Madonna Wilt's Canonball

Madonna Wilt_Final Draft_1238 words

Romantic Irony in Thirty-Eight: A Call for Women’s Rights

Under the guise of a letter of consolation written to a friend on the occasion of her thirty-eighth birthday, Charlotte Turner Smith’s Thirty-Eight Addressed to Mrs. H_ _ _ _ Y presents a subtle yet sophisticated narration in favor of Women’s Rights. In her poem, Thirty-Eight, Smith relies upon a cross-cultural compilation of formal elements to present a multi-cultural address to all women. Further, she employs a systematic grammatical shift of pronouns that effectively shifts the target of her address, from the singular recipient addressed in the title, to a wider inclusionary audience. These formal composition techniques draw out subtle ironies within the text to create a strong argument in favor of education for all women. Smith’s Thirty-Eight earns its place in the canon of British Romantic Literature for its ability to draw upon the heightened socio-economic and gender concerns of this era in British history in its formulation of a call to action on the issue of Women’s Rights.

The first hints of Thirty-Eight’sItalic underlying romanticism surface in the poem’s form. Smith’s choices of meter, stanza and rhyme scheme conspire to form a cross-cultural address that strives to imitate a shifting view of the world and of England’s place in the world. Evidence of this increased awareness of the world outside of England’s borders emerges in the “Thirty-eight” refrain which appears at the end of each of the first eight stanzas, providing the echoes of a French ballade. Further evidence rests in each of the poem’s eight sestets which combine a rhymed English couplet with a Sicilian (envelope) quatrain (bccb), as well as in the concluding stanza which incorporates a Spanish quintilla (bcccb). Thus, the poem is inclusionary by virtue of its incorporation of these formal elements from various cultures throughout Europe, and is emblematic of England’s increased awareness of changes taking place throughout Europe. Further, the poem’s stubborn tendency to cling to tradition, while bowing to subtle cultural adaptations, mirrors the socio-political climate of England, which strove for preservation of the classes amidst slow social change, during the British Romantic Era.

Further evidence of the subtleties of Smith’s argument, as well as evidence that favors a more inclusive address concerning women’s rights and the education of women, manifests within a grammatical shift of pronouns that begins in the fifth stanza, with the introduction of “[h]er voice” (25). Up to this point the speaker directs the reader’s attention to the exclusive “we” (4,8,15,18) which, with no other antecedent, indicates a presumptive “we” consisting exclusively of the speaker and Mrs. Hayley. The introduction of “her voice” (25) contradicts the presumed exclusivity of the “we” found in earlier stanzas. It serves the duel function of enabling the feminization of the “voice [of] … “anguish” (25) and signifying the inclusion of at least one other. Further, it induces a sense of confusion as the reader struggles to differentiate between the various subjects and addressees. This confusion rests in the reader’s understanding that all of the all the lines that follow, suddenly, become applicable to the assumed exclusive “we” and to the all-inclusive “we.” This sense of confusion forces the reader to attach equal importance to the understanding of the various potential addressees. By demanding equal treatment for all women, the unnamed “she” (28) serves as a catalyst for the argument in favor of a classical education for all classes of women and effectively draws attention to the social and political inequalities of the classes during the British Romantic Period.

Immediately following the inclusion of the unnamed “she” (28), introduction a problematic “their” (37) arises in the speaker’s address. The introduction of this exclusionary pronoun indicates the inclusion of multiple others in the poem while, simultaneously, delineating a separation between the “we” and the others. Further references to the multiple unnamed “we” (32,38,40,49), in the stanzas that follow, describe the exclusive “we” as well as the all-inclusive “we”. Used in reference to the “gaudy hues” (37) of “the glittering toys of youth” (38), “their” (37) introduces a duplicity into the text of Thirty-Eight. First, it effectively draws attention to the plight of women, whose prospects [grow] less bright” (29), with “[t]he sad effects of --- of thirty-eight” (6). Second, it serves to delineate a separation of the classes, effectively drawing a line between the uneducated classes and the exclusive “we” which includes the speaker as well as her friend, Mrs. Hayley, who would not be able to read Smith’s poem were she not educated.

Even if the reader, despite all evidence to the contrary, interprets the poem as the speaker’s exclusive address to Mrs. Hayley, this interpretation intones a class of educated women afforded greater opportunity, and the address continues as an exemplary model of British Romantic Literature. First, if taken as an optimistic view of aging this interpretation lends itself fully to the difference that an education makes. Then, it stands as an example of romantic irony in its thinly disguised call for Women’s Rights, of property as well as education, based upon the narrator’s hints of better prospects afforded by education. When viewed in relation to Charlotte Smith’s own personal struggles for autonomy her consolations offered on aging seethe with irony, when one considers that despite her clear advantage of education Smith still struggled with the inequalities inherent in male-dominated Great Britain. Thus, the poem reinforces the irony of women’s status within society, as evidenced by Smith’s hard fought battles, both for control of her children’s inheritance and for control of her the earnings afforded her by virtue of her education.

