Anna Letitia Barbauld and eighteenth-century visionary poetics / Daniel P. Watkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Watkins, Daniel P., 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Barbauld, Mrs. (Anna Letitia), 1743-1825. Poems.

Barbauld.

Barbauld, Mrs. (Anna Letitia), 1743-1825--Philosophy.

Barbauld, Mrs. (Anna Letitia), 1743-1825.

Poetics--History--18th century.

Poetics.

History.

Philosophy.

Physical Description:

xvi, 245 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012.

Summary:

In this first critical study of Anna Letitia Barbauld's major work, Daniel P. Watkins reveals the singular purpose of Barbauld's visionary poems: to recreate the world based on the values of liberty and justice.

Watkins examines in close detail both the form and content of Barbauld's Poems, originally published-in 1773 and revised and reissued in 1792. Along with careful readings of the poems that situate the works in their broader political, historical, and philosophical contexts, Watkins explores the relevance of the introductory epigraphs and the importance of the poems' placement throughout the volume.

Centering his study on Barbauld's effort to develop a visionary poetic stance, Watkins argues that the deliberate arrangement of the poems creates a coherent portrayal of Barbauld's poetic, political, and social vision, a far-sighted sagacity born-of her deep belief that the principles of love, sympathy, liberty, and pacifism are necessary for a secure and meaningful human reality. In tracing the contours of this effort, Watkins examines, in particular, the tension in Barbauld's poetry between her desire to engage directly with the political realities of the world and her equally strong longing for a pastoral world of peace and prosperity.

Scholars of British literature and women writers will welcome this important study of one of the eighteenth-century's foremost writers. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction : women's poetry and visionary poetics in the eighteenth century

Barbauld's Poems (1773; 1792) in context

Politics, vision, and pastoral

Satire, anti-pastoral, and visionary poetics

Personal life and visionary poetics

Reflections on writing

The personal and biblical principles of poetic vision

God, vision, and the political moment

Conclusion : thoughts on the further study of eighteenth-century women's poetry.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781421404585

1421404583

OCLC:

731536395