I
see that this poem is about a love that has been lost. A man writes of his
mistress’ that he was infatuated with, but death had came over her too soon. But
what was love like back in 1609, was it an agreement to the marriage or was it
to gain social status, or was it what was good for you and your family.
In
1609, women didn’t have a lot of power or say in much of anything and the “Suffrage”
hadn’t happen until 1920’s. That’s when women first started to come out of
being just the lovely house wife and into working environment. But back to the
way things were in 1609, almost a three-hundred and eleven years before women
started to fight for their rights, just in the U.S alone. In 1609, women couldn’t
even get jobs really, all women were house wives, but those that did work
worked, with their husbands, for wealthier family as a maid or cook sometimes
both. Some could also have jobs as seamstress. Women couldn’t own property or a
business unless in her husband’s will, she was put down as the successor, which
would mean unless one of your husband’s sons wasn’t old enough to inherit the
property/ business, the bank or whatever would make you move out until the kid
was old enough to take control. So a lot of women were forced into marriage
because they needed someone to take over the business and to take care of her
and her children. Also women were pushed into marring a man that they didn’t
love because of family. Who his family was, what his social status was, what
job he had, how much money he made, and a lot a mother would push her daughter
on to a man like that. Because she knew that, the girl would be taken care of
and wouldn’t have to worry about being on the streets, or having a poor life,
she would have a better life.
A
lot of things decided who you could love back in 1609, men had more of a choice
to love then women, and they weren’t as pressured as the women because they had
more freedom.
I didn't see this as a love that had been lost at all. While I was reading the poem, I figured it was all about this man, who wasn't attracted at all to her. She wasn't anything near perfect and it actually made me laugh because it sounded as if he wished that she wasn't his mistress at all! But then the last line changed all of that. He basically says that she is just as great as all of the other woman. The other woman I'm guessing described in other poems where they would be described with eye's like the sun.
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