Mary Wroth's Pamphilia to Amphilanthus: A Re-Appraisal

Ilona Bell's study of Pamphilia to Amphilanthus reveals Mary Wroth as a boldly original lyric poet. She compares the handwritten manuscript to the printed text, showing how Wroth concealed an earlier, more transgressive persona. Bell explores interpretive clues in Wroth's romance Urania, revealing the links between her life and writing. She re-conceptualizes her father's and uncle's private poems, challenging paradigms about early modern English women writers. Wroth's lyrics are rare and valuable sources of information about Renaissance lyric composition and reading. Bell's analysis shows that Wroth's poetry is less transcendent and more Donnean, embodied, open to shifting meanings.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 200 pages
\n Publication date: 01 January 2021
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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In this groundbreaking study, Ilona Bell delves into the full-length exploration of Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, the inaugural sonnet sequence penned and published by an English woman. Through meticulous comparison between the handwritten private manuscript and the printed text, Bell unveils how Mary Wroth, a bold lyric poet, skillfully reinvented herself to conceal an earlier, more transgressive, private poetic persona. By delving into interpretive clues found in Wroth's romance Urania, Bell sheds new light on the intricate connections between Wroth's life and writing. Bell traces how Wroth re-conceptualized the private poems of her father, Robert Sidney, as well as the influential sonnets of her renowned uncle, Philip Sidney. Ultimately, she reveals that Wroth's innovative use of poetic convention reinterprets and reconfigures male literary tradition, challenging prevailing paradigms that erroneously separate early modern English women writers from their continental counterparts.

Since Wroth's lyrics exist both in her own handwriting and in books printed during her lifetime, they serve as a rare and invaluable source of information regarding the composition, compilation, and reading of Renaissance lyrics in manuscript and their subsequent reinterpretation in print. Bell's analysis demonstrates that Wroth's private poems are characterized by individuality, passion, suspense, drama, and an unprecedented depth and complexity for an early modern English woman writer. Contrary to the general perception, these poems stand as a testament to Wroth's unique artistic voice.

When viewed as an attempt to reconstruct and conceal her private lyric persuasion from the public, Bell finds Wroth's printed poems to be far more intriguing. Bell's groundbreaking analysis reveals that Wroth's poetry deviates from the transcendent Petrarchan style and leans more towards the Donnean, embodied, and unconventional. It exhibits a greater openness to shifting and contradictory meanings, defying predictable and conventional structures. In essence, Wroth's poetry transcends mere Petrarchan imitation and embraces a more Donnean-inspired approach, resonating with a broader audience and offering a deeper exploration of human emotions and experiences.

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Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780754666899\n \n