Detailed commentary and analysis by Claire's Notes of 'The Forsaken Wife' by Elizabeth Thomas a.k.a. 'Corinna'
Cambridge iGCSE: Songs of Ourselves V2 Part 4
"The Forsaken Wife" by Elizabeth Thomas portrays the plight of a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage, unable to escape due to societal constraints and legal limitations. The poem explores themes of women's rights, marriage, and gender inequality prevalent in the 18th century. It highlights the woman's emotional turmoil and sense of betrayal by her husband's infidelity, emphasizing her powerless position as property of her spouse. Thomas critiques the societal norms that confined women to subservient roles and limited their legal rights, illustrating the emotional and psychological toll of such constraints on women's lives during that era.
The Forsaken Wife by Elizabeth Thomas (‘Corinna’)
Methinks, ’tis strange you can’t afford
One pitying look, one parting word;
Humanity claims this as due,
But what’s humanity to you?
Cruel man! I am not blind,
Your infidelity I find;
Your want of love my ruin shows,
My broken heart, your broken vows.
Yet maugre all your rigid hate,
I will be true in spite of fate;
And one preeminence I’ll claim,
To be for ever still the same.
Show me a man that dare be true,
That dares to suffer what I do;
That can for ever sigh unheard,
And ever love without regard:
I then will own your prior claim
To love, to honour, and to fame;
But till that time, my dear, adieu,
I yet superior am to you.
My poetry videos all have the same structure: I start by putting the poem into its historical and biographical context where this enhances its understanding and give a short summary of the poem itself; I then look at the poem in its entirety, picking out structural features, such as metre (rhythm), any rhyming and patterns in language which the poet uses; I finish by going through the poem on a line-by-line basis, giving definitions of words and offering an interpretation of the poet’s words with justification. Most of the terminology I use (in green) is provided with a definition below, so even if you haven’t come across it before, you should still be able to understand the points I am making.
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I have been an English teacher and private tutor for more than 20 years.
Please note that any literature analysis is highly subjective and may disagree with analysis by another person. All interpretations are valid if they can be justified by reference to the text. This interpretation is my own: it is not exhaustive and there are alternatives!
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