Blog Post #4- Prompt 2

In Adrienne Rich’s poem Diving into the Wreck, the speaker describes their dive into the ocean looking for a shipwreck. This is only a superficial description of Rich’s poem, however. Diving into the Wreck is a conceit, which is defined as an extended metaphor that dominates an entire poem. In this case, Rich’s poem is a metaphor for the female struggle.

Rich released her poem, Diving into the Wreck, in 1973. The early 1970s were an important time in American history with the Vietnam War, the remainder of the Civil Rights movement, and the fight for women’s rights all happening around this time. Rich, as a civil rights activist, was heavily involved in these movements and was vocal about her anger towards the Vietnam War and the injustices faced by African Americans and women. A year after the release of her poem, which was part of a book under the same name, Rich won the National Book Award for Diving into the Wreck. In an act of defiance, instead of accepting the award herself, Rich accepted the award on behalf of all unknown female writers. It is clear that Rich felt that she had a powerful platform as a writer and she wanted to speak out against issues that were present at the time.

Upon first reading this poem, a reader may think that this poem is just a descriptive piece on somebody exploring a shipwreck, but further analysis shows that Rich was trying to say a lot more than was is literally stated in the poem. Even the title of the poem has an underlying meaning in which the “wreck” not only refers to the literal shipwreck, but also the struggle that women get themselves into when fighting for equality. The wreck symbolizes suffering. The speaker states that they “came to see the wreck” and “the damage that was done.” It is not a pretty journey but it is one with purpose. Much like fighting for women’s rights, it isn’t easy but it is important to come face to face with the inequality that women face. The ocean also plays a major role in the poem as it symbolizes what is controlling the speaker. The speaker says that “the sea is not a question of power” as the speaker learns to adapt to its controlling nature. The ocean represents society and those that oppress women. In this case, the diver struggles to fight back against the powerful ocean. In the final stanza of Diving into the Wreck, the speaker mentions a “a book of myths/ in which/ our names do not appear.” There is frustration and anger in this line. This frustration is a reaction to the silencing of women and their experiences. Even after the diver has gone through their journey, their name has been erased. This parallels the struggles of women throughout history that have fought for equal rights and even after these fights, their voices have been silenced. These lines mean even more as a reader knowing that Rich accepted her award for this poem on behalf of unknown women writers. Rich gives a voice to the women who have had theirs taken away and those who have been silenced throughout history.

Word Count: 541