Felicia Dorothea HemansB
Felicia Hemans
Felicia Dorothea Hemans, née
Felicia Dorothea Browne
Biography:
Felicia's father was George Browne, a Liverpool merchant. Her mother,
Felicity Wagner, was the daughter of the Austrian and Tuscan consul to
Liverpool. Felicia Browne was born on September 25, 1793, in Liverpool. She was
the fifth of seven children. When her father's business failed about 1800, the
family moved first to Gwrych, an isolated Welsh seaside house; then, in 1809,
to St. Asaph, Wales.
Felicia was a clever child who began to read at an early age and did so
voraciously from the well-stocked family library. She read novels and poetry,
learned several languages, and studied music, primarily under the direction of
her mother. According to her sister, Felicia "could repeat pages of poetry
from her favourite authors, after having read them but once over." When
she was eleven or twelve she spent two successive winters in London, where she
was awed by the paintings and sculptures. Her first book of Poems
was published in 1808. It was remarkable work to come from a fourteen-year-old,
but it received some harsh reviews. A postumous commentator stated: "...
our little heroine was exposed to the lash of a public critic - a useful animal
enough, but one whom the superstitious infallibility of print exalts to a
divinity."
Two of Felicia's brothers had entered the army, and one was serving under
Sir John Moore in Spain. Her poem England and
Spain; or Valour and Patriotism (1808) was written in an impassioned
adolescent imitation of Campbell, probably inspired by her brother's service.
Also serving in Spain was Captain Alfred Hemans, whom she had briefly
encountered when he visited in the neighborhood. Her adolescent infatuation did
not fade with his absence. On Captain Hemans' return in 1811, the relationship
continued to develop.
The
Domestic Affections and other Poems was published in 1812, just
before her marriage to Captain Hemans. After a brief time in Daventry,
Northamptonshire, where Captain Hemans was adjutant to the local militia, the
Hemans returned to St. Asaph. There, all but the first of their five sons were
born. Hemans continued to write prolifically. Her style from this era is
coloured by her reading of Byron. He was not displeased by her adoption of his
style, and wrote to his publisher that The
Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy (1816) was "a good
poem - very" and that he planned to take it with him in his travels.
In 1818 Captain Hemans went to Rome. He left behind his wife and five small
sons, all under 6 years of age. There seems to have been a private agreement to
separate, because they never saw each other after that. No reasons for the
separation were ever stated. Captain Hemans spent the rest of his life abroad,
and Felicia Hemans never visited him. Letters were exchanged, particularly to
consult about the children, but Felicia was left to support herself as best she
could. She and the children continued to live with her mother in Wales. Her
love of Wales was reflected most strongly in a collection of Welsh
Melodies which included a tribute to "The
Rock of Cader Idris", seat of poets.
Hemans was deeply distressed by her mother's death in January 1827. (See "Hymn
by the Sick-bed of a Mother"). From then until her own death she was
an invalid. Her two eldest sons were sent to Rome to be with their father, and
she moved to Liverpool. It was not a successful move: she thought the people of
Liverpool were stupid and provincial; they thought she was uncommunicative and
eccentric. She visited Scotland in 1828, staying with Scott for a while. (See "The
Funeral Day of Sir Walter Scott"). She returned to Liverpool, but the
following summer was in the Lake Country with Wordsworth (See "A
Farewell to Abbotsford" and "To
Wordsworth").
Hemans moved to Dublin in 1831, where she could be near one of her brothers.
She died there on the 16th of May, 1835, at the age of 41. Her death was
attributed to a weak heart, which may have been the common affliction of
rheumatic fever.
During her life, Hemans made several attempts at writing drama, none of
which were successful. The only play to be performed, The Vespers of
Palermo (1823), failed dismally in its Covent Garden debut, despite
having the Kembles' managing and acting. A few months later it was produced in
Edinburgh and well-received. Sir Walter Scott wrote a prologue for the
Edinburgh performance. Her second effort, De Chatillon, or The Crusaders,
was also unsuccessful.
In contrast, her poetry was popular and sold well: on the basis of her work,
Hemans was able to support herself and her children. Frederic Rowton gives a contemporary's
assessment of her work in The Female Poets of Great Britain
(1853). A Prefatory
Notice by W. M. Rossetti, from one of many collections of Hemans' work, is
interesting for the view it gives of Mrs. Hemans' life, and the attitudes
towards women and writing that it indicates.
George Eliot commended "The Forest Sanctuary" as 'exquisite'.
