Firing the Canon Plot Summaries

i hate this class someone free me

Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum- Amelia Lanyer

set of poems; begins with dedicatory poems to powerful women, defends Eve from blame for original sin by saying that Adam should have known better and therefore bears greater responsibility

Description of Cookham- Amelia Lanyer

praises estate owned by women, describes house and nature surrounding it, tribute to her patroness, uses Biblical allusions

Pamphilia to Amphilanthus- Mary Wroth

poem based on Petrarchan sonnet but written from the perspective of a woman as she falls in love with the unfaithful Amphilanthus, experiences doubt and jealousy, seeks forgiveness from Cupid for her doubt, and then finally understands that her suffering is necessary to better understand human emotion

poetry of Katherine Phillips

series of dedications to female friends, uses coded language to express deep/sensual love between women, contains an epitaph for her dead son, uses the pseudonym “The Matchless Orinda”

Song: Love Armed- Aphra Behn

poem that portrays love as a powerful/tyrannical warrior god who leaves speaker heartbroken while beloved goes free

The Disappointment- Aphra Behn

poem where Lysander attempts to seduce Cloris but then becomes impotent (comparison to snake), disappointing himself and Cloris, Cloris runs away

Upon the saying that my Verses were made by another- Anne Killigrew

response to accusations that her poetry was written by a man, expresses frustration and uses Greek mythology allusions/analogies (laurels going to someone else, etc.), compares herself to Katherine Phillips (Orinda)

The Invitation Into the Country- Hester Pulter

inviting two of her daughters to leave London and join her at Broadfield (country estate), complains about decline of city (due to the removal of King Charles by Parliamentary forces)

The Circle- Hester Pulter

describes circle of eternal life sought by alchemists, suggests that it becomes a vicious cycle and that people should seek eternal life through Christianity instead, dust imagery

Why Must I Thus Forever Be Confined- Hester Pulter

speaker rails against injustice of other (lesser) creatures living freely while she cannot, expresses concern for loved ones who she is powerless to help, ends with confidence that death will free her

To Sir William Davenant- Hester Pulter

speaker offers to donate flesh from her body to reconstruct someone’s famously disfigured nose, witty/humorous tone, links damaged nose to national wounds and her giving the flesh symbolizes restoration of Royalist honor

Another on the Sun Shine- Lucy Hutchinson

commands sun to leave her alone as she grieves her dead husband, accuses sun of witnessing/failing to prevent his death, reversing traditional aubade

To the Garden at Owthorpe- Lucy Hutchinson

uses her decaying estate garden as a metaphor, laments her deceased husband + death of republican hopes + political chaos following the Restoration

The Liberty- Sarah Fyge Egerton

challenges restrictive norms imposed on women in her society and social conformity, advocates for female independence

On My Leaving London- Sarah Fyge Egerton

tells story of narrator’s banishment from home/loved ones/city as she is sent to live with relatives in country, mourns loss of her father’s love

To One Who Said I Must Not Love- Sarah Fyge Egerton

response to criticism for her love directed at a flawed man, says it’s impossible for her to stop loving him even though her love for him is a source of suffering

The Spleen- Anne Finch

personifies spleen (melancholy) as being capable of assuming various guises and influencing people in distinct ways, compares it to Proteus (god who could change shape), paints it as both a physical + mental affliction

Adam Posed- Anne Finch

explore potential bewilderment of Adam in the Garden of Eden upon encountering a modern woman with elaborate clothing and mannerisms

Friendship Between Ephilia and Ardelia- Anne Finch

dialogue between two friends, one asks the other to define friendship + she responds describing grand gestures, first friend says that’s cliche, second friend decides friendship can’t be described in words

Saturday: The Small-Pox- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Flavia is beautiful woman who has been disfigured by smallpox, mourns the loss of her beauty which leads to despair and social isolation

The Lover: A Ballad- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

speaker rejects societal pressures to marry unworthy suitors, outlines her ideal partner who is a friend as well as a lover, reaction to “carpe diem” poems as she says she will remain chaste until she finds the right man

An Answer to A Love-Letter, In Verse- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

rejects former suitor who is now married but tries to rekindle romance, uses biting humor to make fun of him and assert her intellect/independence

Belle in Campo- Margaret Cavendish

drama set during the English Civil War, men go off and fight and their wives go with them, wives form their own army led by Lady Victoria and are very successful and celebrated at the end

subplot of two widows- Madame Jantil makes elaborate mausoleum for her husband and dies of grief, Madam Passionate remarries younger man and he takes advantage of her

The Convent of Pleasure- Margaret Cavendish

Lady Happy is wealthy/beautiful woman who is highly sought after, but she forms all-women society, women stage a play within a play showing the miseries of marriage, Lady Happy falls in love with a Princess who turns out to be a Prince in disguise, Lady Happy and Prince get married at the end

