Edmund Spenser's revolting description of Duessa undressed in The Faerie Queen (Book I, Canto VIII, Stanzas 45-49) contrasts emotionally with John's glorifying description Gives life to her lover. body in the poem “Elegy XIX: To his mistress who goes to bed”. Both works use diction to augment an already present “male gaze,” subjectively constructing an objectified female identity. The “male gaze” causes an objectification of women, a form of alienation that degrades them and the power they hold over the “male gaze.” However, by evaluating both the authors' choice of diction and the characters' choice of actions, the texts reveal that power is not despotic in these relationships; although the "male gaze" objectifies women, Duessa and Donne's lover both play their own roles in their objectification, which ironically results in their empowerment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Ornamentation of women is a common theme in both works. Spenser's Duessa strategically adorns herself with beautiful objects to hide the lie beneath. In contrast, Donne's lover adorns herself to hide her femininity, a positive quality. In both cases, women willingly adorn themselves and, through their own objectification, they empower themselves by creating a sense of mystique that feeds men's curiosity, leading to sexual attraction. It is only when Duessa is “stripped of her royal robes and purple cloak” (Spenser 407) that her ugliness is revealed; she experiences the shame of the public and “dismays” them (line 402), no longer holding the power of attraction. The adornments she used to control the perception of her physical body were taken away from her, and with them, her control and power over the "male gaze." These ornaments, "jewels" (lines 36, 37) "that women use" (line 35) may be understandable to men, but Donne attests that only women know how to "use" them, and compares their "use" to “Atlanta balls thrown in plain sight of men” (line 36). This comparison explains Donne's frustrated tone throughout the work, as he understands that their "use" causes men to be distracted and unable to achieve total power over the female body. Even when Donne compliments the mystical power of women, his comparison emphasizes the idea of ​​the “male gaze.” The role reversal between Atlanta and Hippomenes characterizes Atlanta, the woman, as the trickster, the sinner who uses "apples" (an allusion to Adam and Eve's apple) to distract the man. Instead of men's "earthly [lusting] soul" (line 35), men are "fools" (line 37) driven to possess women's "precious stones" (line 37) - "precious stones" useless to men because only women know how to “use” them (line 35). In the same Greek mythology, once they form a union, they both sin and are punished. Donne's comparison justifies men's objectification of women because it infers that it would be better for women to give up their power rather than knowingly trying to "play." It is with the nudity of his lover that Donne is able to “teach him” (line 47). Donne's superior tone throughout the work affirms this by implying that he feels that he, as a man, could better "utilize" female power over the "male gaze" – a power that, in his hands would save them both from sin. Donne's representation of himself as a "teacher" is.”