Introduction To Writing Rac The Fish Analysis

When writing literary criticism one must ponder upon the significance of the topic to the literary canon as a whole. While there may not be a single definitive answer to how significant a topic is, one can question if the topic has been neglected or rejected by Western literary circles. If the answer is “yes,” then it is the critics’ duty to refashion the spotlight on the text. It was not until the 1970’s where feminism influenced the revival of texts authored by women. Historically conditioned suppositions of male superiority has allowed the sex to dominate certain genres of literature, moreover men are given recognition for ideas that are thought of as revolutionary and original where, in fact, silenced female authors have reflected upon, and even perfected those thoughts. Henry Louis Gates Jr. writes in Introduction to Writing
Whitney portrayal of the historical duplicity of men – as showcased in the classics – subverts traditional hierarchical notions of gender roles while ventriloquizing feelings and experiences that are shared by women to this day. Positing this poem within the public realm for all to see, Whitney’s unequivocal message to women is for them to salvage the agency they have over themselves. The poem offers to critique the male sex beyond their betrayal of women; it offers a social critique of their duplicity in maintaining the oppression of male hegemony. Among the works published in Isabella Whitney’s A Sweet Nosegay collection of poems The Manner of Her Will becomes central to the established framework of the collective silencing experienced by women in the Renaissance. This volume is a prime example of economic, gendered and creative inconsistencies in one family. Foregrounding the poem in a will is certainly telling of Whitney’s masked intention to criticize social structures preventing women for having an equal status to