Review of the poem ANY WOMAN by KATHARINE TYNAN
Answers
The poem opens by introducing the central metaphor of the house. The mother says that she is the pillars of the house. She is the keystone of the arch without which the roof and wall would fall and the house would be ruined.
A mother is not only the foundation of the household; she is the ‘vita lux et amor’ – the life, light, and love that fill a house. Like the sun which warms the earth, she is the fire upon the hearth. The children warm their hands at her. Without her the house would be cold and lifeless and the children would not thrive.
The mother is also like a twist or a knot in the ring that holds the different strands together. She holds the children together in the sacred ring of love. Without the knot of love many a child could go a-wandering and get lost.
Finally, the poet describes the countless chores a mother performs every day in the house which may make her children wonder whether she has a thousand hands. She decorates the house, gets the table ready for dinner, spins the curtains, and makes their bed. Here she is also compared to a mother bird who builds the nest, feeds the nestlings and makes their bed with her own soft feathers. She walls out the wind and snow and protects them from all danger. The poem ends with the mother’s prayer to Jesus to keep her alive till the children grow.