Poetry Extra Context

• Who so list to hount context

  Elizabethan Era

  During reign of Henry VIII

  Knew Anne Boleyn when she was younger

  She was married to Henry- gilded cage

  Femme fatale- Linked to Diana, who was seen as a symbol of dangerous sexuality in Greek mythology

  Allusion to the rumoured love affair between Wyatt and Boleyn

  Very religious society

  Wyatt had a low social standing in his circle

  Misogynistic
• Who So List form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  Petrarchan sonnet

  Iambic pentameter (lust disguised as love)

  Enjambment- never ending chase

  
  

  Extended metaphor of hunting

  Metonym of woman as the deer

  
  

  Predatorial, unrequited love, the chase, male dominance, social class
• Sonnet 116 context

  In Shakespeare's collection of sonnets, this poem is placed in between poems about the pains of love- poem could be said therefore to present an idealised view of love in the middle of a sea of pain, or could be said to show how love prevails through all

  
  

  Addressed to a 'fair youth'- believed by critics to be Henry Wriothesley, one of Shakespeare's patrons. (Could be seen as platonic love- the only true love that can exist is one between friends)

  
  

  Religious language and allusions used throughout poem, links to very religious Jacobean society that he was writing in

  
  

  Polaris- guiding force for sailors
• Sonnet 116 form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  Shakespearean sonnet

  Iambic pentameter

  Simple, accessible language- love is for everyone, not just a select few

  Enjambment- love lasts over time, speaker wants to prolong and hold onto relationship for as long as he can

  Rhyming couplet at end- typical of Shakespeare-

  
  

  Allusions to the Christian sacrament of marriage

  Allusion to Doomsday

  Nautical imagery

  
  

  True love, enduring love
• The Flea context

  Donne was born Roman Catholic during Elizabeth's reign

  Donne was ordained a priest and became the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, a post that he retained for the rest of his life. He preached several times before royalty, suggesting sex was a holy act that went against religious beliefs

  Metaphysical poet

  'Carpe Diem' poem

  Links to ideas about chastity and virginity- expectations of women, misogynistic

  
  

  Ovid: wrote about how he was jealous of a flea as it could get so close to his lover's body
• The Scrutiny context


  Cavalier poet:designed to entertaina court- outrageous and not intended as an enduring work of literature.Opposed metaphysical poetry such as John Donne.'Carpe Diem.'Critic- this poem presents "an argument for male promiscuity"Strict belief thatwomen should remain chaste until marriage- insults frigidity of women.

  Cavalier poems:-Celebrate joy and gratification-Allegorical and classical allusions-For amusement-Romantic, bordering on erotic

  Lovelace- Royalist- supported Charles IPolitical- themes of sexual liberty and pursuit of pleasure contrast puritanism
• The Scrutiny form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  Changing meter between trochees and iambic tetrameter- changing nature of speaker's desire

  ABABB- meant to be played to music, like Shakespearean sonnet with an extra line- not love, disjointed, one sided

  Calculated rhyme scheme- intentionally manipulating her

  Rhetorical questions to reinforce argument

  
  

  Conceit of the miner

  
  

  Infidelity, unrequited love, treatment of women, Misogyny
• A Song (Absent from thee) context

  Wilmot- Cavalier poet

  'Restoration Comedy'

  Speculated to be about Nell Gwyn- Also King Charles II's mistress

  Known for wild behaviour

  Died from effects of venereal disease and alcohol

  
  

  Marvell- 'the best English satirist
• Absent from thee form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  ABAB rhyme scheme

  Quatrains

  Iambic tetrameter

  (All features of Restoration song-> entertainment)

  
  

  Religious imagery interwoven with cliches of love poetry and declarations of suffering with hope for inner peace- may be mocking love

  
  

  Infidelity, unrequited love, treatment of women, Misogyny
• The Garden of Love context

  Was in defiance of 18th century neoclassical conventionsRomantic poet (First Wave)Focuses on Christian imageryProtestantAgainst organised religion- should keep faith in own wayPolyamorousSaw Church as a controlling forceBelieved that after the fall of humankind, the sexual act had become one of shame and repressionMethod ofsocial protestChallenges organised religion's role in controlling sexual desires
• The Garden of Love form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  Quatrains

  Catalectic meter- rush reader onto next line- may be a metaphor for the speed at which the speaker's innocence is disappearing

  ABAB CDCD- simplicity of life and love until interference in last stanza, where internal rhyme is seen- repression of desire

  
  

  Love is presented allegorically and the 'Garden' is the Garden of Eden- freedom of innocent and uninhibited sexual expression

  
  

  Begins in a Pastoral mode, with reference to a simple bygone age of closeness to nature, but ends with a Gothic and negative depiction of a graveyard

  
  

  Barriers to love, lack of freedom, religion, control of love
• Song (Ae Fond Kiss) context

  "Burns was a notorious womaniser- or a great lover"

  
  

  First Wave Romantic

  Promiscuous- had lots of affairs

  
  

  Written for Agnes McLehose, a woman separated from her husband. Not known if they consummated their passion- but they had definite attraction and spent a year writing to one another

  
  

  Reasons why their relationship ended;

  Agnes' estranged husband asked her to visit him for possible reconciliation in Jamaica

  Burns has a child with McLehose's maid

  Burns reunited with and married an old flame, Jean Armour.
• Ae Fond Kiss form, structure, imagery patterns and themes


  AABB- rhyming couplets- may be presenting an argument that they should be together

