Attitudes And Values In Elizabeth Landon's The Marriage Vow

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“Victorian poets illustrated the changeable nature of attitudes and values within their world and explored the experiences of humanity through these shifts.”
As the world progresses, attitudes and values constantly change, like the wind. Flowing through the depths of our inner morality and beliefs. Welcome back to another episode of Poetry Aloud, where I talk about poetry… aloud. Today I will be discussing how Victorian poets are able to illustrate this changeable nature of attitudes and values within their world through highlighting our most prevalent desires that unlock the true beast of humanity, thus exploring humanity’s transforming perspectives as society progresses. Letitia (La tee sha) Elizabeth Landon’s The Marriage Vow highlights …show more content…

The Marriage Vow highlights the contrast between the fantasies of marriage and the depressing reality of the ritual, as in the material world, “Woman’s lip to swear the heart away.” As the heart is symbolic of her soul and humanity, Landon has revealed the harsh truth that wedding vows are the catalyst for the bride’s downfall, reducing themselves to a mere possession. This line also expresses the discrimination against women in the Victorian Era. This is supported further as Landon proclaims that women “annul[s] the vow while speaking," highlighting the woman’s acknowledgement of being stripped from humanity, only to be reduced to the possession of the husband. Ultimately, the final line of the poem, “for the grave is rest” emphasizes the miserable nature that the female partner has put herself in, only for death to be the only solemn relief. Landon’s concluding statement is a disturbing one, as she hopes to accentuate the reality of marriage in the Victorian era from the cliché fantasy of living happily ever after that is seen in various literature today. Furthermore, the Marriage Vow has illustrated the changeable nature of attitudes and values within marriage through exploring

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