The Rover- Aphra Behn

2 sisters: Florinda (in love with Belvile) and Hellena (who is supposed to become a nun but doesn’t want to, 4 friends: Belvile (gentleman, in love with Florinda), Blunt (evil), Frederick, Willmore (the rover), Angellica and Lucetta (prostitutes)

all these characters go to carnival in disguise, Angellica falls in love with Willmore but he ultimately rejects her for Hellena, Lucetta tricks Blunt which makes him angry and tries to rape Florida, but she proves she’s noble and escapes, Hellena convinces Willmore to marry her, Florinda and Belvile get married

The Royal Mischief- Delariver Manley

Homais is beautiful woman who is married to old king, she falls in love with a portrait of king’s nephew Levan who is engaged to Bassima, Homais arranges for Levan to see her portrait, he falls in love and they get together, Homais arranges for Bassima to be poisoned and Osman tries to get her to have sex with him, Homais stabbed by the king when he finds out about her affair and then dies in an attempt to strangle Levan, Levan kills himself, Osman shot out of cannon and his wife picks up the pieces

writings of Anna Trapnel

transcription of author’s utterances while she was in a trance and starving, prays for merchants and uses material symbols to show that the only sustenance one needs is God (preserves = spiritual life bc they don’t decay)

The Benediction. From the A:lmighty O:mnipotent- Eleanor Davies

prophetic text dedicated to Oliver Cromwell that praises him for his victories and interprets them as a sign of divine approval for Parlimentarian acts, predicts death of man she doesn’t like, uses experimental language to add political/religious layers of meaning to text

writings of Margaret Fell

life story of narrator, she is married and has kids but one day Quaker George Fox comes and visits while her husband is away, and she converts herself and her kids to Quakerism

takes active role in Quaker religion, hosting meetings/repeatedly being imprisoned/speaks to the king, later marries George Fox, wrote argument for women being allowed to preach

Life- Jane Hoskens

author goes to Philadelphia and converts to Quakerism, and works as a maid, person who brought her there tries to get her to be an indentured servant but she refuses, goes through lots of obstacles in her faith but scripture helps her through, likes her bosses/doesn’t resist class system

writings of Agnes Beaumont

author wanted to join church led by John Bunyan but her dad didn’t want her to bc of scandal between her and Bunyan, she argues with her dad but ultimately gives in, her dad dies the following night and she is accused of murder by neighbor Mr. Feery, she is found not guilty but rumors spread about her and Bunyan and Mr. Feery later accuses her of setting his house on fire

To the priests and people of England, we discharge our consciences and give them warning- Priscilla Cotton and Mary Cole

criticize people who abuse religion and say they are of Cain’s generation, argue in defense of women preaching (cite Mary/Susanna from Bible as knowing more than some priests/rabbis), cite Bible and reinterpret some quotes in their defense

argument that body is less important than voice bc all one in Jesus

writings of Hester Biddle

conveying issues with society/government using prophecy, warns of destruction if people don’t change and repent, condemns government/rulers/city of London/universities, says London is sinful and corrupt

writings of Christian Davies

author’s husband gets sent to military, she disguises as man and joins to go look for him, gets shot in battle, seduces girl and wounds other man in duel who tried to rape girl, kills and prepares food for army, matter-of-fact tone

Love Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister- Aphra Behn

love letters between Philander and his sister-in-law Sylvia, Sylvia talks about her desire for Philander and arranges secret meeting, Philander makes excuses for his impotence, Philander wears maid costume to leave meeting but encounters Sylvia’s father who thinks he’s a maid and tries to get with him, hands him money and phallus but Philander manages to get away

writings of Mary Blandy

author falls in love with Mr. Cranstoun but her father disapproves, Cranstoun sends author “love potion” to make father agree and tells her to put it in his food, it turns out the love potion was arsenic and father dies, author accused of murder but defends herself in her writings, eventually found guilty + publicly hanged

writings of Charlotte Charke

collection of stories: her childhood where she dresses up in men’s clothes and walks around outside, attempts to ride a donkey, tries to run pastry shop and has to travel without a hat to get money for it

written to blackmail her father into supporting her, threatened to publish them if he didn’t but he said no

The New Atalantis- Delarivier Manley

secret history designed to expose secret lives of rich and powerful

story of Charlot who is seduced/manipulated by her father figure the Duke after he sees her play Diana

story of Duchess who is tricked by her unfaithful husband the Count into cheating- reversed bed scene where Germanicus is laying on bed and Duchess thinks it’s the Count

