Lines 1—4

In the first stanza of "It's a Woman's World," Boland introduces the idea that women's lives have remained largely unchanged throughout history. Boland's use of a clichéd phrase as the title sets the poem's somewhat bitterly ironic tone. The first word of the poem, "Our," refers to women, as the poem's title indicates that the poem's subject is the female sphere. Her reference to "a wheel" alludes to another clichéd phrase, "since the invention of the wheel," which generally means "since humans started using tools," or "since ages and ages ago." The use of "knife" as the last word also creates a sense of drama and hints at danger or violence to come.

Lines 5—8

In the second stanza, Boland elaborates on the theme she established in the first stanza. She stresses that women's lives have remained unchanged, although technological advances such...