“An Anniversary Poem”
“An Anniversary Poem” unveils the church’s imperative duty to sponsor gender equality. The Speaker declares, “Good Christian men and women, let us raise a joyful shout: The C of E is treating us as equals. Just about.” The Church of England’s resolution to ordain the premier women priests is a milestone which validates that the Church of England has risen above the flawed elucidations of the Bible that result in the sabotage of gender equality.
The preceding disinclination to ordain women priests is attributed to the chauvinist men that include the “bishop who can fly.” The chauvinism painted women as substandard beings who are not worthy to serve God in the capacity of the priesthood. The speaker urges, “Sing, dance, clap your hands, make merry and be glad: Some men behave atrociously, but most are not too bad.” These lines depict the correspondence between gender and religion. Subjective religious views, prior to the consecration of female priests, unquestionably debarred women from priesthood. Accordingly, the commemorative tenth anniversary epitomizes the church’s a decade-old evolution in shrinking the subjectivity that is injurious to resolute and adept women.
“He Tells Her”
“He Tells Her” foregrounds the fallacies that relate to Flat versus Round binary. The ‘he’ appeals to false authority for “ He tells her that the earth is flat-He knows the facts, and that is that.” The facts that the ‘he’ asserts could be skewed to fit his discernment of the world. Asserting the unsubstantiated facts and intended to dominate the ‘she’s’ viewpoint on the shape of the world.
The ‘he’ utilizes the Strawman argument and Ad hominem efficiently: “he calls her arguments unsound/And often asks her not to yell.” Equating the ‘she’s’ arguments, regarding the roundedness of the earth, to straw by classifying them as unsound contracts their potency. The ad hominem fallacy comes into play when the ‘he’ alludes that the ‘she’ has a tendency to yell instead of arguing tranquilly. The citation of yelling dents the ‘she’s’ disposition and affirmations.
