Cynthia Lenige, also known as Kynke Lenige (6 November 1755 – 3 October 1780), was a Frisian poet. She died young, and her body of work is limited mostly to

occasional poetry Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage. Term As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the wo ...

, though she also wrote a few satirical poems which argued for a classical education.

Life and work

Lenige was born in Makkum, in 1755, the daughter of poet and merchant Dirk Lenige and Akke Rymersma; she had one sister and two brothers, and the family were

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

. Due to frail health she never attended school, but was taught at home, first by her father and then by Teake Dooitzens, a teacher who ran a local school. She was taught to write in Dutch and was never taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. She never married, and thus had ample opportunity to educate herself, and to read and write in a room of her own. Under the influence of her father she began writing poetry at an early age, and her earliest work consisted of

occasional poems Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage. Term As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the wo ...

for birthdays, births, and marriages. Her collection of poetry also included a number of satirical poems, in which Lenige, who herself never enjoyed a classical education, participated in a then-current debate about the appropriateness of using the classics in contemporary literature. She argued for it, defending, for instance, the practice of

Joost van den Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch poet, writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still mos ...

. She was a member of Makkum's "''Konst voedt 's menschen geluk''", a society of poets. She was in touch with poets in other parts of the Netherlands, including, likely,

Willem Bilderdijk Willem Bilderdijk () (7 September 1756 – 18 December 1831) was a Dutch poet, historian, lawyer, and linguist. Life Willem Bilderdijk was born on 7 September 1756 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic.Joris van Eijnatten,Bilderdijk, W., ''Bio- en ...

; that he had been in love with her is most likely a myth. Her work does show she was influenced by other poets, including Hubert Kornelisz. Poot and

Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken (21 August 1721 – 19 October 1789) was a Dutch poet and playwright. Born in Amsterdam, she began writing occasional poetry and in her early twenties had published her first tragedy. Influenced by the Enlightenmen ...

. Lenige died of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

at a young age, and her work was published posthumously in 1782, under the title ''Mengeldichten'' ("Miscellaneous poetry"). Most of her poems were written in Dutch, but two Frisian language poems of hers survive. A street in Makkum, the Cynthia Lenigestraat, is named for her. A memorial stone on the south side of Makkum's Doniakerk was raised in her honor.

Bibliography

*Lenige, Dirk

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

''Lijkzangen ter gedachtenisse van Mejuffer Cynthia Lenige, in het vijfentwintigste jaar haars ouderdoms te Makkum overleeden den derden der Wijnmaand 1780'', Amsterdam, 1782 *Lenige, Cynthia ''Mengeldichten van Cynthia Lenige'', Amsterdam, 1782 *Backer, Jan Aukes ''Ter gedachtenis van mijne vriendin mejuffer Cynthia Lenige'', 1782 *Brandt Maas, Gerard ''Levensschetsen van merkwaardige, meest Vriesche, mannen en vrouwen'', Leeuwarden, 1830–1837

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenige, Cynthia 1755 births 1780 deaths 18th-century Dutch poets 18th-century Dutch women writers Dutch women poets People from Wûnseradiel Occasional poets