Intertextuality has ever been used by writers as a literary device in order to convey forth mentions to other plants which might assist to construct the impact the writer wants his text to hold on the reader. By agencies of intertextuality the auctorial voice integrates ‘previously bing codifications into the new text ‘ which ‘explore the relationship between poet and any textual manifestations of another text ‘ ( Diaz-Diocaretz, 67 ) . In her book on poetic discourse, Diaz-Diocaretz names the text which is non the poet ‘s ain an ‘alien text ‘ ( 67 ) . Adrienne Rich ‘s Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law is an illustration of such a text as it contains many mentions to ‘strong adult females who have have been censured for independent idea or action ‘ ( Martin, 181 ) . Adrienne Rich adopts this attack in order to stress her protest against a male dominating society which stifles adult females ‘s capacity to be independent in idea and action. Through her mentions to adult females such as the British Queen Boadicea, who harmonizing to Tacitus is said to hold led an onslaught on the Romans, or Mary Wollstonecraft, ‘who assailed the barriers to equal instruction and societal rights for adult females ‘ ( Martin, 181 ) , Adrienne Rich shows that the talker in her verse form, a dependent daughter-in-law, has repressed the desire to talk out in a society that ignores a adult female ‘s capacity to ground and countenances female enterprise. By agencies of these intertextual mentions, Adrienne Rich points out that throughout history adult females have been looked down on because they dared to transcend the bounds that a male dominated society imposed on them. As a consequence, many adult females presents do non
daring to revolt against the stereotyped functions that have been assigned to them and are therefore trapped in the isolation of matrimony based on the tradition of entire dependence on work forces.
To get down with, ‘Snapshots of a daughter-in-law ‘ brings forth a new scheme in its usage of intertextuality. Besides presenting foreign texts, the poet besides reverses significances and shows that although the universe is considered to be cosmopolitan, specific functions and places are assigned to adult females which are hard to get the better of. The manner in which foreign texts are integrated into ‘Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law ‘ reveals the scheme of doing usage of texts in order to demo either an blessing or a disapproving attitude of the poet towards other voices. Therefore, the new incorporate component of the foreign text ‘resounds as a dual sonant word: her ain and that of the foreigner text ‘ ( Diaz-Diocaretz, 73 ) . For case, Rich introduces phrases from either literary or philosophical texts which receive a alteration in the gender which is apparent in the original text. One such case is the poetry from Charles Baudelaire “ Monday semblable, mon frere! ” which is subverted to “ ma semblable, ma soeur! “ ( SDL, 35 ) . This scheme has a strong dry intent and by agencies of it the poet ‘not merely creates a historical relation between a voice in the yesteryear and her ain, but besides proposes a reversal of values in order to make an internal polemist with the foreigner text ‘ ( Diaz-Diocaretz,74 ) . The drama with texts from the past reveals an accusative tone as Rich does non give any mention at random, therefore doing the reader realize that the universe of patriarchate is a hostile and an opposing force. Therefore, the pick of the foreigner texts will take portion in the reassertion of female individuality.
Furthermore, it is of import to stress that the pick of mentions that Adrienne Rich introduces in ‘Snapshots ‘ is non arbitrary as it has a specific map in determining the poet ‘s protest against influential patriarchal texts. Thus, all the allusions and mentions to other texts have a dual map, one being to underscore the poetic statement, by adverting Emily Dickinson and Mary Wollstonecraft, and the other to protest against the foreign texts of Horace, Baudelaire, Diderot for illustration. For this intent, breaks of canonical texts are placed following to modern-day contexts in order to bring forth an consequence of sarcasm and contrast. For case, portion 5 of ‘Snapshots ‘ Begins with the line ‘Dulce ridens, dulce loquens ‘ taken from Horace, Ode XXII, “ Integer Vitae ” , intending “ sweetly express joying, sweetly talking ” ,
and continues with “ she shaves her legs until they gleam/ like petrified mammoth-tusk. ” . This combination between Horace ‘s voice and that of the poet is meant to stress how adult females ‘exist circumscribed by patriarchal guesss ‘ ( Diaz-Diocaretz,75 ) . The image of a adult female seeking to look the manner she is expected to, although modern-day, it seems anti-poetic due to Horace ‘s voice. Another consequence of this combination of a voice from the yesteryear with that of the poet is the dry unfavorable judgment that adult females need to be “ sweet ” in order to delight work forces. A similar consequence is produced by the following portion of the verse form:
When to her lute Corinna sings
neither words nor music are her ain ;
merely the long hair dunking
over her cheek, merely the vocal
of silk against her articulatio genuss
and these
adjusted in contemplations of an oculus.
The first line belongs to Thomas Campion and it is used by Adrienne Rich in order to contrast with her belief that adult females have no linguistic communication of their ain. In one of her essays, ‘When We dead Awaken ‘ , Adrienne Rich points out her ain personal hunt for a voice. She confesses that at the beginning of her calling she would read other adult females poets seeking to happen in them the same things she found in the poesy of work forces because “ I wanted adult females poets to be the peers of work forces, and to be equal was still confused with sounding the same ” ( WWDA, 21 ) . In Rich ‘s verse form Corinna is able to play the luting ‘just as a adult female author has the apprehension of linguistic communication ‘ ( Dixon ) , but merely as a adult female author who follows the stairss of work forces denies her ain literary voice, Corinna can non declare her music to be her ain. All that Corinna is allowed to name her ain is her muliebrity but even this is ‘adjusted in contemplations of an oculus ‘ , ‘understood to be the critical examination of the male regard ‘ ( Dixon ) .
In add-on, Adrienne Rich uses intertextuality as a agency to ‘create a new perceptual experience of the included text and to de-familiarize the reader with the already-read ‘ ( Diaz-Diocaretz, 77 ) . The reader is the 1 who has to place the device that may modify the content. Rich elects the lingual codifications that
she finds appropriate for back uping and exemplifying the restraints that adult females feel in a male-dominated society. For illustration, there are cases when the texts that are being referred to alter their map from non-aesthetic to aesthetic. One such case is Corlot ‘s commentary to a piece by Chopin which is placed at the beginning of the verse form in order to make a certain ambiance. All the allusions inserted throughout the verse form ask for a re-interpretation of the past literary plant, holding as an nonsubjective non ‘to base on balls on a tradition but to interrupt its clasp over us ‘ ( WWDA, 19 ) .
Taking everything into consideration, ‘Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law ‘ situates Adrienne Rich ‘s emotions against subjects of linguistic communication, boundaries and opposition by agencies of intertextual episodes which have a dual consequence: that of proposing a new position on texts which seem to hold been directed to a male audience alternatively of a cosmopolitan one, and that of naming Forth strong and independent adult females whose voices have been stifled for holding dared to ‘smash the cast straight off ” . The poet uses assorted schemes in order to make these effects, one of these schemes being the enterprise to place herself with the historical experience of adult females who tried to transcend the functions imposed on them by society. By fall backing to altering genders in phrases taken from major authors she intends to stress the counter male laterality and initiates a polemic duologue with the original text. For Adrienne Rich the usage of intertextuality acquires a new map within the verse form: the original text is meant to contrast with the verse form in order to let the reader to construe it in a wholly new context. The poet ‘s purpose is chiefly to revise literary tradition and norms in order to indicate out how adult females have been deprived of their opportunity to confirm themselves.
