Victorian Women Poets: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies)

This volume aims to recover the lost map of Victorian women's poetry. It offers nothing less than a complete re-figuring of the Victorian poetic canon. The anthology draws widely on the rich heritage which begins with the works of Felicia Hemans and Letitia Landon, and continues to the pre-Modernist writings of Amy Levy, Mary Coleridge and Charlotte Mew. Like Elizabeth Barrett Browning, many of these poets were professional writers. Serious in their own work, they were also conscious of each other's. Their poems establish a network of cross-references and inspiration which has largely been lost to literary history. The book concentrates on writers whose works are often provocative, forceful and impassioned. It ranges from the eerie whimsicality of Christina Rossetti to the social protest of Eliza Cook and Emily Hickey, from the hymn-like lyricism of the Brontes to the bold dramatic monologues of Augusta Webster, from the witty satires of Constance Naden to the baroque erotics of Michael Field. Large selections from the major poets are complemented by broad coverage of previously marginalized voices. Each poet is introduced by a short biographical and critical essay, which answers the need for essential information, and points towards connections and interactions between poets. Selected individual bibliographies of primary works and criticism are also provided.