ipl-logo

Misogyny In My Last Duchess

1143 Words5 Pages

Misogyny is a theme throughout most literature work for centuries. Robert Browning in “My Last Duchess,” is a monologue about a duke who is from Ferrara, Italy. In the poem, the duke is talking to a nobleman whom is the father of his future wife. The duke explains why he murdered his previous wife who was just seventeen years old and is warning the matchmaker and his future wife that if she does not remain obedient, then the duke will not hesitate to murder her either. Andrew Marvel in “His Coy Mistress,” writes a monologue about a man wanting to have sex with a shy woman before marriage. The speaker believed that there is not enough time to go through the flirting and admiration stages with her, so they should fast forward to having sex. While both poets have a character in their poem that portray a controlling attitude, Browning focuses on the fate of the duchess who disobeys him while Marvel …show more content…

The speaker said, “Thy beauty shall no more be found/ Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound,” (25, 26). The speaker is trying to explain to the mistress that because time is running out, everyone is going to die soon. So her beauty will go to waste when she is in the coffin. The speaker continues to say, “My echoing song: then worms shall try/ That long preserved virginity,” to scare the mistress (27, 28). The tone of the poem went from sweet to scary. Worms taking the mistresses virginity is suppose to make the mistress realize that there is no point on preserving her “honor” when it will just go with her to the grave. The speaker goes on about and describes her “quaint” turning into dust. During that time period, quaint meant vagina. Then says how his “lust” will turn into ashes. If they die without having sex together, his desire will all burn up, with nothing left but the “ashes.” He is implying that if he cannot have sex

Show More
Related
939 Words | 4 Pages

Societal Expectations are not Barriers Two inspiring pieces of literature called Macbeth by William Shakespeare and “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkings Gilman share one eminent theme, which is the suppression of the female gender. Societies often place barbaric labels on those who seem unworthy rather than fight the judgments that are concrete and see for themselves. Social ideas during the two diverse time periods demonstrate how women are not seen as powerful figures and insanity progress within those who are stereotyped. Women are seen as creatures that are ineligible to think for themselves in.

Read More
1006 Words | 5 Pages

Authors, especially female authors, have long used their writing to emphasize and analyze the feminist issues that characterize society, both in the past and the present. Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Susan Glaspell wrote narratives that best examined feminist movements through the unreliable minds of their characters. In all three stories, “The Story of an Hour”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “A Jury of Her Peers”, the authors use characterization, symbolism, and foreshadowing to describe the characters’ apparent psychosis or unreasonable behavior to shed light on the social issues that characterized the late 19th century and early 20th century. Penning many stories that demonstrate her opinions on the social issues of the era,

Read More
1389 Words | 6 Pages

It can be said that society has always been quite judgmental, and at times misguided when it comes to women. The negative perceptions that society has towards females are often times directly related toward her actions. What a female does seems to degrade her identity and capabilities in the eyes of some men. In the poems “The Lady’s Dressing Room” and The essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we can see both authors use of tone, form and style to develop their works. These poems are mainly driven by men’s attitudes towards women.

Read More
447 Words | 2 Pages

The poem “Death of a Toad” has many elements that reveal the speaker’s response to the toad. In the beginning, the poem explains the accident in which the toads leg got caught by the power mower. The audience knows the author was in war, so the”power mower” could be a comb or tank used in the war. The author also uses alliteration when he says “chewed” and “clipped”.

Read More
883 Words | 4 Pages

Women through history struggled to fit in a life were men have the most important roles and the whole world in their hands. The battle for a woman to be seen as a person in her own privilege, characterized her own terms, by her own judgment and achievements, wishing the same open doors as men have and practice. There is no role for women in the society back then even in marriage, she can’t choose whom to marry, and basically women role is forgotten in the society at the Restoration era. So in this research paper I will discuss one of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s poem Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband. In which a woman blamed for infidelity lashes out against her glaringly double-crossing spouse, against the patriarchal lawful framework that permits

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

Misogyny is the dislike of, contempt for, or prejudice of women; Washington Irving has been accused of misogyny because of the treatment of women in his stories and their content. Washington Irving was a writer during the 1800’s, and some of his most popular works include “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Within these tales and other works of Irving’s, aspects of misogyny is discernible, though there is debate about whether the author himself was a misogynist. I believe that the misogyny that is shown throughout a select few of Irving’s works is due in part to the time period, not entirely Irving, himself.

