Analyse the different forms of power presented in My Last Duchess, A Woman to Her Lover and La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Poetry

Year 10 Coursework

Before the First World War that began in 1914 power was viewed differently than it is today. One example of this is the power of men over women. Today, we live in a society of equality between men and women but pre 1914, when the poems were set, men were viewed as leaders over the women and many men believed that women were to be their ‘objects’. There were many different views on power and who God had given power to. In their poems Browning, Walsh and Keats take advantage of this by employing a large variety of techniques to display this indecision within the nation. The culture alone made power such a disputed subject. The main types of power that need to be discussed are patriarchal power and hierarchal power.

There are many types of power presented in the poem My Last Duchess. It was set in Italy in the seventeenth century and was written by Robert Browning. The main form of power revealed in the poem is possessive power. This is clearly indicated within the title ‘My Last Duchess.’ The Duke uses the word ‘my’ which gives the impression that he believes that he owns his wife; he believes that his wife is his possession and she is under his control. This is also shown as he says, ‘Will’t you please sit and look at her?’ The Duke is commanding a visitor to look at the painting of his Duchess showing that he treats the painting like an object, the same as his wife. He values them the same, indicating that his wife is nothing more that a possession. Furthermore, patriarchal power can also be seen. Patriarchal power is the power of one over another, men over women. It was believed all throughout history until the modern day when women gained equality. As already known, the duke treats his wife as his object. However, when she does not submit entirely to him, he asserts his authority and disposes of her. The Duchess was defying the Dukes trust and to stop this embarrassment to his name he simply got rid of her as shown in the quote, ‘whose smiles stopped.’ This demonstrates the Duke’s Aristocratic and Patriarchal power as he can order anyone to be killed. His inability to be a Duke with aristocratic power grew although he would want us to think that her undignified behaviour grew. His impotency to possess her is reflected in the command, ‘Go!’ The use of short sentences reflects the Duke’s assertiveness and the blunt reactions that followed his wife’s murder. Moreover, the Duke also demonstrates hierarchal power. As a Duke, his family was quite high up in society. He feels his late wife’s courtesy to those in lower ranks undermines his position at the top of the social hierarchy. He finds her flirtations with lower class men to be disgraceful describing how hierarchal power is not just shown in the form of social power but also in objects. For example, The Duke says, ‘She had/A heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad/Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er/She looked on. The Duke believes that the Duchess values everything the same-even him to other objects. He has given her his 900 year old name but he still cannot possess her which he wants to dramatically. She is inferior in hierarchal power as he is a woman but the Duke believes that he should be able to control her. He is annoyed that he cannot control her or be all powerful over her.

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The language and structure of the poem also portrays power. For example the Duke is in control of language itself as the poem is in the form of a dramatic monologue. The audience is able to infer from this that the Duke is a megalomaniac from his biased account of events. There are no stanzas within the poem indicating that the Duke is in complete control, not letting anyone interrupt him. He invites the person that he is talking to to look at the painting, indicating that the listener is under the power of the Duke. Finally, the Duke has the Duchess’s portrait covered by a curtain. This curtain can be seen as the Dukes’ power over the Duchess. It is a metaphor for the control that he wanted to have over her life. He wanted to be able to control her so he only lets the people who he wants to let see her see her.

Moreover, there is importance in studying social and historical context when considering power. Patriarchal power is portrayed here as it is typical of the Renaissance era in which the poem was set. The social power is distinctly organised and very sexist for men in that era would have undisputed leadership over the women and the women just agreed as they believed that men were higher in the eyes of God.. The men had all the power and the Duke believes in this theory. Furthermore, men also had power over women in marriages. Women had no say in who they married; it was all arranged by the father al the future husband. It was like a business transaction where the men have all the power and the women none. Finally, the blush was seen a symbol of sexual arousement that was not effective in men. This declares that women of the era were believed to be the weaker of the two sexes and that man was the more powerful.

