
A handbag, a vase, a child, a ring, an idea.
My hands are tired of holding
They simply want to fold themselves.On a crowded bus, I watched a nun’s empty hands
Till I reminded myself that she clutched God.
My hands are tired of holding.I’d gladly let them go, and watch a pair of hands
Run ownerless through the world,
Scattering cooking pots and flowers and rings.
Summary of A Woman’s Hands
- Popularity of “A Woman’s Hands”: “A Woman’s Hands” by Eva Bezwoda, a South African poet and writer, is a significant poetic piece. The poet first appeared in her collection, Mtshali and Serote: One Hundred and Three Poems, published in 1973. The poem highlights the distress of the writer. It also sheds light on the monotonous routine of a homemaker. The popularity of the poem rests on the contrastive approach of the poet.
- “A Woman’s Hands” As a Representative of Distress: The poem shares the speaker’s concern about the duties a woman has to perform. She starts this poem, referring to the woman’s hands that always hold something. However, in the second line, she expands that idea and catalogs what a married woman does in her life. After passing general comments about a woman’s duties, the third line shows her sorrow; she says that her hands are now tired of holding, and they need some rest. In the second stanza, she compares herself with a nun and considers her better than herself. But soon she realizes that she, too, shares some responsibilities.In the final line, she shifts the narrative where she declares that she wants to liberate herself from the duties causing her distress.
- Major Themes in “A Woman’s Hands”: Sadness, women with varied responsibilities and desires are the major themes of the poem. “A Woman’s Hands” is a highly symbolic poem that highlights the monotonous routine of a married woman who does everything to please her partner. Her hands remain busy in different activities to bring joy to her home. However, the speaker is fed up with this routine. She compares her busy hands with the nun’s empty hands and realizes that her life is better than that of the nun. In the final stanza, she openly states that she wants to free herself from this monotonous life that revolves around the same routine. She desires to walk on the earth “ownerless.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “A Woman’s Hands”
literary devices give layers of meaning to a simple poem. The analysis of the literary devices used in this poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ “On a crowded bus, I watched a nun’s empty hands” and again the sound of /o/ in “Run ownerless through the world.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /th/ in “through the.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ in “Scattering cooking pots and flowers and rings” and the sound of /t/ in “Till I reminded myself that she clutched God.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“I’d gladly let them go, and watch a pair of hands
Run ownerless through the world,
Scattering cooking pots and flowers and rings.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Eva Bezwoda has used imagery in this poem such as “I’d gladly let them go, and watch a pair of hands”, “On a crowded bus, I watched a nun’s empty hands,” and “Scattering cooking pots and flowers and rings.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used the extended metaphor of woman to show how different women are subjected to different duties.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows symbols like distress, sorrow, and tiredness to show the concern of a homemaker.
- Synecdoche: It is a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole, or it may use a whole to represent a part. The poet has used this device in the poem as tired hands refer to the number of responsibilities as “My hands are tired of holding.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “A Woman’s Hands”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows a narrative description from a woman with an estranged tone.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Repetition: There is a repetition of the verse “My hands are tired of holding” which has created a musical quality in the poem.
- Refrain: The lines occurring repeatedly at some distance in a poem is called a refrain. The verse, “My hands are tired of holding” is, therefore, a refrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in the poem with each having different lines.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from the poem “A Woman’s Hands” are useful to quote while talking about the burden of responsibilities a woman carries on her shoulder.
“A woman’s hands always hold something:
A handbag, a vase, a child, a ring, an idea.
My hands are tired of holding
They simply want to fold themselves.”