“Women” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Women”

“Women” Summary

“Women” Themes

• 

  Black Women’s Strength, Perseverance, and Sacrifice

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-27
• 

  The Importance of Education

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 19-27

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Women”

• Lines 1-6

  They were women ...
  ... Hands

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-11

  How they battered ...
  ... Shirts

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 12-18

  How they led ...
  ... Ditches

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 19-27

  To discover books ...
  ... Themselves.

  

  

  

  

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“Women” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 3-4: “of / Step”
  • Lines 5-6: “as / Hands”
  • Lines 7-9: “down / Doors / And”
  • Lines 9-10: “ironed / Starched”
  • Lines 10-11: “white / Shirts”
  • Lines 12-13: “led / Armies”
  • Lines 15-16: “mined / Fields”
  • Lines 17-18: “trapped / Ditches”
  • Lines 22-24: “what / we / Must”
  • Lines 24-25: “know / Without”
  • Lines 25-26: “page / Of”
  • Lines 26-27: “it / Themselves”

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “were,” “women”
  • Line 2: “My,” “mama's”
  • Line 3: “Husky,” “stout”
  • Line 4: “Step”
  • Line 6: “Hands”
  • Line 7: “How,” “down”
  • Line 8: “Doors”
  • Line 18: “Ditches”
  • Line 19: “discover”
  • Line 20: “Desks”
  • Line 22: “what”
  • Line 23: “we”
  • Line 25: “Without”

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Lines 7-8: “How they battered down / Doors”
  • Lines 12-18: “How they led / Armies / Headragged generals / Across mined / Fields / Booby-trapped / Ditches”

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Lines 3-4: “Husky of voice—stout of / Step”
  • Line 7: “How they”
  • Line 12: “How they”
  • Line 22: “How they,” “knew”
  • Line 24: “know”
  • Line 25: “knowing”

“Women” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Husky of voice
• Stout of step
• Battered down
• Starched
• Headragged
• Booby-trapped

• (Location in poem: Line 3: “Husky of voice”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Women”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Women” Speaker

“Women” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Women”

More “Women” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Reading of the Poem — Listen to a recording of "Women."

  • Learn More About Alice Walker — A biography of the poet from the Poetry Foundation.

  • A Brief Description of Walker's First Book of Poems — Read a description of the poems in Once, in which "Women" first appeared. 

  • Writer's Symposium by the Sea with Alice Walker — A 2020 interview with the poet in which she discusses her writing, love, freedom, and societal change. 

  • Alice Walker Looks Back on Life — A New York Times article exploring Walker's legacy, the publication of her diaries, and her sometimes contentious stances on various social issues. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Alice Walker

  • Poem at Thirty-Nine