Poetry Criticism

While no female writer of the Romantic period produced a standalone work of poetry criticism, many practicing female poets, especially those who wrote sonnets, engaged in poetry criticism in their prefaces and elsewhere. This entry considers the poetry criticism of women poets writing sonnets during the period, primarily that of Charlotte Smith (née Turner 1749–1806). It discusses Smith’s view of herself as an artist and her use of the space of her prefaces to promote her artistic reputation. It also considers Smith’s reception by other women writers practicing in the period, including Anna Seward (1742–1809), Mariann Dark (née Stiles, later Savory) (1793–1864), Martha Hanson, Mary Robinson (née Darby) (1757–1800), and Helen Maria Williams (1759–1827). It provides a further account of other spaces where women engaged with other women writers in addition to male poets of the period, including their use of textual spaces in novels and letters to discuss poetry critically.