Verses Written by a Young Lady, on Women Born to Be Controll'd!
Written anonymously (though by a female poet, if the title is true; women often signed writing as anonymous in order for it to be published), this poem laments the position of women as was then conceived natural: subservient to men.
When and How to Pair: Introduce this text after Scene Four, and ask students to discuss the extent to which the roles and expectations of men and women changed during the years between the publication of poem and the play. How do both texts share common ideas about gender roles? What similarities can students find between the speaker’s life and those of Stella and Blanche? How do students think Stella and Blanche might react to the poem?