Poetry Blog # 1

Atwood, Plath, Dickinson. Who am I most like? To be honest, after researching these talented women, I couldn’t find anyone similar to me. So I decided to choose the poet that inspired me most with her poems. That would be Margaret Atwood.

After researching her bibliography, there were only two things that I could find in common with her. The first one is growing up in the wilderness. I didn’t live my childhood in Northern Quebec, but I did grow up in the suburbs of Seattle climbing trees and running around outdoors. I didn’t quite experience the same kind of wilderness as Atwood, but I was always outdoors close to nature. The second one would have to be her feminist views. As a female myself, I have strong views about women and their inequality in society. I think Atwood’s poems are very beautiful (but also sad). I felt like I connected with her the most through her poems. In most of her poems, the protagonist experiences a “fall”. We can connect these “falls” with Atwood’s views and experiences in life. I personally can connect with her messages, because I’ve experienced many “falls” in my life. For example, the poem In the Secular Night, as a class we came up with a theme statement of how if one is not connected with other people and God, one will risk falling into loneliness and despair. I agree with Atwood’s message from this poem. There were times in my life when I was left all alone and in despair because I didn’t connect with God and the people around me. Marsh Languages is another poem that inspired me. This poem really made me ponder about Atwood’s message of language is losing its true meaning. The poem doesn’t relate to me, but it connected with me. Atwood’s feminine view of things connects in some way with how I view the world; a lot are very similar.