Katherine Philips
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Katherine or Catherine Philips (1 January 1631/2 – 22 June 1664), also known as "The Matchless Orinda", was an Anglo-Welsh royalist poet, translator, and woman of letters. She achieved renown as a translator of
Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...
's '' Pompée'' and ''
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
'', and for her editions of poetry after her death. She was highly regarded by many notable later writers, including
John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
and
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
, as being influential.


Early years

Born in London, Katherine Philips was daughter of John Fowler, a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
cloth merchant of Bucklersbury, near the river in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, and of Katherine Oxenbridge, whose father worked in the medical profession. Philips, it seems, had a strong memory and was intellectually advanced, and was, according to a cousin of hers, able to read the Bible before the age of four. Additionally, she acquired remarkable fluency in several languages. After her father's death, she moved to Wales with her newly married mother.  She attended boarding school from 1640 to 1645 where she began to write verse within a circle of friends and to appreciate French romances and Cavalier plays from which she would later choose many of the pet names she gave to members of her Society of Friendship. This school, run by a Mrs Salmon, was in Hackney, a hotbed of female education at the time. Philips also broke with Presbyterian traditions, in both religion and politics, by becoming a member of the Church of England, as well as an ardent admirer of the king and his policy. In 1647, when she was sixteen, Katherine Fowler married Welsh Parliamentarian James Philipps. James Philips' age has been the subject of some dispute, as he was long thought to be 54 years old on their wedding day, thus making him 38 years Katherine's senior. However, it seems their recovered marriage certificate has since shown that James Philips was actually only 24 years old at the time of their union. The couple had two children, including a son named Hector who did not live past infancy. He was buried in London in 1655. Hector's death was the subject of some of Philips' later poems, such as "Epitaph on Hector Philips" and "On the Death of my First and Dearest Childe."


Life and career

The Society of Friendship had its origins in the cult of Neoplatonic love imported from the continent in the 1630s by Charles I's French wife,
Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...
. Members adopted pseudonyms drawn from French
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
romances of Cavalier dramas. Philips dramatised in her Society of Friendship the ideals, as well as the realities and tribulations, of Platonic love. Thus the Society helped establish a literary standard for her generation and Orinda herself as a model for the female writers who followed her. Her home at the Priory, Cardigan, Wales became the centre of the Society of Friendship, the members of which were known to one another by pastoral names: Philips was "Orinda", her husband "
Antenor __NOTOC__ Antenor ( grc-gre, Ἀντήνωρ, ''Antḗnōr'';  BC) was an Athenian sculptor. He is recorded as the creator of the joint statues of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton funded by the Athenians on the expulsion of Hipp ...
", and Sir Charles Cotterel "Poliarchus". "The Matchless Orinda", as her admirers called her, was regarded as the apostle of female friendship, and inspired great respect. She was widely considered an exemplar of the ideal woman writer: virtuous, proper, and chaste. She was frequently contrasted to the more daring
Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...
, to the latter's detriment. Her poems, frequently occasional, typically celebrate the refined pleasures of platonic love.
Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...
in 1659 dedicated to her his ''Discourse on the Nature, Offices and Measures of Friendship'', and Cowley,
Henry Vaughan Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfo ...
the Silurist, the
Earl of Roscommon Earl of Roscommon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1622 for James Dillon, 1st Baron Dillon. He had already been created Baron Dillon on 24 January 1619, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The fourth Earl was a court ...
and the Earl of Cork and Orrery all celebrated her talent. In 1662 she went to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
to pursue her husband's claim to certain Irish estates, which, due to her late father's past monetary investments in the British military, they were in danger of losing. There she completed a translation of
Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...
's '' Pompée'', produced with great success in 1663 in the
Smock Alley Theatre Since the 17th century, there have been numerous theatres in Dublin with the name Smock Alley. The current Smock Alley Theatre () is a 21st-century theatre in Dublin, converted from a 19th-century church building, incorporating structural mat ...
, and printed in the same year both in Dublin and London, under the title ''Pompey''. Although other women had translated or written dramas, her translation of ''Pompée'' broke new ground as the first rhymed version of a French tragedy in English and the first English play written by a woman to be performed on the professional stage. In 1664, an edition of her poetry entitled ''Poems by the Incomparable Mrs. K.P.'' was published; this was an unauthorised edition that made several grievous errors. In March 1664, Philips travelled to London with a nearly completed translation of Corneille's ''
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
'', but died of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
. She was buried in the church of St Benet Sherehog, later destroyed in the
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...
.


