The Speaker

In most cases, the speaker is the primary character in a poem. Whether or not that is true here is more ambiguous – the countess seems to be just as prominent, if not more so. Nonetheless, though the poem does not center her experiences, there is a narrator who speaks directly to the audience. The speaker in this case is most likely a representation of Lanyer herself, as she writes from her own experience at Cooke-ham. She is conscious of her own subsidiary position within the estate, and yet also acutely aware of the importance of the house to herself.

Anne Clifford

The other, and perhaps more central, character in this poem is Anne Clifford. Anne was the daughter of the Countess of Cumberland, who took Lanyer in after her father's death and contributed significantly to her education. This poem was written shortly after Anne's marriage to the...