  Meter puts a stress on first syllable and ends on unstressed-> feminine rhyme scheme-> his focus is on her

  Lyrical, rhythmic

  
  

  Infidelity, hope, unrequited love, impossible love, pain in love
• She Walks in Beauty context

  Possibly inspired by a woman, wife of Byron's cousin, that hemet at a ball the night before-Anne Beatrix WilmotRomantic era- love and emotion over rationality

  BisexualSecond wave Romantic'Mad, bad and dangerous to know'Wilmot was said to be in mourning at the party, hence the black dress

  Published in'Hebrew Melodies'- set to musicPatriarchal undertones- male gazeTaking inspiration from her beauty- Romantic movement

  Physiognomy- her beauty means her mind is beautiful also
• She Walks in Beauty form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  ABABAB- balanced lines, regular rhyme scheme

  Iambic tetrameter (mostly)

  
  

  Imagery of the cosmos (i.e. stars and sky)

  Beauty described in hyperbolic terms

  Dichotomy between light and darkness- perfectly balanced

  
  

  Syntactic parallelism- balances ideas rhythmically e.g. 'And on that cheek, and o'er that brow'

  
  

  Beauty, admiration, desire
• Remember context

  Pre-Raphaelite movement:Continuation of Romantic poetryPre-Raphaelitism espoused (supported) Naturalism: the detailed study of nature by the artist and fidelity to its appearance, even when this risked showing ugliness

  Rosetti was influenced by Italian writersFather suffered mental and physical health issuesAt 14, she had a nervous breakdownSuffered greatly with illness- Grave's diseaseEarly work focused on death and lossVery religious

  Written during 'Victorian mourning period' following death of Prince Albert

  Acceptance of death common in Pre-Raphaelite philosophyMaterial troubles pale in comparison to struggles of the mind
• Remember form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  Iambic pentameter- varies by opening with a trochee (stress falls on 'gone,' emphasising its importance)Change in tenses 'Nor I half turn'Petrarchan sonnet

  The tone of the octave is contemplative on the topic of death. Narrator can finally be at peace because she has renounced her desire for earthly pleasures, such as the physical presence of her beloved. The Pre-Raphaelite belief system demanded renunciation of human desire.She repeats ‘Remember me’, as arefrainoranaphora, but the tone changes when she renounces the need to be remembered altogether. The poem ultimately deals with the struggle between physical existence and the afterlife.

  
  

  Alternative interpretation- ‘the future that you planned’ (Volta)- recognition of his dominance and the entire poem is a statement of her wish to assert her independence. The ‘silent land’ of line two is her future life without him. It is ‘silent’ because she won’t communicate with this man.
• The Ruined Maid context

  Hardy lived in London, was openly aware of many prostitutes in the streets.Provided a social commentary on prostitution and its effects-drawing attention to hardships the poor faceand what they will turn to to escape poverty.Hardyattacks society's naive ignoration of the poor/ povertyHardy's writing oftenexposes the inequalities and hypocrisy of Victorian societyand shows how its constraints can lead to unhappiness."melior" in Latin means "better,"- the name "'Melia" is used to highlight how women in poverty turn to prostitution to make their lives "better"'Fallen women' often left without money or support, shunned from society, double standards, especially due to repression in Victorian EnglandProstitution seen as a threat to moralityLiterature warned against risks of sexual temptation

  "Hardy was not himself misogynistic but portrayed his women as they were at the time-confined by society's limitations placed on them."
• The Ruined Maid form, structure, imagery patterns and themes


  Quatrains

  Anapestic trimeter- shows how life is disjointed- draw attention to the plight of women like Melia

  Ballad

  Simple language including dialect

  The simplicity and mock-innocence are ironic- this is a complex tale of a life ruined and society's judgements

  
  

  Comic tone, though behind it is a serious message- prostitution really did mean ruin

  
  

  'Melia- short for Amelia-> ameliorate (to improve)- links to how society needs to improve perception of prostitution and remove stigma

  
  

  Clothing imagery

  Fate of women who try to reclaim autonomy over their lives

  
  

  Depravation v wealth, social class
• At an Inn

  Hardy is a Victorian poet

  Autobiographical

  Patriarchal society

  He was married, proposed to meet Florence Henniker in Winchester in 1893. She agreed and they met up.

  He invited her to spend the night with him at an inn.

  She refused to sleep with him but did stay overnight in a different room
• Who so list to hount context

  Elizabethan Era

  During reign of Henry VIII

  Knew Anne Boleyn when she was younger

  She was married to Henry- gilded cage

  Femme fatale- Linked to Diana, who was seen as a symbol of dangerous sexuality in Greek mythology

  Allusion to the rumoured love affair between Wyatt and Boleyn

  Very religious society

  Wyatt had a low social standing in his circle

  Misogynistic
• La Belle Dame Sans Merci context

  Keats

  Second Wave Romantic

  Mother died from TB when he was 14

  He got TB and knew he was going to die

  Leaves his love Fanny Brawne in England and goes to Italy for warmer weather to prolong his life

  Remains in love with Fanny Brawne and writes to her

  Borrows from medieval lit

  
  

  Title comes from 'I' Amant et la Dame'- their dialogue is framed by the narrator, poet who is grieving for his own recently deceased love
• Who So List form, structure, imagery patterns and themes

  Petrarchan sonnet

  Iambic pentameter (lust disguised as love)

  Enjambment- never ending chase

  
  

  Extended metaphor of hunting

  Metonym of woman as the deer

  
  

  Predatorial, unrequited love, the chase, male dominance, social class