Edit, Then Edit, And Then Edit Again!!!!

The Original

Chudleigh begins the poem with a tone of frustration over how women are shown to be nothing more than housemaids but, being a women herself and having no say in the matter, she carries a voice of obedience, simply stating her thoughts on marriage. She quickly makes her thoughts on a wife’s role evident in the first line of the poem when she says, “wife and servant are the same” (Chudleigh 1). Almost instantaneously, she is acknowledging women to be lesser than their male counterparts. Through her tone we can see that it is clearly upsetting to the speaker that men have such an overwhelming power over women. The speaker says nothing to negate this statement demonstrating a tone of frustration over the matter, but still a voice of obedience. Later in the poem her dissatisfied attitude is again brought to light:  “when she the word obey has said/and man by law supreme has made” (Chudleigh 5-6). The speaker again recognizes the statement but does nothing to address it, once again representing the speaker’s obedient tone. At this point in the poem the speaker has only demonstrated her anger with the status of wives. She has remained obedient and has said nothing more that what is expected of her. As the voice of frustration and obedience continues, the tone ultimately evolves and begins to question men as well as marriage.

The Revision

Chudleigh begins the poem with a tone of frustration over how women are shown to be nothing more than housemaids but, as powerless women, she obediently states her thoughts on marriage. She quickly makes her thoughts on a wife’s role evident, when she says, “wife and servant are the same” (Chudleigh 1). Instantaneously, she acknowledges women to be lesser than their male counterparts. Through her tone we can see the speaker’s frustration over the command men have over women. The speaker fails to negate the statement, which demonstrates frustration and helplessness over the matter. Later in the poem her dissatisfied attitude again comes to light:  “when she the word obey has said/and man by law supreme has made” (Chudleigh 5-6). The speaker again recognizes the statement but does not address her anger over a women’s role, which further displays the sparker’s frustration. By now the speaker has only demonstrated her anger with the status of wives. She has remained silent and has said no more than what is expected. As the voice of frustration continues, the tone slowly evolves and begins to question men and further marriage.

Barbie Doll, Barbie Fall

Irony is a word people typically associate with the exact opposite of what is expected.  Irony can be presented in several different forms, weather it be verbal or comical or sarcastic, it impacts our outlook on the story. Authors are able to use this tool to display their main idea without directly telling the reader.

People like Marge Piercy, the author of “Barbie Doll,” are able to use irony to manipulate our expectations and ultimately deepen the plot. For example, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Barbie Doll? Is it beauty? Do you think of perfection? Do you see it as happiness? I know, I do. This is exactly what Piercy wants and expects. She is able to manipulate this image of a perfect Barbie Doll and also provide the reader with false expectations of a perfect story where everything goes according to plan.

Piercy introduces this verbal irony early in the poem saying “a classmate said: you have a great big nose and fat legs.” Someone that is physically unattractive is not usually called and seen as a Barbie Doll.  This image that every girl sees, this beautiful picture of a Barbie Doll, has now been distorted by Piercy’s words.

Later in the poem, we are again shown irony when we find that this woman tried so hard to be one with society and to be beautiful that she “cut off her nose and her legs.”  Which ultimately resulted in her death. At her funeral many people said “ Doesn’t she look pretty?”  This is absolutely crazy! This woman is lying there, dead because she tried to be the exactly like Barbie Doll that society expected.

In the last line of the poem it says, “to every women a happy ending,” but this story certainly did not end happily. Piercy again uses her verbal irony, now nearly sarcastic, to show what people are willing to do to conform to what society defines as beautiful.

Link to Barbie Doll

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/barbie-doll/

The Fatal Knot

Hi everyone. My name is Kimya and this is my new blog for school. Hope you enjoy my first ever post!

My favorite text form the summer reading is “ To the Ladies” by Lady Mary Chudleigh. I love how this poem is able to excite me as a reader and force me to look deeper into each line and obtain its true meaning.  Although it was difficult at first to find the meaning behind the words, deciphering the poem later provided me with a rush of adrenalin and enticed me to continue on my search. I particularly enjoyed the diction used throughout the poem. Line three for example says, “ for when the fatal Knot is ty’d.” The use of the word fatal is contradictory to what one would expect marriage to be, a positive impact on life, but instead the speaker appears to have a negative outlook on marriage.  The word fatal can also reassemble the death of women through marriage. Again showing marriage to have a negative impact on a woman’s life. I found this to be surprising because I had always expected a woman’s wedding and ultimately her marriage to be the best day of her life, and for the couple to live happily after in their union.  But this was clearly not the case in “ To the Ladies.” The speaker seems to tell this story from experience and does her best to instill confidence in women by saying, “ Value your selves, and Men despise.” I found it shocking that she is telling women to not get married especially in the time period that this poem was written in. She is empowering women to take pride in their independence.  Writing this poem was certainly an audacious move by Chudleigh, ultimately giving me a new perspective on women in the 1700s.

To the Ladies Poem Link