War Girls
There's the girl who clips your ticket for the train,
And the girl who speeds the lift from floor to floor,
There's the girl who does a milk-round in the rain,
And the girl who calls for orders at your door.
Strong, sensible, and fit,
They're out to show their grit,
And tackle jobs with energy and knack.
No longer caged and penned up,
They're going to keep their end up
Till the khaki soldier boys come marching back.
There's the motor girl who drives a heavy van,
There's the butcher girl who brings your joint of meat,
There's the girl who cries 'All fares, please!' like a man,
And the girl who whistles taxis up the street.
Beneath each uniform
Beats a heart that's soft and warm,
Though of canny mother-wit they show no lack;
But a solemn statement this is,
They've no time for love and kisses
Till the khaki soldier-boys come marching back.
The rhyme scheme that Jessie Pope employs is ABABCCDEED for both stanzas, and each rhyme she uses is a true masculine rhyme. Her use of this rhyming scheme makes it easy for the reader to follow the list of jobs that women are performing now that the men are off at war. The reappearance of the last line implies that this new-found freedom for women, of breaking out of their typical roles of the time, is only temporary. After "the khaki soldier-boys come marching back" from war, women will have to return to their pre-war jobs and positions (though, relative to men, very few actually held jobs). This poem being written by a female author, it speaks as a feminist statement. With phrases like "no longer caged and penned up" and "strong, sensible, and fit," Pope is pointing out that women should have opportunities to escape the social constraints because they are able to perform a "man's job" just as well. The rhyme scheme adds a certain sense of readability, that allows the reader to focus on the powerful language.
Pope, Jessie. "War Girls." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/248382>.
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