Hidden Messages of the Dressing Room Satires on Jonathan Swift and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Liz Jansen
From Dryden to Blake
British English
10-01-2013
1415 words
Hidden Messages of the Dressing Room Satires
On Jonathan Swift and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Jonathan Swift is one of the most famous poets from the eighteenth century. He has written many satires including “The Lady’s Dressing Room”. This poem is about a man named Strephon and a woman named Celia. In the poem, Celia tries to make herself presentable to society while Strephon sneaks in her dressing room and there discovers what a vile and dirty creature she really is, altering his complete image of women in general. It could be said that Swift ridicules the relationship between all men and women, using his characters as a symbolisation. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu reacted to this poem with a poem of her own. In “The Reasons that Induced Dr. Swift to Write a Poem Called the Lady’s Dressing Room.” She portrays Swift as her version of all men and converts his Lady Celia into Betty the prostitute. In her poem, Swift tries to seduce Betty, but the only way he can succeed is to pay her for her services. Their act of coitus is a disappointment. Swift blames Betty for this and they end up quarreling. This calls into question how these two poems relate to each other in the message they are conveying. This essay will portray these messages regarding the role of the man in Swift’s poem, the role of the man in Montagu’s poem, the role of the woman in Swift’s poem and the role of the woman in Montagu’s poem.
In Swift’s poem the role of the man is represented by Strephon. Strephon secretly slips into Celia’s dressing room at the beginning of the poem. In lines 3 to 4 it is suggested that he catches a glimpse of Celia whom is getting dressed. “The goddess from het chamber issues, Arrayed in lace brocade, and tissues.” These lines portray really well how Strephon sees women. He idealises them as goddess-like creatures, near to perfection. The lack of clothing suggests his lust for women. However his
From Dryden to Blake
British English
10-01-2013
1415 words
Hidden Messages of the Dressing Room Satires
On Jonathan Swift and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Jonathan Swift is one of the most famous poets from the eighteenth century. He has written many satires including “The Lady’s Dressing Room”. This poem is about a man named Strephon and a woman named Celia. In the poem, Celia tries to make herself presentable to society while Strephon sneaks in her dressing room and there discovers what a vile and dirty creature she really is, altering his complete image of women in general. It could be said that Swift ridicules the relationship between all men and women, using his characters as a symbolisation. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu reacted to this poem with a poem of her own. In “The Reasons that Induced Dr. Swift to Write a Poem Called the Lady’s Dressing Room.” She portrays Swift as her version of all men and converts his Lady Celia into Betty the prostitute. In her poem, Swift tries to seduce Betty, but the only way he can succeed is to pay her for her services. Their act of coitus is a disappointment. Swift blames Betty for this and they end up quarreling. This calls into question how these two poems relate to each other in the message they are conveying. This essay will portray these messages regarding the role of the man in Swift’s poem, the role of the man in Montagu’s poem, the role of the woman in Swift’s poem and the role of the woman in Montagu’s poem.
In Swift’s poem the role of the man is represented by Strephon. Strephon secretly slips into Celia’s dressing room at the beginning of the poem. In lines 3 to 4 it is suggested that he catches a glimpse of Celia whom is getting dressed. “The goddess from het chamber issues, Arrayed in lace brocade, and tissues.” These lines portray really well how Strephon sees women. He idealises them as goddess-like creatures, near to perfection. The lack of clothing suggests his lust for women. However his
Cited: Volume I. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 8th ed. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 2089 Education Studies Vol. 4, No. 5; (Dec 2011): 25-32. Omega. Web. 8 Jan. 2013. Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley “Quean, n” OED Online. December 2007. Oxford University Press. 8 Jan. 2013. 2006. Omega. Web. 8 Jan. 2013.