Feminism in “The Introduction” and “A Nocturnal Reverie” by Finch

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Table of Contents

The Introduction
A Nocturnal Reverie
Works Cited

The Introduction

Feminism is not a new concept because many female public figures of the past raised the question about women’s role in society. One of Anne Finch’s poems, “The Introduction,” talks about female writers of her time in the first twenty lines of her text. Finch sarcastically presents gender rights and the absence of them: “Alas! A woman that attempts the pen, / Such an intruder on the rights of men” (Finch, “The Introduction,” lines 9-10). She seems to be incensed by the traditional role that the male-dominated world assigned women: “Good breeding, fashion, dancing, dressing, play / Are the accomplishments we should desire” (Finch, “The Introduction,” lines 14-15).

Furthermore, men of her time tried to convince ladies that writing, reading, and thinking “would cloud…beauty, and exhaust…time” (Finch, “The Introduction,” line 17). Indeed, the first twenty lines of this poem openly criticize sexism, stating that women are equally intelligent and talented to men. Still, the established order of that time discouraged many of them from publishing their works.

The second part of Finch’s “The Introduction” discusses the role of females in biblical texts. Although people no longer believed in the authenticity of those events, she claims that women of the ancient world were leaders who fought equally with men (Finch, “The Introduction,” lines 45-50). The poet is surprised by the fact that the society that she lived in replaced noble values with discriminatory beliefs: “How are we fallen by mistaken rules? / Debarred from all improvements of the mind” (Finch, “The Introduction,” lines 51-53). Indeed, the poem’s last stanza calls women to remain truthful to their skills even if they have to live in the shadow. To conclude, Finch’s main point in this poem is that the unfair distribution of gender roles restrained women from striving for an education. The philosophy of equality of female and male intellectual abilities marks her as an early feminist.

A Nocturnal Reverie

Anne Finch’s “A Nocturnal Reverie” is less aggressive in delivering a feministic message than “The Introduction.” The poem describes the countryside utilizing complex word combinations and temporal transitions. Still, the author uses masculine and feminine pronouns to veil the gender gap that existed during her time. For instance, she chooses an owl to highlight that women are wise; therefore, they can become men’s advisors: “Or from some tree, famed for the owl’s delight, / She, hollowing clear, directs the wanderer right” (Finch, “A Nocturnal Reverie,” lines 5-6). Using the example of partridge that calls “to her straggling brood,” Finch wants to demonstrate mothers’ essential role in raising children (Finch, “A Nocturnal Reverie,” line 36). Furthermore, in this line, she shows that humanity became lost in false beliefs about male superiority and women’s inability for any intellectual work.

The second half of the poem talks about male tyranny and women’s freedom in a veiled form. Specifically, Finch describes how all these animals celebrate “their short-lived jubilee…/…whilst tyrant man does sleep” (Finch, “A Nocturnal Reverie,” lines 37-38). Moreover, the poet aims to show that women are born free; thus, they should not be restrained by all the stereotypes, imposed on them by the society: “Till the free soul to a composedness charmed, / Joys in th’ inferior world, and thinks it like her own” (Finch, “A Nocturnal Reverie,” lines 43, 46). Although the background theme of the poem lacks blunt feminist ideas, the main message about female-male silent confrontation is concealed behind these several lines.

Works Cited

Finch, Anne, Countess of Winchilsea. “A Nocturnal Reverie.” The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Concise Edition, Volume A. 2nd ed., edited by Joseph Black, et al. Broadview Press, 2011, p. 1253.

Finch, Anne, Countess of Winchilsea. “The Introduction.” The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Concise Edition, Volume A. 2nd ed., edited by Joseph Black, et al. Broadview Press, 2011, p. 1249.

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Feminism in “The Introduction” and “A Nocturnal Reverie” by Finch

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