Context: Female Writers Flashcards
Felicia Hemans, Augusta Webster, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Letitia Elizabeth Landon (LEL), Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)
What was the victorian sociotel view on women as authors?
Victorians saw poetry as ‘too high and great’ for women. They also believed that womens literature was ‘too political’ and ‘too feminist’ to be considered worthy literature.
How old was Feicia Hemans when she published her first poetry book, and how many more did she go on to publish?
14 years old. She published eighteen more throughout the course of her life.
How was Felicia Hemans deemed invalid by society?
She had six children to support after separating from her husband.
What is Hemans main themes for her poems.
Motherhood, marriage, grief and love.
What are two of Felicia Hemans main publications from when Rossetti was alive?
Records of Woman (1830)
Songs of the Affections (1866)
What did Felicia Hemans write about in Records of Woman?
She focuses on heroines from over the world, from Joan of Arc to an unknown Indian woman. She celebrates the courage, passion and love of women.
When did Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L.E.L) start publishing her poetry?
When she was 18. (1820)
What type of literature of L.E.L’s was well recieved at the time?
Her long narrative poems. (The Improvisatrice, The Troubadour and The Golden Violet)
In what year did L.E.L marry a governor of the Gold Coast, and why?
To escape scandal.
What was L.E.L’s husband notorious for?
His cruelty.
How long had L.E.L been living in Africa until she was found dead?
Three months.
How was L.E.L found dead?
With a bottle of prussic acid in her hand.
How old was L.E.L when she died?
- 1802-1838
In what ways is it evident that L.E.L inspired Rossetti’s poetry?
Many of her poems explore difficulties faced by women and discuss the issue of women’s fame.
What poem did Rossetti write in honour of L.E.L and why?
L.E.L was the title of the poem and it was written as a response to Brownings poem with the same focus.
By what age had Elizabeth Barrett Browning written complex and accomplished poetry?
Twelve.