Feminist literature, as opposed to literature by women, upholds a political, cultural, social, or religious stand asserting the position of women as equal to that of men. Anne Finch, a 17th century poet and writer, in her work "The Introduction", presents just such a feminist assertion - that she is a legitimate writer who, because of her gender, has been discounted on every level possible and is relegated to "fashion" and "play". Anne Finch, also known as Anne, Countess of Winchilsea, is one of the earliest feminist writers who plied her craft at a time when women were property and thus had no rights, no say in the world, and certainly no voice that would be heard by men. This is a poem of rage, of frustration, and of righteousness for the author understands that the binds of men are artificial and that she has the truth of the world on her side. Anne Finch wrote before there were feminist slogans, before there were Margaret Sangers and Gloria Steinems moving the feminist movement forward. She, in many ways, was a lone voice in a world that had never heard such thoughts, and had certainly never entertained them. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the symbolism, structure, and meaning in Anne Finch's "The Introduction".
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