Feminist Criticism
Feminist Criticism sees literature as a reflection of society as it opposes or reinforces a patriarchal and male-centered culture and the stereotypes and oppression of women. Its purpose is to observe and challenge the role women play in literature and decide whether or not this role is appropriate. It seeks to raise consciousness about oppression and exclusion and promote change in these areas. Feminist critics analyze the traditional canon looking for sexual stereotyping and draw attention to the many strengths of women who were previously ignored both as writers and characters.
In Emily Dickinson's poem 280, the speaker feels trapped, specifically shoved into a coffin, by her inability to adjust to a male-dominated society. She moans of the demand to become a part of this society and the aggressive tactics to draw her within, such as in "Kept treading--treading--till it seemed/ That Sense was breaking through" (ll. 3-4) and "A Service, like a Drum-- / Kept beating--beating--till I thought/ My Mind was going numb" (ll. 6-8). She begins to realize how limited her options are at this point ("Then Space-began to toll," l. 12.) and to see herself as less than those around her because she is trapped in this coffin and her senses are deprived: "As all the Heavens were a Bell,/ And Being, but an Ear" (ll. 13-14). She cannot become a full member of society and be who she craves to be, she must choose this forfeiture and her decided path or choose to be a part of the community and give up her ideals. It is only when she lets go of herself and submits to this insanity ("a Plank in Reason, broke," l. 17) that she is able to re-enter the world as a member of society.
Helpful Links about Feminist Criticism
The Gender Inn. This site allows you to search texts about feminist criticism and has some examples of feminist criticism. http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/englisch/datenbank/e_index.htm
Information about feminism and some feminist annotations of the Bible. http://www.yale.edu/yup/bible/feminist.html
For a list of more sites about feminist criticism, this provides a great start. The list is un-annotated but long and has some good sites available. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/women.html