Felicia Hermans 1793-1835

Felicia Hemans discovered her talent for writing at a very young age. She was born in 1793 in Liverpool, and under the tutorage of her mother she quickly became somewhat of a child prodigy. As a child, Hemans learned Latin, German, French, and Italian. She immersed herself in Shakespeare and quickly developed a talent for writing. Hemans had her first works to published when she was only 14. It is obvious that unlike Dorothy Wordsworth who avoided the limelight, Felicia actively seeked publication. She even shared a publisher with Lord Byron. I think it would also be a fair statement to say that Byron felt a bit threatened at the astounding rate in which Hemans turned out quality work.
Felicia Hemans enjoyed great success as a writer. Her poems became popular recitals for school children; however, history would all but forget Hemans had it not been for her rediscovery by feminist critics. It is no wonder that feminists would rediscover her work; in traditional poetry women had traditional roles, the homemaker. In Hemans’ The Wife of Asdrubal, the wife steps out of her normal role when her husband runs to the side of the Romans to avoid death while the rest of the Carthaginians killed themselves. The wife curses her husband , “the traitor”, and kill her sons before killing herself. In this tale the brave wife has more honor than does her cowardly husband. Women are often angry in Hemans’ poems and act out of rage towards men. This might result from the fact that her father left her at a very young age. Regardless of the reason, this is one feminist that I would not want to disagree with!