Reception and legacy

After her death, in 1667 an authorised edition of her poetry was printed entitled ''Poems by the Most Deservedly Admired Mrs. Katherine Philips, the Matchless Orinda''. The edition included her translations of ''Pompée'' and ''Horace''.
Edward Phillips Edward Phillips (August 1630 – c. 1696) was an English author. Life He was the son of Edward Phillips of the crown office in chancery, and his wife Anne, only sister of John Milton, the poet. Edward Phillips the younger was born in Strand, L ...
, nephew of
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
, placed Katherine Philips high above
Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...
, writing in ''Theatrum poetarum'' (1675), a list of the chief poets of all ages and countries, that she was "the most applauded...Poetess of our Nation". The literary atmosphere of her circle is preserved in the excellent ''Letters of Orinda to Poliarchus'', published by
Bernard Lintot Barnaby Bernard Lintot ("Lintott" before 1724, usually referred to as "Bernard" and very rarely as "Bernaby") (1 December 16759 February 1736), was an English publisher who started business in London about 1698. Born at Southwater, Sussex, Lintot ...
in 1705 and 1709. Poliarchus (Sir
Charles Cotterell Sir Charles Cotterell (7 April 1615 – 7 June 1701), was an English courtier and translator knighted in 1644, after his appointment as master of ceremonies to the court of King Charles I in 1641, a post he held until the execution of Charles ...
) was
master of the ceremonies The office of Master of the Ceremonies was established by King James VI and I. The Master's duties were to receive foreign dignitaries and present them to the monarch at court. Below is a list of known holders until the replacement of the office ...
at the court of the Restoration, and afterwards translated the romances of
La Calprenède LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
. Philips had two children, one of whom, Katharine, became the wife of a "Lewis Wogan" of
Boulston Boulston is a small settlement and former parish on the left bank of the Western Cleddau river in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech. History Boulston Manor The parish was in the ancient hundred of Dungled ...
,
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
. According to Gosse, Philips may have been the author of a volume of ''Female Poems ... written by Ephelia'', which are in the style of Orinda, though other scholars have not embraced this attribution. Philips's translations and poems consider questions of political authority and express her royalist beliefs. Her work also considers the nature and value of friendship between women. There has been speculation over whether her work could be described as lesbian. Certainly her representations of female friendship are intense, even passionate. She herself always insisted on their platonic nature and characterises her relationships as the "meeting of souls," as in these lines from "To my Excellent Lucasia, on our Friendship":
For as a watch by art is wound To motion, such was mine; But never had Orinda found A soul till she found thine; Which now inspires, cures, and supplies, And guides my darkened breast; For thou art all that I can prize, My joy, my life, my rest. (9–16)
Harriette Andreadis has argued that 'her manipulations of the conventions of male poetic discourse constitute a form of lesbian writing.' However, there are many critics who do not believe Philips's poetry is indicative of her sexuality. For example, in discussing "To the Excellent Lucasia" Mark Llewellyn argues that the image portrayed by the speaker is "stripped of all sensual appetite, could become the pathway to apprehension of, and eventually mystic union with, divine love and beauty" (447). Andreadis says, "friendship here is no less than the mingling of souls, the intimacy of hearts joined in secret and holding each other's secrets, sublimely elevating the friends to such ecstasies that they pity the mundane pleasures and powers of worldly rulers" (529). ''
Upon the Double Murder of King Charles "Upon the Double Murder of King Charles In Answer to a Libelous Rhyme made by V.P." is a 17th-century poem by Katherine Philips. Historical occasion for the poem This piece was written by Katherine Philips reportedly in response to "a Libelou ...
'' is a more politically minded piece than many of her others from this time period, although she is often associated with a class of poets termed Royalist or
Cavalier poet The cavalier poets was a school of English poets of the 17th century, that came from the classes that supported King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Charles, a connoisseur of the fine arts, supported poets who created the art ...
s, noting their political sympathy to the Royalist cause, those who supported the monarchy of
King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
and the following English Interregnum.


