Early Modern Women Poets: An Anthology - Softcover

Stevenson, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199242577 ISBN 13: 9780199242573

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Early Modern Women Poets represents a complete reexamination of the field, based on extensive archival research in manuscripts and early modern printed books. While it contains lavish selections from important poets such as Aphra Behn, Katherine Philips, and Aemilia Lanyer, almost half of the material included is previously unpublished and uncollected. It aims to introduce the reader to a conspectus of the verse written by women from c.1520 to 1700, at all social levels from the verse of court elite to working-class women's aphorisms, libels, and charms. All genres of verse used by early modern women are represented; as are all languages in which women's verse survives: Classical Greek and Latin, French, Italian, English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Irish. Each woman's work is accompanied by a headnote which combines biographic information with some guidance as to the context, intended audience, and genre of her work. The collection is organized chronologically. It should be possible, as never before, to see what early modern women wrote, how they wrote it, who they wrote for, and what they said.

About this title

Review:

... impressive ... fascinating work ... ground-breaking collection. This rich and original book will change the landscape of early modern women's writing. (Notes and Queries)

The biographies are a constant delight: full of information on the importance of the writer, often containing new research on better-known poets, and always written in an engaging manner. (Notes and Queries)

The first anthology of women's poetry in this period to give a prominent place to dozens of poets writing in languages other than English in the British Isles: Irish, Scots Gaelic, Lowland Scots, Welsh, French, Latin and Greek. (Notes and Queries)

The editors of this anthology of early modern women's poetry have achieved a remarkable feat: they have provided examples of the work of nearly two hundred female poets, forever putting to rest the claim that not many women in this period wrote poetry. (Notes and Queries)

... This impressive anthology should quickly become a staple in the women's literature and Renaissance literature classrooms. (Sixteenth Century Journal)

Stevenson and Davidson's new anthology of 187 women poets (half of whom appear in print and are collected for the first time) may be the volume that best demonstrates the range of women's poetic production and the teaching value of providing historical, biographical, and critical headnotes on each poet. These features reveal provocative issues that early modern poetry classes - women-focused or not - will want to explore ... the impressive range of poets, genres, and subjects included challenges readers to question historical assumptions about the terms "poet" and "English poetry". (Sixteenth Century Journal)

About the Author:

Jane Stevenson is Senior Lecturer, Centre for British and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Warwick Peter Davidson is Reader, Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0199242577
• ISBN 13: 9780199242573
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 640