“The Forsaken Wife” Summary

“The Forsaken Wife” Themes

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  Female Fidelity vs. Male Infidelity

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Forsaken Wife”

• Lines 1-4

  Methinks 'tis strange you can't afford
  One pitying look, one parting word;
  Humanity claims this as its due,
  But what’s humanity to you?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  Cruel man! I am not blind,
  Your infidelity I find;
  Your want of love my ruin shows,
  My broken heart, your broken vows.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Yet maugre all your rigid hate,
  I will be true in spite of fate;
  And one preeminence I'll claim,
  To be forever still the same.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  Show me a man that dare be true,
  That dares to suffer what I do;
  That can forever sigh unheard,
  And ever love without regard,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  I will then own your prior claim
  To love, to honour, and to fame;
  But till that time, my dear, adieu,
  I yet superior am to you.

  

  

  

  

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“The Forsaken Wife” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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“The Forsaken Wife” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Methinks
• 'Tis
• Infidelity
• Want
• Ruin
• Maugre
• Preeminence
• Regard
• Own
• Fame
• Adieu

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Forsaken Wife”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Forsaken Wife” Speaker

“The Forsaken Wife” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Forsaken Wife”

More “The Forsaken Wife” Resources

• External Resources

  • 18th-Century Women Writers — A book about Elizabeth Thomas and other often-overlooked women writers of the 18th century. (Free login required to read.)

  • The Poet's Life — A brief biography of Elizabeth Thomas.

  • Divorce in Thomas's Time — A brief summary of English divorce law from the 1600s through the 1800s, encompassing the period (1700-1731) during which Thomas wrote.

  • Marriage in the 18th Century — Read/listen to a talk about the laws surrounding marriage in 18th-century England and Wales.

  • Poetry and Misogyny in the 18th Century — An analysis of an attack on Elizabeth Thomas (a.k.a. "Corinna") in Alexander Pope's satirical poem The Dunciad (1728), which also harshly mocks other women of Pope's day.