Judith Madan (; 26 August 1702 – 7 December 1781) was an English poet. She was the granddaughter of the diarist, Sarah, Lady Cowper (1644–1720) and aunt of the poet

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scen ...

. She was a correspondent, admirer and protégé of Alexander Pope prior to her marriage, and she composed an admired early-gothic work, ''Abelard to Eloisa'', as a response to Pope's ''Eloisa to Abelard''.

Life and career

She was the only daughter of Spencer Cowper, lawyer, judge ( Justice of the Common Pleas), and member of Parliament, and his wife Pennington (; died 1727), and is thought to have been born at the family seat, Hertingfordbury Park,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She began writing poetry as a teenager. While still Judith Cowper she met

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

sometime after the 1717 publication of his ''Eloisa to Abelard''. She wrote ''Abelard to Eloisa'', a prominent example of the many literary responses to Pope's work, before she was 20. It was the first English adaptation of the story to feature Abelard as the speaker. Her original characterisation of Abelard prefigures the Romantic era hero: Laura Alexander, the academic and fellow of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, says of Cowper's creation that, "in her Abelard san original pathos figure that anticipates the "man of feeling" in later eighteenth-century literature of sensibility." Cowper and Pope corresponded until at least 1723 and in his letters he took an interest in her poetry, sometimes setting her literary projects, apparently as a salve or preventive to the depression from which Cowper periodically suffered. Cowper seems to have written little following her marriage. Subscription or participating public library (worldwide) membership required. On 7 December 1723 Cowper married Colonel

Martin Madan Martin Madan (1726 – 2 May 1790) was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for his contribution to Methodist music, 'The Lock Hospital Collection,' and later controversial views on marriage expressed in his book ''Thelyphthora''. ...

, groom of the bedchamber to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

, and MP for Wootton Basset. He died at Bath on 4 March 1756, aged 53. Their sons included Rev.

, author of ''Thelyphthora a defence of polygamy'', and the Right Rev.

Spencer Madan Spencer Madan (1729–1813) was an English churchman, successively of Bishop of Bristol and Bishop of Peterborough. Life The son of Colonel Martin Madan and Judith Madan of London, and younger brother of Martin Madan, he was sent to Westmin ...

, bishop successively of Bristol and Peterborough. Their elder daughter, Frances Maria Cowper, married William Cowper of Hertingfordbury, her first cousin; a volume of Frances Maria Cowper's religious verse, attributed to "a lady" and revised by her famous poet cousin, was published in 1792. Their younger daughter, Penelope (died 22 December 1805), became the wife of General Sir Alexander Maitland (1728–1820). Judith was the aunt of

the English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

hymnodist A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

, and grandmother of General Frederick Maitland. She died at Stafford Row, Westminster on 7 December 1781.

Works

* ''Abelard to Eloisa'', written 1720, published in 1728 in William Pattison's ''Poetical Works'' and thereby misattributed to him initially * ''The Progress of Poetry'' (1721) * ''Verses on the Death of Mr. Hughes'', works in honour of the poet John Hughes, written 1719-1730

References

External links

Judith Madan
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madan, Judith 1702 births 1781 deaths 18th-century British women writers 18th-century English poets English women poets People from East Hertfordshire District 18th-century English women 18th-century English people

Life and career

Works

References

Further reading

External links