To the Ladies – Lady Mary Chudleigh

• Wife and servant are the same
• Man by law supreme has made
• Fierce as an Eastern prince he grows
• Like mutes she signs alone must make
• Then shun, oh! shun

• AIt redefines pride as a form of wisdom and gives the poem an empowering, aphoristic close.
• BIt warns women that pride will lead them to be punished by their husbands.
• CIt criticises women for being too proud to obey their husbands.
• DIt suggests that wisdom and pride are opposites that women must choose between.

• AKindness is replaced by 'state and pride'.
• BThe wife is expected to fear her husband as a God.
• CThe wife is encouraged to speak her mind openly.
• DThe husband is described as growing fierce like an Eastern prince.
• EThe wife becomes a teacher to her husband.

True or false?

• AMarriage can turn a wife into an obedient subordinate.
• BAffection can be replaced by domination once legal authority is secured.
• CThe husband's power is limited by his wife's equal legal rights.
• DThe wife's silence is treated as necessary for harmony.
• EThe husband is naturally wiser than his wife.

True or false?

• AIt suggests that women are naturally silent and have nothing to say.
• BIt shows that women have been deprived of a public voice and must communicate only through signs.
• CIt implies that wives enjoy the peace and quiet of married life.
• DIt criticises husbands for being too talkative.

• AHis behaviour grows harsher and more tyrannical after marriage
• BHe becomes more gentle and attentive to his wife's needs
• CHe loses interest in domestic matters and withdraws from the household
• DHe treats his wife as an equal partner in all decisions

• ABecause men are born with superior physical strength
• BBecause the law grants husbands supreme power, which society then treats as natural
• CBecause women are naturally less intelligent than men
• DBecause religious texts command women to obey without question

• AMarriage turns wives into servants
• BHusbands become tyrannical once they have legal authority
• CWomen lose their freedom of speech and action
• DMarriage always brings financial security
• EWomen are encouraged to value themselves and be wise

True or false?

• AShe gains a new sense of purpose and independence
• BShe becomes silent and loses her individual voice
• CShe is elevated to a position of equal authority
• DShe is encouraged to pursue education and intellectual freedom

• AThe legal system that gives husbands authority over wives
• BThe expectation that women should be obedient and silent
• CThe way marriage is presented as a romantic ideal
• DThe idea that women should value themselves
• EThe influence of conduct literature that encourages female submission

• AIt presents inequality in marriage as a blunt, unavoidable fact rather than a personal opinion.
• BIt suggests that wives are naturally better treated than servants.
• CIt shows that the speaker is unsure about the nature of marriage.
• DIt implies the husband is the one who becomes a servant after marriage.

• AIt suggests that the difference between marriage and servitude is merely linguistic.
• BIt argues that names are the most important part of marriage.
• CIt shows that wives and servants have completely different experiences.
• DIt implies that the speaker cannot remember the correct term for a wife.

• AIt reinforces the permanence of the marriage bond, presenting it as an inescapable condition.
• BIt suggests that the marriage bond is weak and easily broken.
• CIt shows that the speaker believes marriage can be ended by mutual agreement.
• DIt implies that the couple are divided from each other from the start.

• AIt shows that male authority is created by law rather than by natural superiority.
• BIt suggests that men are born naturally supreme over women.
• CIt implies that women make the laws that give men power.
• DIt argues that the law treats husbands and wives as equals.

• AIt shows how genuine companionship is replaced by hierarchy and self-importance once power is secure.
• BIt suggests that kindness and pride can exist together in a happy marriage.
• CIt implies that the husband becomes kinder after marriage.
• DIt shows that the wife becomes proud and unkind to her husband.

• AIt suggests the husband is not naturally tyrannical but becomes so once power is secured.
• BIt implies the husband was always a tyrant from birth.
• CIt shows the husband physically growing larger after marriage.
• DIt suggests the husband becomes gentler as the marriage continues.

• AIt shows that even ordinary, harmless behaviour is treated as a threat to the marriage contract.
• BIt suggests that wives are only forbidden from serious actions like working.
• CIt implies that looking, laughing and speaking are dangerous in themselves.
• DIt shows that the husband also loses the freedom to look, laugh or speak.

• AIt suggests that women are denied a public voice and can communicate only through signs.
• BIt suggests that women are naturally unable to speak.
• CIt implies that wives choose silence because they have nothing to say.
• DIt shows that wives are allowed to speak freely in public.

• AThey create an overwhelming sense of restriction, mirroring the relentless nature of patriarchal control.
• BThey suggest that women have a small but meaningful amount of freedom.
• CThey imply that the speaker is uncertain about what women are allowed to do.
• DThey show that women are free to act and speak as they wish.

• AIt elevates the husband to an almost divine position, exposing the excessive reverence expected within patriarchal marriage.
• BIt suggests that husbands are genuinely divine beings.
• CIt shows that wives are encouraged to treat their husbands as equals.
• DIt implies that religion has no connection to marriage in the poem.

• AIt satirically mocks the assumption that those with power are automatically considered intellectually superior.
• BIt sincerely praises the husband's natural intelligence.
• CIt suggests that the wife is the more intelligent partner.
• DIt shows that the husband is humble and modest.

• AIt creates urgency, replacing detached description with passionate advice.
• BIt suggests the speaker is uncertain and hesitant.
• CIt shows that the speaker is describing her own marriage.
• DIt implies that women should embrace unequal marriages.

• AIt suggests that patriarchal values survive because society continually reinforces them through comforting myths.
• BIt implies that flatterers are the only people who support marriage.
• CIt shows that the speaker blames only individual men for inequality.
• DIt suggests that women should welcome those who encourage submission.

• AIt reverses the pattern of the poem by encouraging self-respect and independent judgement.
• BIt continues the poem's emphasis on female obedience.
• CIt suggests that women should value their husbands above themselves.
• DIt implies that women have no worth to recognise.

• AIt redefines pride, traditionally condemned as a feminine fault, as an essential form of wisdom.
• BIt warns women that pride will prevent them from becoming wise.
• CIt suggests that wisdom and pride are opposites that cannot coexist.
• DIt shows that the speaker regrets advising women to be proud.

• AThe tight couplets mirror the restrictive social order while giving the argument the force of reasoned debate.
• BThe couplets are used only for decorative elegance and have no effect on meaning.
• CThe couplets suggest that the poem is disorganised and emotional.
• DThe couplets show that the speaker is uncertain about her argument.

The poem is written in rhyming ____ and predominantly in iambic ____. The title, 'To the Ladies', establishes a direct ____ to women.

Chudleigh uses the metaphor of the '____' to suggest that marriage permanently destroys a woman's independence.

Chudleigh was one of the earliest English women poets to write openly about the restrictions placed upon women, and the poem was published in ____. The poem is written predominantly in iambic ____, with each line generally containing four iambic feet.