Sample+Analysis+Essay+-+Milkmaid


 * BRAINSTORMING**

“FAIR AND HAPPY MILKMAID” WRITTEN IN 1615 BY A MAN WHO WE AREN’T SURE WHO IT IS … EVERYTHING DRIVEN BY FARMING IN 1615 AND PEOPLE WHO WORKED ON FARMS WERE PROBABLY LOWER CLASS? WAS THE WRITER UPPER-CLASS? I’M GUESSING THAT THE AUDIENCE IS WELL-EDUCATED ….
 * HOW DOES THE SPEAKER USE RHETORICAL STRATEGIES AND STYLISTIC DEVICES TO CONVEY HIS LOVE FOR THE MILKMAID? – HE LIKES HER!**

HER BEAUTY STEALS UPON HER WITHOUT HER KNOWLEDGE … SHE HAS NO INTEREST IN WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE

SHE WEARS CHARACTER TRAITS, NOT CLOTHES … “DECKED IN INNOCENCY”

HER DAILY ROUTINE IS SYNCHED WITH NATURE; SHE ENRICHES NATURE PERSONFICATION OF CORN FALLING TO KISS HER … LIKE SNOW WHITE WITH BIRDS FOLLOWING HER … WRITER IS REALLY CELEBRATING HER NATURAL INNOCENCE AND PAINTING HER TO BE LIKE MOTHER EARTH

ALLUSION TO FRIDAY’S DREAM

__Essay__ “A Fair and Happy Milkmaid,” composed in 1615 by possibly one of two authors, Thomas Overbury or John Webster, celebrates the innocence and natural beauty of a young farm-girl.It can be assumed from the lofty language of the piece that it was written for an educated audience, perhaps to revere a more lower-class figure. The fact that the author remains unidentified speaks to the obscurity of the article and possibly the uncommon nature of the subject.

To begin with, the author describes the milkmaid as having no authority over her appearance.The agents of beauty are the subjects of the sentences, implying that they work upon her without her will: “All her excellencies stand in her so silently, as if they had stolen upon her without her knowledge.” In other words, she cares less about what she looks like and more about her duties on the farm. Yet, this focus is what makes her beautiful to the author.

The author goes on to describe the daily routine of the milkmaid as if she is governed by nature’s clock: “ She rises therefore with chanticleer, her dame’s cock, and at night makes the lamb her curfew.” Again, the milkmaid has no concern for human constraints – she is guided by the rhythms of the farm animals she surrounds and furthermore enriches their products.Instead of simply milking a cow, the author says she actually improves its milk: “it seems that so sweet a milk-press make the milk whiter or sweeter.” The author gives the milkmaid a magical quality, as if she is part of nature herself. This sets her apart from those who pride themselves on material wealth. She is not a material girl.

To enhance this magical quality, the author goes as far as to personify the products of the farm as if they, too, worship this milkmaid. The corn actually falls for her and kisses her feet instead of her having to shuck it herself. Her breath is like a new haycock. It’s almost as if she is a Disney character with all of the creatures of the forest chasing her about, a charmed, unaware princess waiting for her prince. Perhaps the author himself believes he will be the one to kiss her with his words and awake her from her peasant slumber.

The author further expands on the milkmaid’s grace and natural beauty by painting her as a saint. He says she goes to the fair, not to spend money on frivolity, but to give back to the very land she already works to improve. He says, “the garden and the bee-hive are her physic and chirurgery,” as if she need nothing else but the fruits of the earth to sustain her. The money she makes at her work goes straight back from whence it came.

Not only does she not spoil herself with worldly riches, the author says the milkmaid only thinks pure thoughts. At night, she sings songs and prayers and, if she dare dream a nightmare, she conceals it. The author alludes to Christ by referencing Friday’s dream, as if the milkmaid were an angel herself.

It seems from the abundant praise of the author that this milkmaid’s unconventional beauty stands high above material wealth and synthetic glamour. Like counter-culture themes of the 1960s, Overbury or Webster celebrates “mother nature” in all her glory – not money, power, or fame. Perhaps the author wished to educate a high class audience about the virtues of simplicity and living off the land. Perhaps he was a farmer himself, in love with an elusive milkmaid. At any rate, it is clear from this passage that natural beauty is the standard and one to be followed.

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