Read More
856 Words | 4 Pages

You can obviously tell from the opening of this poem that the speaker is talking about his daughter and certain that his daughter is basically destined to have a forbidding life with no future. However, in the very last line of the poem he acknowledges that he has no daughter and his desire none and that puts a whole new twist on the poem. The first three lines the speaker introduce and describes his daughter. “Looking into my daughters eyes I read” “Beneath the innocence of morning flesh” “Concealed, hinting’s of death she does not heed.”

Read More
787 Words | 4 Pages

It’s no surprise, that Shakespeare’s Macbeth was clearly constructed as a rebellion against femininity roles of the time. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to believe they were inferior to men since men obtained desired masculine qualities such as strength, and loyalty, whereas women were viewed as figures of hospitality (1; 6; 28-31). Obviously, not being tempted by the luxury of subservient women, William Shakespeare rebuked this twisted belief, applying that women deserve more respect than their kitchen tables.

Read More
651 Words | 3 Pages

Misogyny, by definition, is the dislike towards women for a particular motive. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Shakespeare elucidates his misogynistic tendencies through the characters in the play—particularly Hamlet. The role of women in Hamlet is little short of misogynistic as Hamlet consistently displays throughout the play evidence of misogynistic behavior through his views of women being cruel, adulterous, and frail. Fundamentally, there are merely two female characters in Hamlet; Ophelia and Gertrude. Though Ophelia does not intend on wounding Hamlet emotionally, she does so for being submissive to her father which conforms to the misogynistic attitude of women being powerless and pathetic as Ophelia is under control by

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

Equal treatment of the sexes is a cause many have been fighting for, for decades, and in this case, centuries. Slight rebellious acts of women bending gender norms can be seen as far back as Shakespearean plays, in particular, Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. Olivia from Twelfth Night, and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing showcase characteristics of being opinionated, assertive, and strong-willed; qualities that were rarely seen during that time period. Much Ado About Nothing was written around 1598 and Twelfth Night was written around 1601, which was the Elizabethan era. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to think that they were inferior to men.

Read More
937 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet the misogynist "When a man gives his opinion he is a man. When a woman gives her opinion she is a bitch. "- Bette Davis Throughout time society has used woman as a scapegoat for societal issues that have occurred.

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

Romeo and Juliet Essay “Shakespeare and Misogyny” A world where men dominate women. This idea was the basis of many Renaissance era dramas. Writers always used to perceive certain genders as having distinctive qualities and traits. Men were held up to a higher respect and given more violent roles than women.

Read More
526 Words | 3 Pages

In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women; men exert their authority over many women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority. Elizabeth Proctor, the protagonist’s wife, shows the standard for Salem women as she is submissive and does not defy her husband or the traditional role as a housekeeper.

Read More
1360 Words | 6 Pages

Furthermore, Feminist Criticism provides a better view of literature because it shows that women can be powerful. When Emilia finds out that her husband has been plotting an evil plan she says,” Tis proper I obey him, but not now”(Othello V.2.195). Emilia refuses to help her husband after she finds the cruel intentions he has despite the expectation of women always being submissive to their husbands. Women also have a voice and feelings, they are capable of defying their husbands commands when they know what he expects is simply wrong. In a literary article,The Role of Women in Othello: A Feminist Reading states that,” Society weighs heavily on the shoulders of women; they feel that they must support the men and defer to them, even if the actions of the men are questionable” (Literary Articles).

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

Feminist literary criticism’s primary argument is that female characters have always been presented from a male’s viewpoint. According to Connell, in most literary works, female characters often play minor roles which emphasize their domestic roles, subservience and physical beauty while males are always the protagonists who are strong, heroic and dominant (qtd. in Woloshyn et al.150). This means that the women are perceived as weak and are supposed to be under the control of men. Gill and Sellers say that feminist literary criticism’s approach involves identifying with female characters in order to challenge any male centred outlook.

Read More

More about Misogyny In My Last Duchess

Related Topics

Open Document