‘Sigh No More Ladies’ by Shakespeare, and ‘Les Grands Seigneurs’ by Dorothy Molloy are both poems reflecting the misogynist and stereotypical views that men place upon women. ‘Les Grands Seigneurs’ focuses on the inescapable transition that women face after marriage- from having authority in the relationship to becoming powerless, whilst the speaker in ‘Sigh No More Ladies’ embodies the belief that men in relationships cannot be tamed and will never settle down.
Dorothy Molloy opens the fourth stanza with a volta to convey both the narrator 's loss in power and the speakers husband 's gain in power, as well as the negative aspects of both in the poem ‘Les Grands Seigneurs’. This is illustrated in “But after I was wedded, bedded”. A dramatic shift in tone is created with the word “But”, as it is a word that indicates a juxtaposition in the following lines. Similarly, internal rhyme and rhythm is used in “wedded, bedded” to
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The speaker calls the men “My hurdy- gurdy monkey men”, depicting a foolish and naive image as the poet uses consonance to create a fast paced rhyme. The alliteration and ‘m’ sound of “monkey men” could also be said in a mocking manner, as monkeys are commonly used to convey men as primitive and dominant, which places the speaker in a higher position. The expression “hurdy-gurdy” supports the idea that the men were brainless therefore ignorantly followed her control, whilst creating internal rhyme, producing a playful atmosphere. Similarly, the speaker compares men to dolphins, implying that the men were tamed and trained by her; “Men were my dolphins, my performing seals” reinforces the speaker 's confident belief that genuine dominance over the men had been achieved by herself. Likewise, it establishes a boastful tone in relation to the speaker 's past sex-life; as dolphins, alike humans, have sex for