Eighteenth-century Women Poets and Their Poetry - Essay Example

The author also asserts that marriage should not only bring tears but happiness to the man. This implies that the woman has the social obligation of being a companion to the man and should ensure that marriage brings happiness in the man’s life and not tears alone. Women are further expected to stick to their marriage until old age when the spouses’ hair becomes white. This implies that women are considered to be the binding factor in marriage without whom the marriage will disintegrate and fail.

The poem, “A Song of Grief” reinforces the cultural expectations on women by asserting that women are a sign of union and joy in marriage and that, whenever there is grief in marriage, the woman will use her love to console the husband and ensure that he is fine. The poem, “Advice to a neighbor girl” asserts that it is difficult for women to find men with true love and should hence; seek a handsome famous man who sticks by them all the time. This implies that women are the forces that ensure that the marriage is intact and running.

“Creamy Breasts’’ portrays women as the leasing agents in marriage. The persona describes the manner in which her lover plays with her breasts that have been sprayed with fragrance in a loving manner. This illustrates the role of romance by the woman in marriage. “Playing all a summer’s Day by the Lake” has outlined the responsibility that men have over women so that they do not become lonely beings. This outlines that women are submissive beings who need to be treated well by men.

Women are further considered the symbols of love in marriage. The poem “Married Love” brings out this well by asserting that the love between a woman and her man is like a burning fire so that the two are like entity during the course of their life and that by death-time, they will still be buried in the same coffin. Women are thus expected to be binding beings in marriage settings. The women poets have brought out some notions about women that do not go in tandem with the social values or cultural expectations of the traditions that they hail from.

One poet, Chao Luan-Luan has described women in a manner that depicts them as sexual beings who are only there to please men. Culture respects women by considering them as an important aspect of the marriage institution but the manner in which the poet has described women shows that women have been given a low status as that of pleasing men in marriage. The second poet of “Advice to a neighbor girl” has also given another perspective about women which conflicts with cultural expectations.

Instead of encouraging women to choose a good husband for marriage, the poet instead advises the woman to go out and seek a handsome and famous man for marriage. This portrays women negatively in the sense that women are driven by material things when looking for a husband. The poet has also asserted that it is rare for women to go out and find a man with true love. She, therefore, discourages women from believing that true love is possible in their lives. The perception of the poet conflicts with cultural expectations whereby women are advised to choose husbands based not of wealth but based on values and character.

The poet of “A Song of White Hair” portrays women negatively by blaming them for failures in marriage. The poet wonders why marriage should bring only tears, and hence, demands that women should try their best in ensuring that there are no conflicts in marriage. This is a wrong assertion since marriage according to cultural expectations is between a man and a woman and, hence, any failures in the marriage should not be blamed entirely on the woman.