Analysis of From The Ladies Defence
Lady Mary Chudleigh 1656 (Devon) – 1710
Melissa: I've still rever'd your Order [she is responding to a Parson] as Divine;
And when I see unblemish'd Virtue shine,
When solid Learning, and substantial Sense,
Are joyn'd with unaffected Eloquence;
When Lives and Doctrices of a Piece are made,
And holy Truths with humble Zeal convey'd;
When free from Passion, Bigottry, and Pride,
Not sway'd by Int'rest, nor to Parties ty'd,
Contemning Riches, and abhorring strife,
And shunning all the noisy Pomps of Life,
You live the aweful Wonders of your time,
Without the least Suspicion of a Crime:
I shall with Joy the highest Deference pay,
and heedfully attend to all you say.
From such, Reproofs shall always welcome prove,
As being th' Effects of Piety and Love.
But those from me can challenge no Respect,
Who on us all without just Cause reflect:
Who without Mercy all the Sex decry,
And into open Defamations fly:
Who think us Creatures for Derision made,
And the Creator with his Works upbraid:
What he call'd good, they proudly think not so,
And with their Malice, their Prophaneness show.
'Tis hard we shou'd be by the Men despis'd,
Yet kept from knowing what wou'd make us priz'd:
Debarr'd from Knowledge, banish'd from the Schools,
And with the utmost Industry bred Fools.
Laugh'd out of Reason, jested out of Sense,
And nothing left but Native Innocence:
Then told we are incapable of Wit,
And only for the meanest Drudgeries fit:
Made Slaves to serve their Luxury and Pride,
And with innumerable Hardships try'd,
'Till Pitying Heav'n release us from our Pain,
Kind Heav'n to whom alone we dare complain.
Th' ill-natur'd World will no Compassion show;
Such as are wretched, it wou'd still have so:
It gratifies its Envy and its Spight;
The most in others Miseries take Delight.
While we are present they some Pity spare,
And feast us on a thin Repast of Air:
Look Grave and Sigh, when we our Wrongs relate,
An in a Compliment accuse our Fate:
Blame those to whom we our Misfortunes owe,
And all the Signs of real Friendship show.
But when we're absent, we their Sport are made,
They fan the Flame, and our Oppressors aid;
Joyn with the Stronger, the Victorious Side,
And all our Suff'ring, all our griefs deride.
Those gen'rous few, whom kinder Thoughts inspire,
And who the Happiness of all desire;
Who wish we were from barb'rous Usage free,
Exempt from Toils, and shameful Slavery,
Yet let us, unreprov'd, mis. spend our Hours,
And to mean Purposes employ our nobler Pow'rs.
They think, if we our Thoughts can but express,
And know but how to Work, to Dance and Dress,
It is enough, as much as we shou'd mind,
As if we were for nothing else design'd,
But made, like Puppets, to divert Mankind.
O that my Sex wou'd all such Toys despise;
And only study to be Good, and Wise;
Inspect themselves, and every Blemish find,
Search all the close Recesses of the Mind,
And leave no vice, no ruling Passion there,
Nothing to raise a Blush, or cause a Fear:
Their Memories with solid Notions fill,
And let their Reason dictate to their Will,
Instead of Novels, Histories peruse,
And for their Guides the wiser Ancients chuse,
Thro' all the Labyrinths of Learning go,
And grow more humble, as they more do know.
By doing this, they will Respect procure,
Silence the Men, and lasting Fame secure;
And to themselves the best Companions prove,
And neither fear their Malice, nor desire their Love.
Scheme | AABCDDEDFFGGHHIJKKLLDDMMNNOOBCPPEDQQMMRRSSTTMMDDEEUVWWXBYYZZZ1 1 ZZS2 3 3 4 4 MM5 5 IJ |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010110111011010101101 0111010101 1101000101 111010100 110110111 0101110101 11110101 111111101 110011 0101010111 110110111 0101010101 11110101001 01011111 11111101 1101101110001 1111110101 1111011101 1011010101 0011011 1111010101 000101111 1111110111 01110111 1111110101 1111011111 111010101 010110011 111101111 0101110100 1111010011 010101011 1111110001 0101000101 110010111101 1111011101 111101110101 1111011111 110110011 01010100101 1111011101 011101111 11011110101 10010001101 11111100101 010111101 1111011111 11010100101 11010001001 01101110101 111110101 01010011010 111011101 0111010100 1111111010 0111000110101 11111011101 0111111101 1101111111 1110110101 1111010111 1111111101 0101011101 01010100101 1101100101 0111110101 1011011101 1100110101 0111001111 0111010001 0111010101 11011101 0111011111 1101110101 1001010101 0101010101 0101110101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 3,282 |
Words | 589 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 77 |
Lines Amount | 77 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 2,615 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 587 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 21, 2023
- 3:05 min read
- 197 Views
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"From The Ladies Defence" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25390/from-the-ladies-defence>.
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