Research Paper on:
Margaret Atwood's Poem 'Spelling'

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
of human consciousness and loneliness" (Margaret Atwood). Her work delves into the depths of ones existence and questions many things, not the least of which, however, is feminism and the  position which women have been placed in for so long. In her poem "Spelling" we see elements of loneliness, despair, consciousness, growth, oppression, and, in the end, hope for another  generation. In the following paper we analyze elements of Atwoods poem, arguing that while it is at first glance a poem that depicts feminist ideals, it is more importantly a  poem about consciousness and possibilities. Spelling The poem begins relatively simply as we watch the narrator observing the child playing with letter blocks, attempting to spell: "My daughter  plays on the floor/ with plastic letters,/ red, blue & hard yellow,/ learning how to spell,/ spelling,/ how to make spells" (Atwood 1-6). Bet this final word, "spells" we begin  to understand that the poem is not merely about spelling but about making ones way in the world. In this poem we see the learning of spelling as the beginning  of a sort of consciousness about how to approach ones world. Learning to use letters is just the very beginning of our journey as educated individuals as we seek to  understand our world and as we seek to communicate with that world. As the poem progresses we surely see elements that speak of feminism, but they are also elements  that can speak of cultures and of the inherent struggles of all conscious individuals. In better understanding this perspective we present the following lines: "I return to the story/  of the woman caught in the war/ & in labour, her thighs tied/ together by the enemy/ so she could not give birth./ Ancestress: the burning witch,/ her mouth covered