1. What does The Wife's Lament suggest about women's position in society? Does The Wife's Lament suggest that the author needs a man's presence to be happy, or even to survive?
The Virgin Life
2. What benefits of a virgin life does Barker find beautiful/compelling? "What mad Conceptions some have had of Thee!/ As if thy Being was all Wretchedness and,/ Or foul Deformity, in vilest Dress:/ Whereasthey Beauty's pure Celestial"-- What stigmas does society placxe on virginity? What about virginity for women? What kind of politics of sexuality are going on in this poem, or, what does Barker suggest happens to men and women who give in to their sexual urges?
From The New Alalantis
3. Does Manley's story (The Duke's Seduction of his Ward) suggest that the young Charlot has no choice, or is obliged to give in to the Duke? The Duke is also depicted as being powerless against her charms... "The Duke vainly struggled in the snare"
4.That "Empire over Mankind, which they are all born and taught by Instinct to expect" suggests that he believes himself at her mercy. Like Barker, Manley also makes reference to war, and weaponry, when describing interaction between the sexes. How else is this similar to "A Virgin Life"?
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