Today I was reading about Marie Curie:

she must have known she suffered from radiation sickness

her body bombarded for years by the element

she had purified

It seems she denied to the end

the source of the cataracts on her eyes

the cracked and suppurating skin of her finger-ends

till she could no longer hold a test-tube or a pencil

She died a famous woman denying

her wounds

denying

her wounds came from the same source as her power

Adrienne Rich

This poem written by Andrienne Rich was taken from a stimulas booklet that I used while studying the concept of power. I especially chose this poem because of the words used to describe the situation Marie Curie was in.

Marie Curie and her husband discovered radiation, and what made her famous, also killed her.

Adrienne Rich used a metaphor for the suffering people go through and the hard ships they indure. When she says "her body bombarded...." that is a source of alliteration which emphasies the harshness of what she was having to go through.

After re reading this poem and reaching "its seems she denied to the end" I felt that the word 'denied' indicates her strength.

The poet has used words which make us stop and think about the pain that Marie Curie would have been going through. For example "the cracked and suppurrating skin..." Suppurating means leaking puss which gives us an idea of the pain that was injured.

In the last paragraph there is use of repetion which empahsises her strength.

What made Marie Curie famous, also killed her.

This poem is about individual power, it is about a woman who has scarfised her life for an important discovery that was a benifet to man kind. The poem has a sympathetic tone, it is clear that the poet feels sorry for Marie Curie. however there is also a tone of admiration- the poet respects and is owe of the devotion that Marie Curie showed to her work.

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