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Auspice of Jewels (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)

At a glance:

The Poem

“Auspice of Jewels” is a poem in free verse that is divided into eight sections of irregular length. Although the title alludes to jewelry, the poem actually concerns the source of power, of luminescence, for women. In fact, the language of the poem is charged by the metaphor of light.

There are two groups of personae in the poem: “us” and “them,” women and men. Laura Riding contrasts the two. Men believe they give significance to women by giving them objects of value. Actually, the significance of women is repressed or obscured by the gifts. In...

[The entire page is 1122 words long]

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