ANY WOMAN

                 ANY WOMAN 

                                  - Katharine Tynan

Important Points:-

* 'Any Woman' is a meaningful poem. 

* It is written by the famous poet Catherine Tynan. 

* Woman is the pillar and key stone of the house. 

* Children get love and affection from the mother. 

* Mother holds the family together. 

* Mother is the foundation, protection and decoration of the house. 

* The poem ends with a prayer to the God. 

* The poem is full of metaphors. 

* That makes the poem very effective

Appreciation of the poem 'Any Woman':-

      The poem 'Any Woman' by Katherine Tynan speaks of the importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillars of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls. She is tbe fire upon the hearth. Without her, the home would be colder than a stone.

        The children come to her for love and affection. She is thw light of their love. The children could hardly thrive without her support. She is the one who holds the family together. No child wants to get away from the close-knit family group. She is all over the house, from the floor to the roof. Nothing happens without her knowledge. She decorates the house and makes the children's bed cosy and warm.

         She also protects the children from all dangers. She is the door that guards against all kinds of troubles and tribulations that come to pester the inmates. At the end of the poem, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till her  children are properly grown up.

          The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The woman doing all kinds of jobs and standing guard at the same time make us admire her capabilities. Her love is superb and there is utter unselfishness in her activities. At last we also see the birth of Jesus in the manger. We see the woman standing before Jesus praying to him to let her live till her children grow up. Katherine has painted a fine picture of a devoted mother with words.

           The poem is in rhyme. Except in the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab.

• Compare the poem 'The Toys' with 'Any Woman' and prepare a review focussing on the themes and their significance.

      The poem 'Any Woman' by Katherine Tynan speaks of the woman in the family. She is tbe pillars of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls. She is the fire upon the hearth. Without her, the home would be colder than a stone. The children come to her for love and affection. She is the light of their love. The children could hardly thrive withouther support. She is the one who holds the family together. No child wants to get away from the close-knit family group. She is all over the house, from the floor the roof. Nothing happens without her knowledge. She decorates the house and makes the children's bed cosy and warm. She also protects the children from all dangers. She is door that guards against all kinds of troubles and tribulations that come to pester the inmates. Ath the end of the poem, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till her children are properly grown up.

         The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The poem is in rhyme. Except in the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab.

           The poem 'The Toys' is different from 'Any Woman'. Here the plight of a boy, whose mother is dead is depicted. The boy disobeys the father and he loses patience and beats up his won. He sent him away with hard words. He did not kiss him when the boy went to bed. The boy's mother was a patient woman, but she is no more. Thinking that the sorrow at his beating his son and scolding him might prevent him from sleeping, the father goes to the boy's bed. He found him in a deep. But the eyelids were dark and his lashes were wet because of his earlier crying.

         The father feels very sad at his condition and he too weeps. He kissed away the tears from the boy's cheeks but left his tears there instead. On a table near the boy's head he had kept within his reach a box of counters, a stone with red lines, a piece of glass worn by the sand on the beach and six or seven shells, a bottle with bluebells  and two french copper coins. He had kept all these to comfort his sad heart. When the man prayed to God that night, he wept. He requested God to forgive his disobedience and not to punish him for the sins he had committed in his life. He punished the boy for disobedience because he is made of clay. But God can forgive because God is love and not made of clay.

           The poem uses simple language. It has fine imagery. The boy sleeping with dark eyelids and wet lashes, surrounded by toys, is an exquisite picture. The poem is in rhyme. In the first 6 lines the rhyme is aa bb bb.

            Between the two poems, I prefer 'Any Woman' as it has made a greater impression on me.