Beginning with Bradstreet’s poem, the first difference in the way she approaches her audience versus how Stockton approaches hers is the tone. While both of these poems are praise poems, there are certain sections where it seems as though Bradstreet it trying to justify her admiration and convince the audience that Queen Elizabeth I is worth their attention and admiration. This need for justification is clearly rooted in the subject’s gender, “She hath wip’d off th’ aspersion of her Sex, / That women wisdom lack to play the Rex” (Bradstreet, lines 2.11-2.12). The poet acknowledges the fact that up until Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, and even after, the overall belief in society was that women were not capable
…show more content…
Can they truly say that she was a bad ruler when her reign was so successful, or is it all just because they believe women to be incompetent? Conversely, Stockton’s poem honoring George Washington appears to be more of what is expected of a praise poem. There is no overt effort to try and convince the reader of why they should agree with the poet’s opinion of the subject. It is almost assumed that the audience’s feelings will always be in accordance with those of the author, “Fair rise the Morn that gave our heroe birth, / And with it peace descend to bless the earth, / And hail his natal day-“ ( Stockton 1-3). Washington is referred to as a hero without hesitation and in contrast to what is found in Bradstreet’s poem, there are no specific references to accomplishments of his. Any time an achievement of Washington’s is mentioned it is quite vague. This could be due to the fact that Washington held celebrity status in the United States at the time this would have been published, as well as being President; however, there is also a chance that the subject’s gender comes into play once again. Stockton could have had the ability to be a bit more loose with her descriptions of Washington’s achievements, rather than having to cite specific events like Bradstreet did, because Washington was a man and people would not be looking to question the verity of his
Can they truly say that she was a bad ruler when her reign was so successful, or is it all just because they believe women to be incompetent? Conversely, Stockton’s poem honoring George Washington appears to be more of what is expected of a praise poem. There is no overt effort to try and convince the reader of why they should agree with the poet’s opinion of the subject. It is almost assumed that the audience’s feelings will always be in accordance with those of the author, “Fair rise the Morn that gave our heroe birth, / And with it peace descend to bless the earth, / And hail his natal day-“ ( Stockton 1-3). Washington is referred to as a hero without hesitation and in contrast to what is found in Bradstreet’s poem, there are no specific references to accomplishments of his. Any time an achievement of Washington’s is mentioned it is quite vague. This could be due to the fact that Washington held celebrity status in the United States at the time this would have been published, as well as being President; however, there is also a chance that the subject’s gender comes into play once again. Stockton could have had the ability to be a bit more loose with her descriptions of Washington’s achievements, rather than having to cite specific events like Bradstreet did, because Washington was a man and people would not be looking to question the verity of his