31-462: Lady Mary Wroth (née Sidney ; 18 October 1587 – 1651/3) was an English noblewoman and a poet of the English Renaissance . A member of a distinguished literary family, Lady Wroth was among the first female English writers to have achieved an enduring reputation. Mary Wroth was niece to Mary Herbert née Sidney (Countess of Pembroke and one of the most distinguished women writers and patrons of
62-517: A career as a poet, they can be helpful as training, and for giving the student several years of time focused on their writing. Lyrical poets who write sacred poetry (" hymnographers ") differ from the usual image of poets in a number of ways. A hymnographer such as Isaac Watts who wrote 700 poems in his lifetime, may have their lyrics sung by millions of people every Sunday morning, but are not always included in anthologies of poetry . Because hymns are perceived of as " worship " rather than "poetry",
93-591: A copy of Xenophon 's Cyropaedia which she found at a rare book fair as Wroth's based on a cryptic monogram cipher on its cover. The letters of the cipher spell the names "Pamphilia" and "Amphilanthus," autobiographical personae for Wroth and Herbert themselves. To date, the Cyropaedia is the only surviving book from Wroth's library except for manuscripts of her own works. The discovery sparked public interest in Wroth's use of ciphers and her previously little-known status as
124-569: A cousin of the Earl of Pembroke – recorded William Herbert's paternity of Wroth's two children. Mary Wroth's alleged relationship with William Herbert and her children born from that union are referenced in her work, The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania . It is also claimed that William Herbert was a favourite of Queen Anne and that she is the reason he gained the position of the King's Lord Chamberlain in 1615. In Urania , Wroth repeatedly returns to references to
155-487: A girl in a group portrait of Lady Sidney and her children was painted by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger in 1596, and is now on display at Penshurst. As a young woman, Lady Mary belonged to Queen Anne ’s intimate circle of friends and actively participated in masques and entertainments. On 27 September 1604, King James I married Mary to Sir Robert Wroth of Loughton Hall. The marriage was not happy; there were issues between
186-433: A key , is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the author—or implied, through the use of epigraphs or other literary techniques . Madeleine de Scudéry created
217-411: A literal sense (such as communicating about a specific event or place) or metaphorically . Poets have existed since prehistory , in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary greatly in different cultures and periods. Throughout each civilization and language, poets have used various styles that have changed over time, resulting in countless poets as diverse as the literature that (since
248-564: A pharmacist's guild and William Shakespeare 's work in the theater. In the Romantic period and onwards, many poets were independent writers who made their living through their work, often supplemented by income from other occupations or from family. This included poets such as William Wordsworth and Robert Burns . Poets such as Virgil in the Aeneid and John Milton in Paradise Lost invoked
279-606: A powerful and jealous Queen who exiles her weaker rival from the court in order to obtain her lover, causing many critics to believe this referenced tension between Queen Anne and Wroth over the love of Herbert. The publication of the book in 1621 was a succès de scandale , as it was widely (and with some justification) viewed as a roman à clef . The diffuse plot is organized around relations between Pamphilia and her wandering lover, Amphilanthus, and most critics consider it to contain significant autobiographical elements. Although Wroth claimed that she never had any intention of publishing
310-569: A relationship with her cousin William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke . Mary and William shared interests in arts and literature and had been childhood friends. They had at least two illegitimate children, a daughter Catherine and son William. In "Herbertorum Prosapia", a seventeenth-century manuscript compilation of the history of the Herbert family (held at the Cardiff Library), Sir Thomas Herbert –
341-470: Is praised in Ben Jonson 's famous poem To Penshurst . During a time when most women were illiterate, Wroth had the privilege of a formal education, which was obtained from household tutors under the guidance of her mother. With her family connections, a career at court was all but inevitable. Wroth danced before Queen Elizabeth on a visit to Penshurst and again in court in 1602. At this time a likeness of her as
SECTION 10
#1732887718201372-572: Is unworthily married on a Jealous husband’. Various letters from Lady Mary to Queen Anne also refer to the financial losses her husband had sustained during their time together. During her marriage, Mary became known for her literary endeavours and also for her performances in several masques. In 1605 she danced at the Whitehall Banqueting House in The Masque of Blackness , which was designed by Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones . Mary Wroth joined
403-1084: The Arabian Peninsula , and mock battles in poetry or zajal would stand in lieu of real wars. 'Ukaz, a market town not far from Mecca , would play host to a regular poetry festival where the craft of the sha'irs would be exhibited. Poets of earlier times were often well read and highly educated people while others were to a large extent self-educated. A few poets such as John Gower and John Milton were able to write poetry in more than one language. Some Portuguese poets, as Francisco de Sá de Miranda , wrote not only in Portuguese but also in Spanish. Jan Kochanowski wrote in Polish and in Latin, France Prešeren and Karel Hynek Mácha wrote some poems in German, although they were poets of Slovenian and Czech respectively. Adam Mickiewicz ,
434-409: The roman à clef in the 17th century to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political and public figures. The reasons an author might choose the roman à clef format include satire; writing about controversial topics; reporting inside information on scandals without giving rise to charges of libel ; the opportunity to turn the tale the way the author would like it to have gone;
465-539: The 16th century), and to Sir Philip Sidney , a famous Elizabethan poet-courtier. Because her father, Robert Sidney , was governor of Flushing, Wroth spent much of her childhood at the home of Mary Sidney, Baynard's Castle in London, and at Penshurst Place. Penshurst Place was one of the great country houses in the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. It was a centre of literary and cultural activity and its gracious hospitality