A Woman to her Lover was written by Walsh to encourage the feminist movement of 1840 onwards. Many techniques are used to present power and they can be identified. Firstly, the main type of power present within this poem is patriarchal power. The poet is trying to defy what is expected of women by men and gain more power for women so that men and women were equal. Moreover, will power is also seen as she does not give up and Sexual power is present but again she is trying to defy it: ‘I am no doll to dress.’ She is saying that she will not be his sex object and is refusing any sexual power that the man has over the women. Feminist power can also be seen as she won’t give up in her quest for equal marriage. Finally a lot of mental power is displayed in order to defy the system.

Within A Woman to Her Lover, Walsh also uses the structure and language used within the poem to portray power. She defies the stereotype of women from the male point of view within that time period by using a structural technique of hypothetical scenarios in each stanza only to reject them in the last line.

‘No servant will I be/If that what you ask, O lover I refuse you.’ She is playing on the patriarchal power of men, defying them and giving herself control and power over the situation. Also, a way that portrays her trying to defy patriarchal power are the verbs, such as ‘conquer’ and ‘vanquish,’ which are used throughout the whole poem. This provides a sense of defying the power in men and bringing equality to women. Moreover, she also defies sexual power by making constant references to her body. This again draws to the point that she wants equality, not power but by using this technique power is shown. This is totally different to My Last Duchess as in that poem the Duke is fighting for patriarchal power whereas in A Woman to Her Lover the poet is trying to defy it. The language also shows that she has equality in power as it uses pairs of ideas such as, ‘live and work’ and ‘love and die.’ This shows that she is in control over her language just as a man would, declaring that they are equal and that women have as much power as men. Finally, she has the power to command, ‘Go.’ She is asserting her power by ordering men about which creates a sense of tension as it would not be thought that men would stand for women having power. Her aim is to defy masculine power and gain equality for women.

Social and historical context also plays a part in the presentation of power. My Last Duchess and A Woman to Her Lover were both written in the same time period meaning that both poems were written in a time when men were considered to be above women. The feminist movement, which occurred from 1840 onwards, was about women who wanted equal rights to men. This is a clear example of patriarchal power as men did not expect the women to be so assertive due to the patriarchal power stereotype. This is also shown in wedding vows. In 1900 the vows of a wife was to ‘love and obey’ her husband whereas now it is to ‘love and honour.’ The power in this poem is shifting due to the ways power is presented. It is unconventional in being rebellious to the typical role of women at that time.

There are many comparisons and contrasts that can be drawn between this poem and My Last Duchess. Firstly, there is a difference in the patriarchal power. The Duke once had all the power where in this poem, the woman defies masculine power. Secondly, in A Woman to Her Lover, there was a very open poem allowing people to interrupt and have a say. This compares to My Last Duchess which is a one way conversation and no one else can talk. However, there are similarities. Both poems talk of defying power and how it can be done within the two poems

La Belle Dame Sans Merci was written by John Keats. It was written in a very clever format which means that a number of different powers can be seen within the poem. The main idea is that the Woman is using Matriarchal power to over power men. However, there are many different power presented all throughout the poem. Throughout the whole poem, sexual power is presented in many ways. For example, the knight physically seats the dame onto his horse without her being able to stop him. ‘I set her on my pacing steed.’ Both of the characters within this poem are trying to gain power for themselves and the Dame wins, seducing the knight with her sexual power, ‘falling into a trance.’ Furthermore, the knight also silences her with his physicals power. ‘And there I shut her wild, wild eyes/With kisses four.’ The knight silences her with his physical power and the struggle for power continues, which the Dame eventually wins. Another type of power that can be seen is sexual power. The Dame is very seductive and lures the knight into loving her. ‘She look’d at me as she did love/And made sweet moan.’ She is behaving sexually here and using her power of seduction to defy patriarchy. She is using a mystical power to blind his senses and intoxicating him to rid him of his power, ‘The sedge has wither’d from the lake/And no birds sing’. Moreover, patriarchal power can be seen throughout the poem. The knight is trying to dress the dame and make her his object: ‘I made a garland for her head/And bracelets too.’ Patriarchal power is seen here as the knight is trying to possess and make her his object though dressing her to a fashion her for himself. Supernatural power is shown through the food and songs. He describes her as having, ‘wild eyes’ again emphasizing her supernatural power. Lastly, matriarchal can be seen as the poem defies patriarchy. The lady has the power to affect health and by making a brave knight sick, she is defying patriarchy. Overall, there are many different forms of power presented in La Belle Dame Sans Merci.

