Question

Reread line 12: "Her slaves become her sovereign now." Consider the poet's word [RL.4] choice, and explain what the line means in the larger context of the poem.

Answer 1

Answer:

The line in regards to the whole concept of the poem shows how women are enslaved by the "cruel powers" embodied in the body of the numerous men who come along during her lifetime.

Explanation:

The given line is from the poem "Verses Written By a Young Lady, on Women Born to Be Controll'd" by an anonymous writer about the 'captive' life of women in general. The poem deals with the numerous 'masters' that a woman has in her whole life.

The lines "Her slaves become her sovereign now" shows how her many wiles or 'slaves' like being in love with a man only led to her being held captive again in no time. Nothing provides her any freedom or full liberty, for the "lover's form" that the man wears turns into a body of sovereignty after some time. This is an indirect reference to the life of a woman under the many "cruel powers" that enslave a woman all through her life.

Answer 2

Your question is missing the name of the poem. After searching online, I've found it refers to "Verses Written by a Young Lady, on Women  Born to Be Controll'd!", by Anonymous, in http://englishjessicajones.weebly.com/uploads/6/9/6/5/69653055/commonlit_verses-written-by-a-young-lady-on-women-born-to-be-controll-d.pdf

Answer and explanation:

The poem we are studying here expresses the perspective of a female speaker on being subservient to men. She is thoroughly unhappy with her position, describing it right from the start as the reason for her woes. She gradually shows how women are always subservient to someone: her father, her brother and, then, her husband.

The tyrant husband next appears,

With awful and contracted brow;

No more a lover’s form he wears:

Her slaves become her sovereign now

[...]

Yet love usurps her tender breast,

And paints a phoenix to her eyes:

Some darling youth disturbs her rest,

And painful sighs in secret rise.

Taking the general context of the poem and the specific lines above, we can explain the meaning of the line Her slaves become her sovereign now. When a woman falls in love with a man, she does not anticipate that man will become just another boss of her, just another ruler in her life. Love deceives her; the man deceives her when he takes "a lover's form". He probably treats her kindly until the point when they get married. Then he goes from lover, from a slave to her beauty and affection, to her sovereign, someone who will make her as miserable as she was before marriage.