Poetry and the Feminine from Behn to Cowper

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University of Delaware Press, 2005 - 227 pages
Poetry and the Feminine from Behn to Cowper revisits the foundations of poetic representation and value for women and men poets of the Restoration and eighteenth century including Aphra Behn, John Dryden, Anne Killigrew, Anne Finch, and Alexander Pope. The author argues that fundamental to poetic innovation in this era are poets' revisions of feminine figures such as the muse and nature. Feminine Nature serves these poets as an infinitely expandable category of form that allows them to redefine poetry and poetic subjectivity. These poetic innovations include exploring the very grounds of mimesis, dismantling the hierarchy of poetic kinds, and using sensibility to yoke aesthetic and ethical values. Using an inclusive framework, the author presents a history of poetic change through women's and men's complex dialogues with poetic contexts and conventions. Jennifer Keith is Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
 

Contents

Introduction
3
Dryden Pope and the Transformation of the Muse
22
Speaking Objects Women Poets and the Muse
43
Gender and Order in the Prospect
72
The Voice of Nature and the Poets Labor
103
The Nightingales Breast against the Thorn Sensibility and the Sublime
132
Notes
159
Bibliography
197
Index
213
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About the author (2005)

Jennifer Keith is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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