Felicia Hemans (1793-1835)
Things to Consider:
- Relation to Byron
- Figure of the Female/Artist
- Suicide and Honor
- Patriotism and National
Identity
Background:
1809:
- What is the "cult of
domesticity" (1809)?
General Question:
- In her poetry, does Hemans subscribe to or critique/rebel
against traditional gender roles/attitudes of her time?
Explain.
"The Bride of the Greek Isle" (1828)
- Explain: "A changeful thing / Is the human heart, as
a mountain spring" (77-78).
- Why have the pirates invaded the wedding celebration?
- Why has Eudora set the ship on fire?
- Why does she allow herself to die in the fire?
"Properzia Rossi" (1828)
- Explain lines 9-13.
- Why has Rossi chosen Ariadne as the subject of her last
piece? What parallels exist between her story and Rossi's?
- Explain: "Yet all the vision that within me wrought,
/ I cannot make thee!" (61-62).
- Why does Rossi consider fame "worthless" (81)? Does
Hemans agree? Explain.
Other Discussion Questions:
"The Bride of the Greek Isle" (1828)
- What does "Eudora" mean? Why might this meaning be
significant in the poem?
- Why does Eudora cry when she remembers her childhood?
"Properzia Rossi" (1828)
- Can any autobiographical connections be drawn to this
work? Explain.
- Explain the epigraph.
- What exactly is this poem about?
- Explain lines 37-41.