The Woman at the Washington Zoo

E926550

The Woman at the Washington Zoo is a celebrated poem by Randall Jarrell that poignantly explores themes of isolation, longing, and the constraints of domestic life through the perspective of a discontented woman observing animals in a zoo.

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The Woman at the Washington Zoo canonical 1

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Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work
poem
author Randall Jarrell NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception frequently discussed in feminist literary criticism
widely anthologized in American poetry collections
explores contrast between human and animal captivity
desire for escape from social expectations
tension between inner life and outer roles
form free verse
genre lyric poetry
hasSubject a woman in a constrained domestic and social role
hasSymbol the woman’s clothing as a symbol of social constraint
zoo animals as symbols of alternative forms of life
hasTitleCharacter the woman at the zoo NERFINISHED
includedIn Randall Jarrell’s body of work on modern life and war’s aftermath
influenced later readings of domestic dissatisfaction in American poetry
language English
literaryMovement mid-20th-century American poetry
mainCharacter an unnamed woman
narrativePerspective first-person
narrativeVoice a discontented woman observing zoo animals
notableFor psychological depth of the female speaker
vivid imagery of animals and captivity
originalPublicationMedium print
periodOfCreation 20th century
setting Washington, D.C.
a zoo
studiedIn courses on 20th-century American poetry
courses on gender and literature
theme alienation
boredom and routine
constraints of domestic life
envy of animal freedom
female discontent
identity and selfhood
isolation
longing for transformation
tone introspective
ironic
melancholic

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Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Randall Jarrell notableWork The Woman at the Washington Zoo