Last time I wrote about Emilia Lanier-Bassano, one of the candidates for the title: Shakespeare's Dark Lady. This time I'm going to write about what she wrote about. Her major piece of work was Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum - 'Hail God, King of the Jews' which was first published in 1611.
This is a collection of eleven poems which was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I and various other well-known ladies of the time. It also includes 'The Description of Cooke-ham,' a 'country-house' poem which praises a wealthy patron through his country home. Other poems in this collection are addressed to All Vertuous Ladies in General and Eve's Apology in Defence of Women.
Today there are only four complete copies in existence as well as two incomplete copies in the British Library. London and in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Salva Deus Rex Judaeorum is a long and very tightly structured poem which consists of 310 eight-line verses. Each verse sticks rigidly to an ABABABCC rhyme scheme, a scheme known as 'Ottova rima.' This scheme was of Italian origin and was a suitable choice by the poet as it was often used for long and/or 'heroic' poems.
The second verse of "Salve Deus." Note the Ottova rima rhyme scheme.
Emilia Lanier's magnum opus was dedicated to a well-known literary patroness of the time, Lady Anne Clifford, Countess Dowager of Dorset.
The importance of this collection of poems is that it was one of the first to be published by a woman in a very masculine dominated world. These poems have been seen by critics as an exploration of the way women have contributed in promoting Christian values throughout history. Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum has also been understood as one of the early feminist poems, i.e. it relates to the events from the Last Supper to the final Crucifixtion from the female point of view - through the eyes of Pontius Pilate's wife.
In addition, according to several critics this was one of the first religious poems that was written by a woman which gave women a higher religious authority than men.
Next time I will talk about another possible Dark Lady who was more bawdy than literate: Black Lucy Morgan.
For comments, please email me at: dlwhy08@gmail.com
This is a collection of eleven poems which was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I and various other well-known ladies of the time. It also includes 'The Description of Cooke-ham,' a 'country-house' poem which praises a wealthy patron through his country home. Other poems in this collection are addressed to All Vertuous Ladies in General and Eve's Apology in Defence of Women.
Today there are only four complete copies in existence as well as two incomplete copies in the British Library. London and in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Salva Deus Rex Judaeorum is a long and very tightly structured poem which consists of 310 eight-line verses. Each verse sticks rigidly to an ABABABCC rhyme scheme, a scheme known as 'Ottova rima.' This scheme was of Italian origin and was a suitable choice by the poet as it was often used for long and/or 'heroic' poems.
Emilia Lanier's magnum opus was dedicated to a well-known literary patroness of the time, Lady Anne Clifford, Countess Dowager of Dorset.
The importance of this collection of poems is that it was one of the first to be published by a woman in a very masculine dominated world. These poems have been seen by critics as an exploration of the way women have contributed in promoting Christian values throughout history. Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum has also been understood as one of the early feminist poems, i.e. it relates to the events from the Last Supper to the final Crucifixtion from the female point of view - through the eyes of Pontius Pilate's wife.
In addition, according to several critics this was one of the first religious poems that was written by a woman which gave women a higher religious authority than men.
Next time I will talk about another possible Dark Lady who was more bawdy than literate: Black Lucy Morgan.
For comments, please email me at: dlwhy08@gmail.com
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