analysis of th poem "Song" by Lady Mary Wroth

1. “Song”: by
Lady Mary
Wroth
By: Tota Lupi, Alina Claps
and Vicky Quiroga

2. Biography: Lady Mary Wroth
❖ Lady Mary Wroth was born Mary Sidney, on October 18, 1587, into
a family connected to the royal courts of Elizabeth I and James I.
❖ She was the daughter of Sir Robert Sidney, later Earl of Leicester, and
Lady Barbara Gamage.
❖ She is best known as the first English woman to write a full-length prose
romance and a sonnet sequence, departing from traditional "women's"
genres such as epitaph and translation.
❖ Her work helped to open up the English literary world to women, and
allowed female writers to move beyond pious subject matter (Beilin
212).

3. ❖ Wroth did not attend school. But unlike most, she was taught at home by private tutors.
❖ In 1973 a previously unknown manuscript containing 66 poems written by her father was
discovered. Wroth was also heavily influenced by her father's literary siblings. Her uncle, Sir Philip
Sidney, was famous as a soldier, statesman and poet, and her aunt, Mary Sidney, Countess of
Pembroke, both composed her own and revised and edited her brother's works.

4. Poem Analysis
Love, a child, is ever crying,
Please him, and he straight is flying;
Give him, he there more is craving,
Never satisfied with having.
His desires have no measure,
Endless folly is his treasure;
What he promiseth he breaketh;
Trust not one word that he speaketh.
He vows nothing but false matter,
And to cozen you he'll flatter;
Let him gain the hand, he'll leave you,
And still glory to deceive you.
He will triumph in your wailing,
And yet cause be of your failing;
These his virtues are, and slighter
Are his gifts, his favours lighter.
Feathers are as firm in staying,
Wolves no fiercer in their preying.
As a child then leave him crying,
Nor seek him, so giv'n to flying.
As this poem was written during the 17th century, we
can relate the writer's point of view about men, as
during that time men were harsh towards women and
dominated them. In the poem we can see how Wroth
describes men in her times, and gives warnings. We
can compare the man from that time to the man in
the present, that is more kind, thoughtful and
devoted to the women, we obviously have exceptions.

5. 1st Stanza
“Love a child is ever crying;
Please him, and he straight is flying;
Give him he the more is craving,
Never satisfied with having.”
In this stanza we can see that the writer
compares men with children due to the way
they behave around women and how women
try to please men and never succeed. We also
have present in the poem imageries, auditory
and visual.
In the first line we have a metaphor “love a
child is ever crying”.

6. 2nd Stanza
“His desires have no measure,
Endless folly is his treasure;
What he promiseth he breaketh;
Trust not one word that he speaketh.”
In this stanza we can see how Wroth
explains that men cannot be trusted,
because they are liars, and cheaters.

7. 3rd Stanza
“He vows nothing but false matter,
And to cozen you he'll flatter;
Let him gain the hand, he'll leave you,
And still glory to deceive you.”
The writer after giving some advices in the
previous stanzas, to the readers, in a
sarcastic tone she shows that if you let
them gain you you will fail as a woman.

8. 4th Stanza
Here she is saying that man will always put up
a fight and he will succeed, this is how they are
and they will never be able to please women.
They could buy you gifts but when you need a
favour they don't do it.
“He will triumph in your wailing,
And yet cause be of your failing;
These his virtues are, and slighter
Are his gifts, his favours lighter.”

9. 5th Stanza
“Feathers are as firm in staying,
Wolves no fiercer in their preying.
As a child then leave him crying,
Nor seek him, so giv'n to flying.”
Here we have metaphors that compare men with
animals, and show that their ways are difficult to
change but not impossible, is difficult to take
them out of your life. But once you do, do not let
them back in it.
Literary devices: “crying” auditory. “flying”
visual. “fathers” metaphor. “wolves” metaphor.

10. Literary Analysis
Throughout this poem we can identify that the voice is a woman.
The themes of the poem are: Love between men and women. Men actions.
The tone is advising, warning, and confident.
In the perspective of a woman the poem is a warning on how men can treat you, love you, and also gives
some advice on how to act upon it. In the perspective of a man this poem will make them feel attacked and
will not accept the things said in this poem about them.

11. Vocabulary
Crave: A powerful desire for something: “a craving for chocolate”
Folly: Lack of good sense; foolishness: “an act of sheer folly”
Vow: An earnest promise to perform a specified act or behave in a certain manner
Cozen: Trick or deceive: “do not think to cozen your contemporaries”
Wail: Make a prolonged high-pitched sound:the wind wailed and buffeted the timber structure(as
adjective wailing) wailing sirens
Prey: Hunt and kill for food:small birds that prey on insect pests
Slight: Small in size, degree, or amount
Fierce: Having or displaying a violent or ferocious aggressiveness:fierce fighting continued throughout
the day
Flatter: To compliment excessively and often insincerely, especially in order to win favor.
Deceive: To cause to believe what is not true