Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

In the piece written by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, she writes a letter to her daughter on how she believes her granddaughter should be educated. Lady Montagu discusses how knowledge affects a woman’s life in that time period. She also discusses how she feels a woman should be educated. In order to effectively communicate her views she uses rhetorical devices. These devices include contrasting, personal reference, and allusions.

Lady Montagu has very specific ideas on the education of women. She feels one must know practical information, not just useless information that is traditionally taught. In her opinion, poetry is much more important in a woman’s education then people think. She also feels that one significant technique in learning is to be able to differentiate wit from humor and rhyme from poetry because if you cannot do that you will have a hard time in life. Her most important advice on knowledge is that a woman should be careful boasting about her intelligence, especially around men, because people easily will become jealous. It is better for women to play dumb and be happy just knowing she is smarter than those around her, and that in it’s own, is a great benefit.

One of the rhetorical and stylistic devices Lady Montagu uses is contrast. Through out the entire letter she is contrasting traditional views with non-traditional views. The very first line is a very non-traditional statement saying “True knowledge consists of knowing things, not words”. Again she compares traditional vs. non traditional in the statement about the reading. Reading books in the original language allowed a more accurate interpretation of the meaning but was a more non-traditional way compared to reading books that had been translated which often ruin the true meaning, which was the traditional way. When she says, “English poetry is a more important part of a woman’s education than it is generally supposed” she is also stating a more non-traditional view. A traditional idea that she includes is stating that many women do not know poetry very well. By including these contrasts she is able to show that her views on knowledge and learning in a more efficient way than the traditional teachings.

Another rhetorical device Lady Montagu uses is including a personal reference. She describes an experience when one of her friends had a lover who wrote her a very lengthy letter. The letter was full of thought and spirit, which her