A Married State

A Married State: Overview

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is important to understand what it is about. This section includes:

• An overview of the poem

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Katherine Philips’ intention and message

‘A Married State’ overview

Katherine Philips expresses a bold opinion on the state of marriage from a female perspective in seventeenth century Britain. Her poem, ‘A Married State’, offers advice to all single women on why they should avoid marriage as it often limits rather than frees women.

‘A Married State’ breakdown

Lines 1-2

Translation

• The poem begins with an omniscient narrator declaring that marriage brings little comfort (“ease”), and that it is difficult to keep even the “best” husbands happy

Philips’ intentions

• The poem’s opening statement offers a harsh criticism on the trials of marriage

• Philips extends this criticism to all marriages, even the “best ones”, and claims it is because husbands cannot be easily satisfied

Lines 3-4

Translation

• The poet says that you can see the ill-ease in the wives’ faces:

  • They are “careful” to hide their troubles and “misfortunes” 

  • They “dissemble” their faces, meaning they put on a happy face as a disguise

Philips’ intentions

• Philips hints at the imbalance of power in seventeenth century marriages, and how this leads to deceit

• She alludes to females being forced into marriage, implying wives cannot express their negative feelings which, in turn, represses them:

  • If only people would look more closely, they would see that the wives are pretending

 Lines 5-6

Translation

• The narrator says that virginity is a happy (“content”) state to be in as it is innocent

Philips’ intentions

• Philips’ reference to a crown suggests that, for women, staying single brings power and contentment

• By describing virginity as innocent, Philips  implies marriage is the opposite:

  • Perhaps that the state, or experience, of marriage is corrupt 

Lines 7-10

Translation

• The narrator offers a list of reasons to stay single and childless:

  • There is less fear as there are no “blustering”, bad-tempered husbands

  • There is no pain from childbirth, nor constantly crying children

  • The image of “worldly crosses” may refer to temptations that would take one away from spirituality or religion (“prayers”)

Philips’ intentions

• The poet’s argument on the merits of staying single is made more persuasive with anaphora, “No”

• Philips’ list of “tears” and “fears”, offences, and distractions avoided by staying single uses emotive and religious imagery to strengthen her argument:

  • The suggestion is that the speaker has found out these things too late

Lines 11-12

Translation

• The poet says that staying single and childless means “you” (women) are free of all the worries that go along with marriage (“matrimony”) and motherhood

Philips’ intentions

• The confident voice of Philips’ narrator presents a female speaker who uses logic and persuasive language to present a strong argument against marriage

• The poem subverts traditional and patriarchal ideas of marriage by suggesting a husband is an annoyance, or a burden, rather than a benefit

Lines 13-16

Translation

• The narrator addresses a female listener (“madam”), and offers advice:

  • “Turn” away and renounce the shallowness (“levity”) of love 

  • Do not allow temptation, desire, or a “wild nature” to take control

• The poet references an old proverb about unmarried women, and says it is not true:

  • The proverb stated that unmarried women caused otherwise good men to stray from their marriages, like “apes in hell”

Philips’ intentions

• Philips’ poem is presented as advice to all unmarried women

• The strength of her tone is conveyed in the repetition of “turn”, and emphasised in the word “apostate”, which means to desert or abandon a cause

• Philips alludes to the idea of self control as necessary to avoid marriage

• She calls for abstinence and self-discipline, ending with a witty and defiant reference to traditional criticisms of single women 

A Married State: Writer's methods

Writer's methods

This section is organised into: form, structure, and language. The poetry question in the CIE Literature for English exam wants you to consider all three as “writer’s methods”. This is because a poet uses all three to create meaning or convey ideas. Consider things like the poet’s choice of form and perspective, its rhythm, rhyme, and tone of voice, and imagery.  

Examiners require you to focus on the poem’s deeper ideas, and in a sensitive way. To do this, you can discuss how the poet’s methods reveal their aim or purpose. That is why all the analysis below is arranged by theme and includes Katherine Philips’ intentions in terms of her choices of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem is presented in an ordered form through which to give her advice to all women. This allows her to present a rational speaker, one who has formed her strong and controversial opinions on marriage based on reason and logic.  

Structure 

In ‘A Married State’, Katherine Philips uses a sophisticated structure to present a scathing attack on traditional ideas of marriage. 

Language 

Katherine Philips uses sophisticated imagery to highlight contrasts between married life and unmarried life. 

A Married State: Understanding the text

Understanding the text

The poetry questions in the CIE Literature for English exam encourage an informed, personal response, which means that it is not enough just to know the poem, but that you will also need to develop a sound understanding of the poem’s themes, main ideas, settings, situations and events to explore the writer’s intentions and methods. This section has been divided into two main themes that Katherine Philips examines in her poem ‘A Married State’:

• Individual identity

• Romantic relationships

Individual identity 

• Katherine Philips is a highly respected and influential seventeenth century British poet and writer

• Philips’ poetry is known for its sophisticated, classical styles:

  • Her poem ‘A Married State’, written in the late 1640s-1650s, adheres to traditional poetic techniques

• As much of her work examines the female experience, she is considered to be an early feminist writer

• The poem ‘A Married State’ can be considered a cautionary message

• The poem challenges typically idealised female roles, such as its suggestion that motherhood is best avoided:

  • Philips alludes to seventeenth century conditions for women, including painful and, often, fatal childbirth

Romantic relationships   

•  Katherine Philips’ seventeenth century poem, ‘A Married State’, is a challenge to gender imbalances that, the poem argues, manifest in dysfunctional marriages

• She alludes to the way marriage is considered to be a Christian institution:

  • The poem refers to the way unmarried women were perceived as wild and dangerous; a myth, she says, that was designed to force them into marriage

• At the time, marriage amongst all but the lower classes could provide security and status; a financial contract that can improve social standing:

  • Often, a young girl was married to a much older man

• As women were not allowed any financial or personal independence, this led to power imbalances:

  • The poem alludes to the limited power of wives: they are fearful of abusive husbands and fake their happiness to avoid retribution

  • The controversial nature of Philips’ poem is evident in the line “Turn, turn, apostate”

  • This suggests unmarried women are traitors for abandoning social norms