In either version of addressee, further evidences of irony and a call for women’s rights rest in the handling of contrasts between the socio-cultural status of women during this period and the speaker’s imagined state of women in the later stages of life. In the opening stanzas the narrator introduces eighteen-year-olds, steeped in the romantic imagination of a spring day full of “health and sprightly joy” (3). They “loved to trace / [t]he sad effects of --- Thirty-eight” (5/6), until the helplessness of their plight hit them full-on. Then they wished for an early death in order to escape their awful “Fate” (15). The capitalization of fate provides the reader with a clue as to the true underlying irony contained within the lines of this poem. The stanzas that follow the introduction of “Fate” (15) trace the speaker’s attempts to find consolation in the wisdom and care-freeness afforded her by age; however, each proof offered presents as irony when viewed within the context of an undereducated woman of the era. For example, the average woman would not have occasion to “converse. . . / [w]ith bard or critic” (32/33) and could not be privy to the “improving” (35) knowledge of [s]cience” (36). In the final stanzas Smith continues her argument for the education of women with a reference to “other wreaths [for whom] ‘tis not too late” (45) and an “amaranth” (46) still in bloom. Here, Smith refers to the younger women who follow and lays the full yoke of responsibility upon the older women to affect change and improve opportunities for the younger generations that follow. Thirty-Eight aims to advance the case in favor of formal education of women, by stirring the passions of those women who already possess the advantage of education and the wisdom of experience. In this vein,  Thirty-Eight rests squarely in the realm of Romantic Irony and situates itself within the canon of British Romantic Literature.

Madonna Wilt_Draft_ 941 words

Romantic Irony in Thirty-Eight: A Call for Women’s Rights

Upon first blush, Charlotte Turner Smith’s Thirty-Eight Addressed to Mrs.Italic H_ _ _ _ Y disguises as a whimsical letter of consolation, written to a friend on the occasion of her thirty-eighth birthday; however, a closer reading provides evidence of ironic contradictions in the status of women, as well as hints of an all-inclusive address to women of various cultures. Formal techniques enhance the text’s contradiction between the socio-cultural status of women and the narrator’s imagined state of women in the later stages of life, while textual clues asserting the duplicity of the address emerge in the contentious pronoun shifts. Smith’s Thirty-Eight warrants its inclusion in the canon of British Romantic Literature because of its rich use of romantic irony in the formulation of a call to action on the issue of Women’s Rights.

The reader’s first clues as to the underlying Romanticism of Thirty-Eight appear in the form. Smith’s choices of meter, stanza length and rhyme scheme result in a cross-cultural address that strives to placate a shifting worldview of socio-political inequalities by introducing a sense of inclusion. For example, the “Thirty-eight” refrain echoes a French Ballade, while the concluding stanza incorporates a Spanish quintilla (bcccb). Each of the poem’s eight sestets combines the rhymed English couplet with a Sicilian (envelope) quatrain (bccb). Thus, the chosen form provides hints of a shadow sonnet that lacks a satisfactory conclusion and appears to be missing a foot. The poem’s stubborn tendency to cling to tradition, while bowing to subtle change, mirrors the socio-political climate of England during the British Romantic Era. Further, the form creates a tenor of uneasiness and dissatisfaction that reinforces the text’s sense of irony in the contentious status of women.

The over-riding sense of irony, and confusion of addressee, constructed in the poem’s form gains contextual strength from the tenuous pronoun shifts that begin in the fifth stanza, with the introduction of “[h]er voice” (25). Up to this point, the speaker directs the reader’s attention to the exclusive “we” (4,8,15,18). Thus, a subtle shift of pronouns to the inclusive “our” (17) and “us” (22), slips by undetected until the reader encounters the others in the form of the “her” (25) and the “she” (28). These latter two contradictory pronouns serve the duel function of enabling the feminization of “the voice of anguish” (25) and signifying the inclusion of others.

The introduction of the other leads to an unresolved irony in the stanzas that follow, as the reader struggles to differentiate between the various subjects and addressees. This irony lies in the reader’s understanding that all of the proceeding statements, and all those that follow, suddenly become equally applicable to the assumed exclusive “we” and the all-inclusive “we.” This sense of confusion serves as a subtle argument in favor of a classical education for all women. By forcing the reader to attach equal importance to the understanding all of the various, potential addressees, the unnamed “she” of stanza five, draws attention to the social and political inequalities of the classes during the British Romantic Period.

Even if the reader, despite all evidence to the contrary, accepts the speaker’s consolations as an exclusive address to Mrs. Eliza Hayley, this interpretation intones a class of educated women afforded greater opportunity, and the address continues as an exemplary model of British Romantic Literature. First, if taken as an optimistic romanticism of aging this interpretation lends itself fully to the difference that an education makes. Then, it stands as an example of romantic irony in its thinly disguised call for women’s rights. Finally, when viewed in relation to Charlotte Smith’s own personal struggles for autonomy, the poem reinforces the irony of women’s status within society, as evidenced by Smith’s hard fought battles, both for control of her children’s inheritance and for control of her own earnings. Omission of these miseries then leaves the reader not only with the sense of a missing line or foot but with an ironic statement in favor of the education of women as well.

In either version of addressee, further evidences of irony and a call for women’s rights rest in the handling of contrasts between the socio-cultural status of women during this period and the speaker’s imagined state of women in the later stages of life. In the opening stanzas the narrator introduces eighteen-year-olds, steeped in the romantic imagination of a spring day full of “health and sprightly joy” (3). They “loved to trace / [t]he sad effects of --- Thirty-eight” (5/6), until the irony of their plight hit them full-on. Then they wished for an early death in order to escape their awful “Fate” (15). The capitalization of fate provides the reader with a clue as to the true underlying irony contained within the lines of this poem.

The stanzas that follow the introduction of “Fate” (15) trace the speaker’s attempts to find consolation in the wisdom and care-freeness afforded her by age; however, each proof offered presents as irony when viewed within the context of an undereducated woman of the era. For example, the average woman would not have occasion to “converse. . . / [w]ith bard or critic” (32/33) and could not be privy to the “improving” (35) knowledge of [s]cience” (36). In one final ironic twist, a reference to “other wreaths [for whom] ‘tis not too late” (45), coupled with an allusion to Amaranth still in bloom (46), Thirty-Eight aims to advance the case in favor of formal education of women, by stirring the passions of those women who already possess the advantage of education. In this vein, Thirty-Eight rests squarely in the realm of Romantic Irony and situates itself within the canon of British Romantic Literature.