There is a large impact of language and structure when studying the forms of power presented in La Belle Dame Sans Merci. There is circular repetition within the poem which is anaphora. This indicates that the Dame is powerful and and she will repeat ruining patriarchy. Moreover, archaic lang can also be seen. This reflects the medieval courtly values and the dame undermines them by abusing the knight’s trust and overpowering him. This shows her sexual power to lead the knight into trusting her before overpowering him. Furthermore, compound adjectives such as, ‘death pale’ shows repeated trauma to men and therefore shows her physical power to keep going. Also, possessive power is clearly shown. ‘Ah! Woe betides!’ The caesura reflects the knights’ frustration at not being able to possess the Dame. He is unable to control her, to have power over her and therefore is very annoyed. This is patriarchy. The title is also a method of employing power. ‘Sans Merci’ means woman without pity. She has no pity for patriarchal power and is enforcing matriarchal power. Finally, a very complex technique is used. It is the idea of a flower in the Petrachan Blazon. ‘I see a lily on thy brow/With anguish moist and fever dew.’ The red and whites is an inversion of the Petrachen Blazon whereby a woman’s beauty was described. Red and white were common descriptive colours to compare her with. Through describing the knight in this feminine way he appears to have been emasculated by the Dame. His power is becoming weaker as women were viewed as the weaker of the two sexes. There are many techniques created by the use of language in which power is portrayed.

When studying power it is also important to study the social and historical impact upon it. So far this is the most matriarchal power we have seen within the three poems. This means that this poem defies patriarchy. It was written in the Victorian era but is set in Medieval times. Within this era knights were seen as role models of society: ‘Knight-at-arms…The sedge has wither’d from the lake/And no birds sing.’ Within the Medieval ages, knights were seen as role models to society. However, this poem defies that and declares that women are the weakness to men’s power. The fact that a brave, loyal knight has been so easily defeated by a woman only again stresses that the best examples of patriarchal power can be defeated. Also, there is female power shown within the medieval theme of courtly love. However, as a lover the knight still feels the hardship of unrequited love. The Victorian system is being defeated with patriarchy being defied and matriarchy triumphing. Despite this being a Victorian poem, there are elements of mythology. The siren, where females seduce and have power over men is reflected in this poem, creating an image of female power. The historical context can be very important when studying the techniques in which power is created.

Comparisons and contrasts can be drawn between this poem and others in the collection. This is the most matriarchal poem seen so far and their views on the distribution of power. My last Duchess had a very patriarchal view, with men powerful over women. This poem, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, is totally the opposite with a matriarchal view whilst A women to her lover is very neutral. This poem could be viewed as an answer to the Dukes demands for another wife. It could be a warning. Lastly, throughout the three poems women are trying to defeat men and finally in this poem men are emasculated.

In conclusion there are many ways in which power is presented throughout the three poems. Every poem successfully creates a sense of power using variety of techniques and methods. However, I believe that La Belle Dame Sans Merci is the best at portraying power as it uses many forms of power devised from a combination of language methods, structure of the poem and historical content and uses the power to make the poem have a dramatic effect. They range for every variation in the target to be presented and different techniques create different forms of tensions and emotions. In their poems Browning, Walsh and Keats use a wide range of techniques to portray power.. All three poems reflect the relationship hierarchy within the time period and use the technique of power to their full advantage.