Short Critical Analysis Paper

It is an understatement to say that throughout the worlds history women have consistently been mistreated, there natural rights denied and trapped under what society deemed right for them. In the seventeenth century women were thought of as personal slaves; a daughter as a bartering tool in marriage to promote the family name and stature in society and as a wife a women was excepted to follow everything that her husband said and thought, take care of the household, and raise the children. Like with all things however there were exceptions to the norm of that time period, Amelia Lanyer being one of them. Lanyer wrote a poem called Eves Apology in Defense of Women were she gives a new twist to the old Bible tale of Adam and Eve. Lanyers brilliantly shares the blame of human demise with Adam in her poem by pointing out things and making it hard for male readers to repute them. The story of Adam and Eve comes from the Bible in the book of Genesis. In it describes how God created the world in 6 days and during those days he created man and called him Adam. God them created Eve to keep Adam company and for them to be fruitful and multiply. The only rule they had in the Garden of Eden was not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Eventually Eve was tricked into eating the fruit damning not only her and Adam but all of mankind. In the first stanza of the poem Lanyer begins by talking about Pontius Pilate the roman official who gave the okay for Jesus execution and includes in the last part that Pilates wife wrote a letter telling her husband not to harm Jesus. By starting off the poem like this Lanyer is setting the mood of the poem. Shes placing the wife in the role of saving Jesus who is the savior of everyone. In the second stanza the author says let not us women glory in mens fall who had

power given to overrule us all I think the author here is talking about Pilates fall since he was the one to permit Jesus execution. Also the use of the word had instead of has. I dont know if Lanyer did this on purpose but if she did she could have be trying to convey the message that men shouldnt have power to rule over everything including women. In the third stanza Lanyer talks about the story of Adam and Eve and how Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of knowledge. The first and second lines refer back to the second stanza saying till now your indiscretion sets us free and makes our former fault much less appear. Here she is saying Pilates mistake is bigger than Eves and makes Eves mistake appear much smaller. The fourth stanza Lanyer says that Eve didnt know that if she ate the fruit they were going to be deprived of an immortal life and if she did know she wouldnt have ate it, but she was trick because she was gullible and she didnt mean to cause harm to anyone. Lanyer ends the stanza however saying that if they are now going to die at least theyll be as wise as Gods. The fifth stanza Lanyer agreed that Eve is to blame but Adam is to be blamed more because as a man he was suppose to be stronger than her and he was on the Earth first so he should have known better then to succumb and eat the apple. Eve should be thought of as more of a victim the serpents craft had her abused. In the sixth stanza Lanyer starts off by saying that Adam was the most perfect man to ever have been made by Gods hand and from Gods mouth he received the strict command of not eating the apple because he knew of the disastrous consequence. Adam was told by God himself not to eat the apple while Eve was only told by Adam so for Adam to still eat the apple even though God himself told him not to make him even more wrong in this situation.

Lanyer continues by saying that we women took all the blame for all these years without ever defending ourselves enduring it all, even though Adam wasnt seduced to eat the apple he took the fruit without Eves saying anything. Eve ate the fruit because she wanted to be knowledgeable about things, while Adam ate just because he wanted to the evil serpent didnt try to persuade him. Eve gave Adam the apple as a present because she loved him so much and wanted to share it with him Lanyer explains in the eighth stanza and Adam took it straight from her hand as he would have a learned book. If Eve did have evil in her it must have came from Adam since she was made from the rib of Adam, and if Eve at the apple out of her own weakness and why did Adam eat the apple if not out of malice. Eve made a mistake but it was a small one made out of a weakness for knowledge, it wasnt something that should be condemned with eternal damnation. In the second to last stanza Lanyer wants women to rally for themselves telling women to get their liberty back and claim to yourself no sovereignty. Without women men wouldnt have been born into this world so why should you have more power over us, and all Eve did was offend with her need from knowledge while Adam offend for no good excuse. Lanyer ends the poem with reminding the readers that Pilate wife told him not to harm Jesus but he ignored her and talks about Saul and the type of man he was. Lanyer defended Eve and womankind with this poem making points that cant be refuted and using evidence from the Bible itself. She wanted to her readers to know that there are always two sides to a story. She wanted to get the idea across that women arent scapegoats that men can use and more importantly that women were people of worth and values despite of Eves mistake.