Lady Mary Wortley Montagu example essay topic

Literature is a form of art with many facets, many obvious and others subtle. The surface of literature can be composed of many elements such as genre, form, rhythm, tone, diction, sentence structure, etc. Time periods, authors' personal style and type of work all determine what elements are used in the literature. The deeper more subtle side of literature is the use of symbolism, imagery and the significance of the work. In most works of literature, parallels can be drawn between the author's personality and current life's events through the subject matter, the characters, and the use of specific literary techniques. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's use of literary techniques in the first two stanzas of The Lover: A Ballad, are consistent throughout the six stanza ballad identifying and refuting the ways in which women were defined by literature of the 18th century era.

"At length, by so much importunity pressed, Take (Molly) at once the inside of my breast; This stupid indifference so often you blame Is not owing to nature, to fear, or to shame; I am not as cold as a virgin in lead, Nor is Sunday's sermon so strong in my head; I know but too well how time flies along, That we live but few years and yet fewer are young. But I hate to be cheated, and never will buy Long years of repentance for moments of joy. Oh was there a man (but where shall I find Good sense, and good nature so equally joined) Would value his pleasure, contribute to mine, Not meanly would boast, nor lewdly design, Not over severe, yet not stupidly vain, For I would have the power through not give the pain" (Montagu, 2567) The ballad has been traditionally known as the earliest form of poetry in conjunction with the fol world. It is one of lyrical work, usually in a simple song or dance form eluding to its' roots in oral presentation among the rural culture. The ballad commonly uses simple language and can be in the form of 3rd person, dialogue or a combination of the two. The ballad form generally shortens action in that it focus' on a single, usually, climactic event and eludes to the building and conclusion of this event.

Coincidentally, the rural roots of ballads parallel the themes that generally deal with basic aspects of life, such as; love and death, but seem to have a supernatural element. "The quatrain, a stanza of four lines, rhymed or unrhymed, is the most common of all English stanzaic forms. And the most common type of quatrain is the ballad stanza, in which lines of iambic tetrameter alternate with trimeter, rhyming a bcb (lines 1 and 3 being unrhymed) or, less commonly a bab" (Ferguson, 1114). Montagu uses many of these elements in that she stays remains consistent with the theme of ballads and writes about love. The supernatural aspect to her ballad is not necessarily supernatural, but in fact leans to Greek mythology. Her conclusion ends with reference to Ovid alluding to The Metamorphoses' which. ".. tells stories of virgins who are transformed into a laurel tree (Daphne) or a fountain (Arethusa), rather than succumb to the importunities of a pursuing god" (Footnote to The Lover: A Ballad, Damrosch, 2568).

Greek mythology can be categorized as supernatural though, depending on the audiences' beliefs, in that it's main characters are Gods and human like creatures with supernatural, superhuman abilities. Despite staying in the framework of themes and elements of the ballad, Montagu goes against the traditional definition and sets The Lover: A Ballad, in six eight line stanzas composed of anapestic tetrameter rhyming couplets. During the 18th century, the literary world was dominated by male poets and writes leaving the women poets and writers unsuccessful and unestablished. Notwithstanding the male circles of literature, A phra Behn was the exception, she could hold her own and helped lead the way to women writers at a time when women were depicted to be passive creatures.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was a strong character not only in her literature but also in her personal life. After her husband, Edward Wortley Montagu, was appointed Ambassador to Turkey she joined him. She saw something that was in great interest to her, inoculation of smallpox. As being a survivor of smallpox, when she returned to England she supported, if not lead the way, to inoculation in England.

Her writings at this time became the groundwork for her fame as a writer (Damrosch, 2558). Nevertheless, by going against the traditional form of ballads, she shows that women were not going to define themselves by traditional stereotypes or try to fit into an image of what women were supposed to be. Montagu's own frustration directed at an era in literature and time that depicts women passively can be felt by the reader by underlying tones of aggression from being held down by societal stereotypes and values. "There is hardly a character in the world more liable to universal ridicule than that of a Learned Woman" (Damrosch, 2557).

Already at a young age of twenty Montagu identifies the limitations of women. "Women, she counseled, should know much but hide their knowledge, lest they lose out on the comforts of love, marriage, and social ease" (Damrosch, 2558). By hiding behind her speaker she acknowledges these opinions and is saves herself from social ridicule. Montagu's diction further invalidates the point of women's depiction by using strong and direct words to convey the speaker's emotions of frustration in trying to find the ideal mate. The speaker considers her options in choosing a mate and decides she wants another choice: she describes, carefully and elegantly, the qualities she seeks in a partner.

Montagu's intelligence and skill in argument and in poetry strongly refutes conventional definitions of women as silly, strictly decorative creatures. The speaker describes the qualities she is seeking for, "Oh was there a man (but where shall I find Good sense, and good nature so equally joined) " (Montagu, 2567, Ln. 11), who will love her unconditionally, "To all my whole sex obliging and free, Yet never be fond of any but me". (Montagu, 2568, Ln. 19), and someone who she can depend on "In whose tender bosom my soul might confide, Whose kindness can soothe me, whose counsel could guide... ".

