Man-Sized Job was written by Sharlot Hall (1870-1943). It is a poem that defines
a woman’s work from a man’s point of view. Poems like this were uncommon in
the late 1800’s – early 1900’s, especially if women wrote them. The two
aspects of this poem that I would like to analyze are the vocabulary used and
the male chauvinistic point-of-view. If it weren’t for these two exaggerated
aspects, the poem would not have as strong of a meaning. The vocabulary used in
this poem is far form proper. It is an exaggeration used to make men sound less
intelligent than they think they are. Sharlot Hall wants men to sound less
intelligent in this poem because the poem is from a man’s point of view on
what a woman’s work should be. It is obvious to anyone that reads this poem
that Hall is completely disagrees with the typical male point of view on what
women should and should not do. Another reason for the language that is used is
to make the men sound uneducated. Hall is hinting to her audience that women are
actually smarter than men. Although she is taking a playful shot at men, the way
she goes about it makes this poem enjoyable for both sexes. The chauvinistic
point-of-view in this poem is obvious. It is greatly exaggerated so that Hall
can get her point across to her audience clearly. She also uses it to get the
audience on her side of the issue. This is a powerful tool that can be used.
When someone reads a poem and they take they authors point-of-view on a subject,
the poem becomes that much more interesting. This adds to the entertainment
value of the poem. After all, the purpose of a poem should be to entertain and
catch the interest of an audience. Hall uses this technique to her advantage.
Her use of the chauvinistic point-of-view is probably the key to this poem being
great. The two aspects of this poem that I analyzed in this paper were essential
to the success of this poem. Both the vocabulary used by Hall and the male
chauvinistic point-of-view expressed were essential in getting her point across
to her audience. Although both tools were exaggerated dramatically, it was
necessary for the reason behind the poem. In my opinion, this poem was written
for one reason. This reason is to simply make fun of men and their attitudes.
Hall did an excellent job.