... love as "womanly, maternal," seemingly saying men are incapable of the true, "selfless love" that is women's "destiny." Rich goes on to say that a woman "knows" more than Shakespeare in terms of female characterization, which is undeniably true. It is somewhat hypocritical, however, to then assume that she, as a female, "knows" what is in the hearts of men as a whole; not ... to 1850, only with the roles of men and women inverted. Rich closes by speaking of the mood of "self pity" and "overt woman hating" that she claims pervades masculine poetry, but her essay seems rife with self pity...

• Word Count: 2594
• Approx Pages: 10