The Adventures of Rivella- Delarivier Manley

semi-autobiographical novel

Chevalier D’Aumont and Sir Charles Lovemore are talking, and Lovemore reveals he is in love with Rivella: she’s described as being witty, alluring, sensual but falls into disgrace when a love letter she wrote is used against her, she is imprisoned but later gets out, persuaded into violent/bigamous marriage with older noblems, involved in lawsuit where she defends her morals and is found innocent, starts writing for the stage

Anne Clifford’s diary entries

diary entries from author who is trying to keep the property she inherited, many male relatives/husband try to persuade her otherwise, husband takes away child, takes her to speak to the King, Queen warns her of King trying to trick her, but she never gives up

Letters from Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple

author was in love with someone, but both families disapproved of the marriage, letters chart progress of their relationship, themes of love and fidelity show kind of relationship author wants, letters written to show wit/intelligence of author

A True Relation of My Birth, Breeding, and Life and Sociable Letters- Margaret Cavendish

autobiography- author’s childhood was very pampered, spent time as maid of honor to Queen Henrietta Maria, met her husband who liked her bc she was bashful + he could make her how he wanted, not in love with husband but respects him, describes her writing process, says she prefers to stay inside and think, writing bc she wants her legacy to be remembered

Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

author rejects her future husband at first bc she values independence, but eventually elopes with him to avoid other suitor, communicates through letters with husband (he is absent) + indicates relationship is unhappy, goes to Turkey and records her travels there (bath house, wedding), has affair with Italian poet

The Ladies’ Dressing Room- Mary Evelyn

satire- starts with description of how courtship has become materialistic, compares women to a ship bc both need lots of things, lists beauty products/clothes/furniture/etc. women require, makes fun of men (fops) for giving these things to women, recipe for puppy water cosmetic

An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting- Jane Collier

satirical advice book on how to nag, writes about many types of relationships

The Fair Jilt- Aphra Behn

Miranda is beautiful woman who is highly sought after, falls in love with Francisco and he rejects her, she accuses him of rape and he is imprisoned, Miranda marries Prince Tarquin but needs money so makes her sister Alcidiana live with her so she can take money from her, Alcidiana moves out + Miranda convinces servant to poison her, servant is caught/hanged but Miranda not punished, Miranda convinces Tarquin to shoot Alcidiana, he misses and is caught, almost beheaded but executioner misses, Miranda and Tarquin leave country

Oroonoko- Aphra Behn

Oroonoko is African prince, becomes general and falls in love with Imoinda, Oroonoko’s grandfather makes Imoinda come to his castle + tries to get with her, Oroonoko makes plan to consummate his marriage with her, grandpa catches them and sells Imoinda into slavery, Oroonoko tricked later and sold into slavery, reunites with Imoinda (renamed Caesar and Clemene), Imoinda gets pregnant, Oroonoko tries to lead escape but is caught, he kills Imoinda and then is too sad to get revenge, he is tied to stake and dismembered

Love in Excess- Eliza Haywood

Alovisa falls in love with D’Elmont and writes him anonymous love letter, D’Elmont thinks it’s from Amena and tries to get with her, Alovisa arranged for her to be sent to convent + marries D’Elmont, D’Elmont falls in love with Meillora and accidentally kills Alovisa, Meillora goes to convent to ease conscience, D’Elmont goes to Rome and meets Frankville (Meillora’s brother), helps him get with Camilla, they go to rescue Meillora from trouble, they find her in a castle and Meillora and D’Elmont get married

Mary Wroth/Ben Jonson both sonnets, Wroth focuses more on emotion + reverses traditional sonnets by writing from female perspective

Katherine Phillips/John Donne- both write about parting with loved ones, more equality in Phillips’ relationships

Aphra Behn/John Wilmot- both write impotence poems, but Behn focuses more on woman’s reaction while Wilmot focuses on man/making excuses

Mary Evelyn/Jonahathan Swift- both satires about ladies dressing room

Jane Collier/Jonathan Swift- both satires about nagging, Swift only focuses on servants

comparisons with male writers

On Desire. A Pindaric- Aphra Behn

addressing desire, wondering why it’s affecting her now but never before, questions “nice ladies” and suggests they’ve never been affected by desire, questioning social need to suppress desire

To Alexis in Answer to his Poem Against Fruition- Aphra Behn

witty, ironic response to a male poet who laments the difficulties men face in love

saying men use women for sex and then leave, highlights pain and shame of women after being treated this way

To the Fair Clarinda, Who Made Love to Me, Imagined More Than Woman- Aphra Behn

female speaker addresses her lover who, though biologically female, plays both masculine and feminine roles in her sexual conquests of women

To Alexis, On His Saying I Loved A Man That Talked Much- Aphra Behn

speaker defends her lover by contrasting him with overly talkative, fickle men, arguing his few, meaningful words hold more value than the "Nonsense" of the many

challenges societal views, elevating the quiet, thoughtful man over the boastful one and asserting a woman's discerning choice in love