Scott, however, criticised her poetry for being 'too poetical' and for having
'too many flowers' and 'too little fruit'. While Hemans confidently used a
variety of metrical effects and narrative structures, much of her popular
appeal lay in her ability to write emotional verses expressing the sentiments
of her time. Her memorials to George
III and to Princess
Charlotte treat George III's madness, and emotional responses to the royal
family, with considerable sensitivity.
In many poems, Hemans responded to the concerns of women of her time by
idealizing and romanticizing woman's role and relationships. Her portrayal of
cultural ideals offered comfort and support to those who found them meaningful.
She wrote "To
the New-Born" for the child of her eldest brother. Her poem "The
Better Land" was copied by Florence Nightingale for a cousin. It
touched on concerns which were particularly significant in a culture with high
child and maternal mortality rates, where survivors sought comfort in religious
belief.
Hemans' strong support of familial ideals was one reason why contemporaries
accepted her in the roles of loving daughter and parent, and treated her
separation from her husband sympathetically, as an unfortunate circumstance
which reflected poorly on the Captain rather than on her. While a number of
Heman's poems indicate the attractions and rewards of creative work, and the
desirability of intellectual powers, the same poems are often framed to suggest
that love, strong familial relationships, and faith are ultimately more
important and lasting than fame (See "Properzia
Rossi" and "Joan
of Arc in Rheims"). This does not imply, however, that creativity and
faith are necessarily opposed. Both her juvenile poem "Lines
Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith" and "Thoughts
During Sickness: Intellectual Powers", written late in her life,
describe genius and imagination as divine gifts, which will be regained and
fulfilled in heavenly life.
Hemans spent her life with her family in Wales, rarely travelling. She read
extensively, and sought inspiration and detail for her descriptions of Greece,
Spain, and the new world, in the writings of other authors. Her work suffered
from her restricted experience, as she relied too much on the impressions of
others and often used stereotypic images. Still, she captured much of the ethos
of her day in her poetry. Today her best-known poems are probably "The
Homes of England" and "Casabianca"
(better known as "The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck").
See also:
- A Bibliography by Nanora Sweet
- A Chronology for Felicia Hemans and her Circle by Nanora Sweet
- A Portrait of Felicia Hemans at the University of Texas (large)
Selected Works:
Collections of Felicia Heman's work appeared frequently until the 1920's.
Unless otherwise indicated, the following poems were proof-read against The
Poetical Works of Felicia Dorothea Hemans London: Oxford University
Press, 1914.
- On the Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy (1816)
- Hymns on the Works of Nature, for the Use of Children. (1827)
- Records of Woman: With Other Poems (1828)
- The Better Land
- Casabianca
- Corinne at the Capitol
- Evening Prayer at a Girl's School
- A Farewell to Abbotsford
- The Funeral Day of Sir Walter Scott
- Hymn by the Sick-bed of a Mother
- Kindred Hearts
- The Last Song of Sappho
- Lines Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith
- The Rock of Cader Idris
- Stanzas on the Late National Calamity, The Death of the Princess Charlotte
- Stanzas To the Memory of George III
- Thoughts During Sickness: Intellectual Powers
- To the Eye
- To the New-Born
- Woman on the Field of Battle
Bibliography (Selected):
- Poems by Felicia Dorothea Browne, 1808.
- England and Spain; or Valour and Patriotism, 1808.
- The Domestic Affections and other Poems London: T. Cadwell and W. Davies, 1812.
- The Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy, 1816.
- Modern Greece, A Poem, 1817.
- Translations from Camoens and Other Poets, With Original Poetry , 1818. [translations include Petrarch and Lope de Vega]
- Tales, and Historic Scenes, in Verse. London: John Murray, 1819.
- Stanzas to the Memory of the late King (George III) 1820.
- The Vespers of Palermo , 1823. [a play]
- Lays of Many Lands, 1825.
- Records of Woman: With Other Poems Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1828.
- Songs of the Affections, with Other Poems. Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1830.
- Hymns on the Works of Nature, for the Use of Children. Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little and Wilkins, 1827. [Later published in England in 1833.]
- Hymns for Childhood, 1834. [First published in the U.S.A in 1827.]
- National Lyrics and Songs for Music, 1834.
- Scenes and Hymns of Life, 1834.
- Poems of Felicia Hemans Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1852.
- The Poetical Works of Felicia Dorothea Hemans London: Oxford University Press, 1914.
Popular Poems
- Casabianca
- A Spirit's Return
- The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in Ne...
- Dirge
- A Voyager's Dream Of Land
- Bring Flowers
- Flight of the Spirit
- Breathings Of Spring
- Address To Music
- Address To Fancy
- Arabella Stuart
- Alaric In Italy
- Indian Woman's Death-Song
- Christmas Carol
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