Renaissance Women Poets: Isabella Whitney, Mary Sidney and Aemilia Lanyer

Synopsis

Whitney's two volumes of verse miscellany, "Sweet Nosegay" (1573) and "The Copy of a Letter" (1567), were part of a literary trend of combining classical and Biblical references with popular and vernacular sources, and reflect the growing literary appetites of the urban population. As well a selection of her original poetry, this volume includes Sidney's version of the Psalms of David and Petrach's "Triumph of Death". Lanyer's poetry is devotional and is the most single-minded and explicit in its advocacy of female spirituality and virtue. Included here are "Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum" and "The Description of Cooke-ham".