Major Women Writers of Seventeenth-Century England

by Fitzmaurice, James

• ISBN13: 9780472066094
• ISBN10: 0472066099
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Michigan Pr

Summary

Many would find it difficult to name a woman writer in England before Jane Austen, even though women were writing as early as the time of Chaucer. It was during the seventeenth century, however, that women writers ceased to be viewed as odd or remarkable and became accepted as regular and often respected members of the literary world. The enormous commercial and artistic success of Aphra Behn's plays on the London stage of the 1670s and '80s marked the end of the time where only men were literary luminaries.Major Women Writers of Seventeenth-Century Englandbrings together in one volume a rich assortment of writing by the women Behn influenced, as well as those who preceded her. Collected are works by Aphra Behn, Elizabeth Cary, Margaret Cavendish, Anne Finch, Aemelia Lanyer, Katherine Philips, Ester Sowernam, Rachel Speght, and Mary Wroth. The texts included are newly edited and rely on the best manuscripts and editions of the time. They are accompanied by clear introductions, helpful explanatory notes, and a range of illustrations from the period. The book will appeal to all those with an interest in the rich literary record of the period. Editors: James Fitzmaurice, Northern Arizona University; Josephine A. Roberts, Louisiana State University; Carol L. Barash, Seton Hall University; Eugene R. Cunnar, New Mexico State University; and Nancy A. Gutierrez, Arizona State University.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Introduction	p. 1
Feminist Criticism and Seventeenth-Century Women Writers	p. 9
Introductory Bibliography	p. 16
From Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611)	p. 26
"The Description of Cookham"	p. 38
The Tragedy of Mariam, The Fair Queen of Jewry (1613)	p. 48
Sonnets from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus (1621)	p. 113
From The Countess of Montgomery's Urania (1621)	p. 126
From CCXI Sociable Letters (1664)	p. 152
Selected Poems	p. 181
The Rover, Or the Banished Cavaliers	p. 220
Selected Poems	p. 297
Selected Poems	p. 335
The Swetnam Controversy and Defense of Women	p. 373
From A Muzzle of Melastomus (1617)	p. 375
From Esther Hath Hang'd Haman (1617)	p. 379
Contributors	p. 387
Index of Authors, Titles, and First Lines of Poems	p. 389
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.