Elizabeth Pennington (1732–1759) was an English poet. Born in
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, early on she formed an enduring friendship with
Martha Ferrar, a fellow poet who became the chief beneficiary of her
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
.
Pennington also maintained friendships with writers
Frances Sheridan and
Samuel Richardson, and was praised by
John Duncombe in his poetic roll call of women writers, ''
The Feminiad'' (1754). The poems Duncombe was familiar with must have circulated in
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
. Her three poems that survive were posthumously published: 'Ode to a Thrush', 'Ode to Morning' and 'The Copper Farthing'. All three became anthology pieces, and were published in collections such as ''
Specimens of British Poetesses'' (1798) and ''
Poems of Eminent Ladies'' (1780).
Her poetry makes effective use of the
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. mode, and shows the influence of
John Philips's ''The Splendid Shilling''.
Her entry in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' notes that her 'ability to write in a learned and heroic style, despite her limited opportunity for education, is remarkable'.
References
External links
Ode to a ThrushThe Copper Farthing*
The Splendid Shilling'
1732 births
1759 deaths
English women poets
18th-century British women writers
18th-century English poets
18th-century English women
18th-century English people
{{England-poet-stub