An Analysis
‘The Mother’ written by Gwendolyn Brooks very poignantly conveys the emotions of a mother when she gets a fetus aborted. The poem has expressed that abortion is only a means to get rid of the body of the unborn child but cannot let the mother escape its memories and emotions.
The entire poem has very movingly illuminated that how much an unborn child is linked to its mother. When an abortion is done, the child is helplessly killed and deprived of a life which it could live ("Analysis of The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks."). And there is a great emphasis on the pain of the mother who was helpless to get her child aborted but loved it very much. The last line says- ‘Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved, I loved you All (Poetry Foundation)’. This essay is mainly aimed to elucidate if the last line of the poem is justifiable and reader finds it convincing or not. Along with that, there is a poetic analysis of the poem.
It’s beyond a doubt that the poem has been written very well and successfully expresses its intended message. It considers abortion to be wrong. Most readers would agree to it. Abortion is a sin; people should go for precautions to avoid pregnancy if they don’t want a child. It could do great things in life, be successful and inspirational for others. No matter it could be a great legend or just a mediocre, at least it could have a life like we all do. It is these emotions which make a reader think that if a woman chose to abort her child, how she can love it as told in the last line of the poem. But, I find the last line convincing. The child was killed and it deserved to
live. Still, it can’t be denied that the mother loved her child. For those careless women who choose abortion, I would not appreciate the decision. But for the rest, before doubting her love, a reader should try to analyze what compelled the mother to go for an abortion. Did the mother get her unborn child killed because of helplessness? There are millions of rape victims who get pregnant. It is not easy for such women to choose giving birth to a child which is a result of sexual molestation and exploitation. There are women who are facing extreme poverty and cannot nourish a child well. Still, they get pregnant due to ignorance or an insensitive husband. She is left with no choice but to get her child aborted because she cannot give it a proper life. Be it any case of helplessness, when a mother gets her child aborted, she does feel the pain for it. There are exceptions where careless and ruthless mothers feel less and no emotions for an aborted child but otherwise, mothers cannot be so heartless. In several countries, there are special laws which enable a raped or molested woman to get her pregnancy terminated. It is because the law too perceives the significance of abortion is such cases. Sadly, the people have a very wrong and conservative outlook towards children born out of rapes and premarital sex. It is not only unethical but also offensive to call a child ‘bastard’ if his/her parents are not married. Similarly, a child born due to rape is usually looked down upon. This mentality should be changed. But it exists. That’s why some mothers are bound to go for an abortion to save a life of bullying for her child and herself. Similarly, mothers who cannot feed, educate or nurture a child well enough choose to end its life. They are not cruel but compelled. It shall always be beyond a doubt that mothers love their children, born or unborn. So, in answer to the question that if I find the last line of the poem convincing, I would state- Yes, I find it convincing as I understand the emotions of a bound mother.
A short poetic analysis
One of the qualities of this poem is that though it conveys a very sentimental message but it also has a poetically beautiful structure. It is basically a free verse which has no fixed rhyme, meter or length specified for each line. But it does exhibit a good deal of rhyming in lines like
‘Though why should I whine,
Whine that the crime was other than mine?’
There is a very beautiful use of word music. The lines ‘Your stilted or lovely loves, your tumults, your marriages, aches, and your deaths,
If I poisoned the beginnings of your breaths’ show an interesting combination of sounds ‘s’, ‘t’ and ‘l’. There is alliteration sprinkled at places with phrases like ‘I have said, Sweets, if I sinned, if I seized’, ‘dim dears’ and ‘beginnings of your breaths’. There is very subtle use of assonance and consonance is phrases like ‘damp small pulps with a little’ and ‘workers that never’. The tone and tenor of the poem adds to the essence of the poem. The phrasing is very effective. Lines like ‘scuttle off ghosts that come’, ‘And your lives from your unfinished reach,’ and ‘You were born, you had body, you died.’ are very appealing. Above everything else, the description of the actions which a born child does but now a mother would not be able to see it ever now is very heart-touching.
Conclusion
The very well-written poem by Gwendolyn Brooks is worth reading and analyzing. The last line is not only convincing but also very heart-wrenching as it sums up the pain of a helpless mother who chose to get her child leave the world before it could see the daylight. It’s just the reader needs to delve a little deeper into the practicality of the situation with consideration.
References
"Analysis of The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks." 123HelpMe.com. 06 Mar 2013
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=127773
The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks. Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172081