(Montagu, 2568, Ln. 35). These aspects of an ideal mate can be interpreted to Montagu's own personal love life. Although Montagu's speaker will remain chaste, she does not think of herself. ".. as cold as a virgin in lead... ". (Montagu, 2567, Ln.

5), referring to the Virgin Mary, until she finds her ideal mate, Montagu married Edward Wortley Montagu. Just as in her writing Montagu does not follow the traditional rules and had an adulterous affair with the bisexual Italian writer Francesco Algarotti. Whether she finds she is disappointed with what marriage is or what she got out of her marriage to Montagu she unfortunately does not find her ideal mate through Algarotti either. Montagu's style of writing clashes with the practiced format of ballads at this time but her ideas and feelings are clearly portrayed in this six stanza, eight line anapestic tetrameter rhyming couplets. The only true following of writing in this ballad is the use of the rhyming couplets.

This technique was perfected by Dryden and Pope and many poets were trying this new highly sophisticated technique. The first two stanzas of the ballad set off the way the remaining four will be linked together. Sentence structure, emphasis of ideas and method of address ment are all introduced in the introductory stanzas. The use of enjambment is prevalent in every stanza, even linking the separate stanzas together. Every stanza can be summed up as a single idea and the use of enjambment has these ideas flowing together while the use of a period brings these ideas to an end. The characterization of the typical relations between men and women leads Montagu to pose a balance of opposites between the extremes where those extremes of typical male behaviour are described in the first three stanzas.

The fourth through sixth stanzas imagine the ideal relationship as one in which. ".. friend and the lover be handsomely mixed" (Montagu, 34). Montagu's subtle satire of male weaknesses also admits a degree of foolishness in her own nature. Both must participate in social practices, and only so that they reach the ideal only when removed from public life to their private world. "He may cease to be formal, and I to be proud" (Montagu, 30).

Montagu's use of short and harsh monosyllabic words grabs the reader's attention right from the beginning. She clearly marks out that the speaker and / or the author are contradicting women being passive creatures by getting right in the face of the audience hence the face of men, making them listen to what women want. Indirectly Montagu is telling them that they are strong characters needing a voice and not wanting to follow societal stereotypes while trying to grasp at the same respect that men receive in the literary world during the 18th century. In this ballad, the speaker is clearly female and addressing a close male friend.

The relationship between the speaker and the male character in this ballad is friendly not sexual. The male in which Montagu's poem is directed to is identified, but names are concealed to maintain his privacy. In particular editions, such as the Norton Anthology of Poetry, identifying him only as "C - ", a common convention in literature of this era also used by John Dryden in MackFlecknoe, the poem indicates that it is addressed to a particular person. That particular person has thought to have been many people and has changed in different interpretations of the work. Some would say it is in reference to Lord Hervey, Mr. Congreve or Richard Chandler who was a friend of Lady Mary.

(Footnote, The Norton Anthology of Poetry, 350) In other editions, such as the Longman Anthology, this "C -" has been replaced by "Molly", which is thought to be in reference to Maria Skerrett who was a friend of Montagu's (Footnote, Longman Anthology of British Literature, 2567). However, even though the speaker identifies a particular male recipient, her argument can be read as a commentary on men in general. Metaphorically, she offers an implied criticism of authors and readers who accept these definitions of women being passive objects incapable of rational thought. By Montagu creating a speaker who is smart, perceptive, intelligent and capable of rational thought and clear argument she clearly criticizes these literary conventions and the social relations they reflect.

Through her skewed writing of the ballad form, her use of diction and literary techniques she explicitly and implicitly refutes the way women were portrayed through literature at the time of the 18th century. Looking more in depth to Montagu's life her work resembles her character and personality. She is a woman who does not like to follow the normal actions of women her age nor does she like to be a follower. Montagu seems to want to be known for her good characteristics and for people to follow her lead as she wanted to follow the feminist Mary As tell. Through her life's events her work becomes more introverted through "made up" characters and her opinions come through more and more.

She pushes the envelope of traditional methods to fit her own personal style. The Lover: A Ballad, upon the first surface look is a simple love poem, but on a deeper more analytical level it is a work of great complexity with many undertones of the time period and the author's personal side. Any poem or work of literature can be interpreted different ways by different people but the author's intention when writing should not be overlooked. These true intentions of who this poem is truly directed at and about lies with one person, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. 52 c Damrosch, David, et al. The Longman Anthology BRITISH LITERATURE, Vol. 1...

New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 1999. Ferguson, Margaret, M.J. Salter, and J. Stall worthy. The Norton Anthology of Poetry SHORTER FOURTH EDITION. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley. The Lover: A Ballad.