Humanities Brown Bag Seminar

Abstract: In "A Dialogue between an Oake, and a Man cutting him downe" from Poems and Fancies (1653, 1664, 1668), Margaret Cavendish primes readers to expect an answer to the question that animates the speeches in her poem: will the woodcutter fell the tree or yield to his plea for life? It seems like their discussion will build toward a resolution one way or the other, but the outcome turns out to be ambiguous—as indicated by the differing claims that scholars have made about the ending. While some conclude that the Man cuts down the tree, others assert that he is persuaded to let the Oak stand. As I will argue, these contrary interpretations both find support in the poem, yet Cavendish allows neither to triumph. Instead, she insists on irresolution, as she makes a meta-critique of claims that compete for exclusive authority as the source of knowledge about nature.