496-522: The Queen and her friends in the production; all of whom painted their skin black to portray Ethiopian nymphs who called themselves the 'twelve daughters of Niger'. The masque was very successful and was the first in a long series of similar court entertainments. The ‘twelve daughters of Niger’ also appeared in The Masque of Beauty in 1608, also designed by Jonson and Jones. However, despite the success there were some less than favourable reviews, some referring to
527-477: The advent of writing systems) they have produced. The civilization of Sumer figures prominently in the history of early poetry, and The Epic of Gilgamesh , a widely read epic poem, was written in the Third Dynasty of Ur c. 2100 BC; copies of the poem continued to be published and written until c. 600 to 150 BC. However, as it arises from an oral tradition , the poet is unknown. The Story of Sinuhe
558-403: The aid of a Muse . Poets held an important position in pre-Islamic Arabic society with the poet or sha'ir filling the role of historian, soothsayer and propagandist. Words in praise of the tribe ( qit'ah ) and lampoons denigrating other tribes ( hija' ) seem to have been some of the most popular forms of early poetry. The sha'ir represented an individual tribe's prestige and importance in
589-450: The book, she was heavily criticized by powerful noblemen for depicting their private lives under the guise of fiction. However, her period of notoriety was brief after the scandal aroused by these allusions in her romance; Urania was withdrawn from sale by December 1621. Two of the few authors to acknowledge this work were Ben Jonson and Edward Denny . Jonson, a friend and colleague of Mary Wroth praised both Wroth and her works in "Sonnet to
620-617: The first Augustus for one of his poems. During the High Middle Ages , troubadors were an important class of poets. They came from a variety of backgrounds, often living and traveling in many different places and were looked upon as actors or musicians as much as poets. Some were under patronage, but many traveled extensively. The Renaissance period saw a continuation of patronage of poets by royalty. Many poets, however, had other sources of income, including Italians like Dante Aligheri , Giovanni Boccaccio and Petrarch 's works in
651-453: The first female English novelist. Poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry . Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker , songwriter , writer , or author ) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or written ), or they may also perform their art to an audience . The work of a poet is essentially one of communication, expressing ideas either in
SECTION 20
#1732887718201682-495: The greatest poet of Polish language, wrote a Latin ode for emperor Napoleon III . Another example is Jerzy Pietrkiewicz , a Polish poet. When he moved to Great Britain, he ceased to write poetry in Polish, but started writing a novel in English. He also translated poetry into English. Many universities offer degrees in creative writing though these only came into existence in the 20th century. While these courses are not necessary for
713-518: The last decades of her life. There was also a second half of Urania , which was published for the first time in 1999, the original manuscript of which now resides in the Newberry Library in Chicago. According to Shelia T. Cavanaugh, the second portion of the work was never prepared by Wroth for actual publication and the narrative contains many inconsistencies and is somewhat difficult to read. After
744-477: The noble Lady, the Lady Mary Wroth." Jonson claims that copying Wroth's works he not only became a better poet, but a better lover. Denny on the other hand provides a very negative critique of Wroth's work; he accused her of slander in a satiric poem, calling her a "hermaphrodite" and a "monster". While Wroth returned fire in a poem of her own, the notoriety of the episode may have contributed to her low profile in
775-458: The opportunity to portray personal, autobiographical experiences without having to expose the author as the subject; avoiding self-incrimination or incrimination of others that could be used as evidence in civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings; the ability to change the background and personalities of key participants; and the settling of scores. Biographically inspired works have also appeared in other literary genres and art forms, notably
806-453: The poem; therefore, Sinuhe is conjectured to be a real person. In Ancient Rome , professional poets were generally sponsored by patrons , including nobility and military officials. For instance, Gaius Cilnius Maecenas , friend to Caesar Augustus , was an important patron for the Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil . Ovid , a well established poet, was banished from Rome by
837-536: The publication issues surrounding Urania , Wroth left King James's court and was later abandoned by William Herbert. There is little known about Wroth's later years but it is known that she continued to face major financial difficulties for the remainder of her life. Wroth died in either 1651 or 1653. Mary is commemorated in Loughton by the naming of a footpath adjacent to Loughton Hall as Lady Mary's Path. In 2019, Harvard literary historian Vanessa Braganza identified
868-458: The term "artistic kenosis" is sometimes used to describe the hymnographer's success in "emptying out" the instinct to succeed as a poet. A singer in the pew might have several of Watts's stanzas memorized, without ever knowing his name or thinking of him as a poet. Roman %C3%A0 clef Roman à clef ( French pronunciation: [ʁɔmɑ̃n‿a kle] , anglicised as / r oʊ ˌ m ɒ n ə ˈ k l eɪ / ), French for novel with
899-432: The two beginning with difficulties over her father’s payment of her dowry. In a letter written to his wife, Sir Robert Sidney described different meetings with Robert Wroth, who was often distressed by the behaviour of Mary shortly after their marriage. Robert Wroth appeared to have been a gambler, philanderer and a drunkard. More evidence of the unhappy union comes from poet and friend Ben Jonson, who noted that ‘my Lady Wroth
930-442: The women's portrayal of the daughters of Niger as ugly and unconvincing. In February 1614 Mary gave birth to a son James: a month after this her husband Robert Wroth died of gangrene leaving Mary deeply in debt. Two years later Wroth's son died causing Mary to lose the Wroth estate to John Wroth, the next male heir to the entail . There is no evidence to suggest that Wroth was unfaithful to her husband, but after his death she entered
961-560: Was a popular narrative poem from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt , written c. 1750 BC, about an ancient Egyptian man named Sinuhe , who flees his country and lives in a foreign land until his return, shortly before his death. The Story of Sinuhe was one of several popular narrative poems in Ancient Egyptian . Scholars have conjectured that Story of Sinuhe was actually written by an Ancient Egyptian man named Sinuhe, describing his life in