An Analysis of Poetry
"An Elegy for a Woman of No Importance" written by al Mala'ikah, is a poem that expresses sorrow for woman who leads a lonely life and has a lonely death. Although most elegies are usually about famous people, the author of this poem dealt with women who are obscure or little known. I also found with reading this poem many more times, and recognizing that the woman's name is never given, that it is about many women who are Muslim and go unnoticed.
One main strategy that the author uses express her point is personification. An example of this is, "Night, unconcerned gave way to morning." This stanza is used to emphasize that after she died, another ordinary day came because to everyone else, her death practically didn't even happen.
The mood to the poem is immediately depressing and sad, probably because it deals with death. Then as you read further the descriptions create the reality that no one cars about the death of this woman, which is probably what generally happens with most women in Israel. The author creates the image of life moving on without interruption because of this death. This made me feel sad for a person whose death goes unnoticed because it leads me to think that they had a lonely and quiet life, and that no one cared for them.
The poem has meaning that is broader than the reader would think the first time they read it. After reading it many more times you come to understand what the poem is about and you can imagine the life of this/these people.