Influences

She inspired the figure of "Orinda", elderly widow, hypersensitive to matters of love, and she herself a victim of love for a woman, in the Italian
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
of 1671 '' Il Cromuele'' (Cromwell) written by
Girolamo Graziani Girolamo Graziani (; 1 October 1604 – 12 September 1675), was an Italian poet and diplomat. Graziani was one of the most famous poets of the 17th century, but his fame didn't survive him. During his life he was appreciated mainly for his epic p ...
, set in England during the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.


Premiere of ''Pompey''

On 10 February 1663 Philips premiered her adaptation of the French verse tragedy,
Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...
's, '' Pompée'' at Smock Alley. The opening night was notable for its political undertones, as well as having the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the audience. It also had theatre goers of all classes in attendance. Some Catholic, loyal to the monarchy after the war and desiring to acquire their lands back for their families. Others in the audience were Protestant and felt entitled to these same lands based on the promises made to them. Due to Ireland's tense political climate, the theatre was a welcomed escape from these politically complicated Catholic/Protestant relations, following the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
and the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...
. The play opened with a direct heroic couplet suggesting the idea of two rivals finding a successful compromise:
''"The'' ''mighty Rivals, whose destructive Rage'' ''Did the whole World in Civil Arms engage,'' ''Are now agreed, and make it both their Choice,'' ''To have their Fates determin'd by your Voice."''
The original speaker on opening night failed to mention specific details to the play which are in the script in this opening, allowing the audience to assume the text could be directed at the current political affairs. There are rumours that Phillips was either in the audience, or could have even been an actress in the play herself.


Sexuality

There has been speculation among critics over Katherine Philips' sexuality, specifically regarding the relationships she shared with some of her female friends. Literary critics have often highlighted suggestions of female intimacy and eroticism within Philips' work. In fact, many of her poems were written for or about fellow Society of Friendship members Anne Owen and Mary Aubrey, who went by the names of Lucasia and Rosania, respectively. A series of letters exchanged by Philips and her friend Sir Charles Cotterell between 6 December 1661 and 17 May 1664 were recovered and published in 1705,  under the title ''Letters from Orinda to Poliarchus.''  Hints of Philips' affection for Owen can be found throughout this correspondence, notably within an exchange referring to Philips' attempt to convince Owen to marry Sir Charles in order to keep her nearby, as Owen was engaged at the time and planned to move to Dublin with one Marcus Trevor. This attempt would ultimately prove unsuccessful.


References


Citations


Sources

* * "Philips, Katherine". ''The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature''. Claire Buck, ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 1992. 911. * "Philips, Katherine". ''British Women Writers: a critical reference guide''. Janet Todd, ed. London: Routledge, 1989. 537–538. * "Philips, Katherine". ''The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Renaissance and the Early Seventeenth Century Vol 2''. Joseph Black, ed. Ontario: Broadview Press, 2006. 785–786. * *


Further reading

* Gosse, Edmund. ''Seventeenth Century Studies'' (1883). *Hageman, Elizabeth H. "Treacherous Accidents and the Abominable Printing of Katherine Philips's 1664 Poems." ''New Ways of Looking at Old Texts, III''. n.p. 2004. 85–95. *Limbert, Claudia A. "Katherine Philips: Controlling a Life and Reputation.” '' South Atlantic Review'' 56.2 (1991): 27–42. *Llewellyn, Mark. "Katherine Philips: friendship, poetry and neo-platonic thought in seventeenth century England." ''
Philological Quarterly The ''Philological Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on medieval European and modern literature and culture. It was established in 1922 by Hardin Craig. The inaugural issue of the journal was made available at sixty ...
'' 81.4 (2002): 441+. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 Mar 2010. *Matthew, H. C. G., and B. Harrison, eds. ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Web. *''Poems, By the Incomparable Mrs K. P.'' appeared surreptitiously in 1664 and an authentic edition in 1667. * Prescott, Sarah. "Archipelagic Coterie Space: Katherine Philips and Welsh Women’s Writing". ''Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature''. (2013) * Robinson, David Michael. "Pleasant conversation in the seraglio: lesbianism, platonic love, and Cavendish's Blazing World." ''Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation'' 44 (2003): 133+. Academic OneFile. *Stone Stanton, Kamille. “‘Capable of Being Kings’: The Influence of the Cult of King Charles I on the Early Modern Women's Literary Canon.” New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century. Vol 5.1. Spring, 2008, pp. 20–29. *Stone Stanton, Kamille. “'Panting Sentinels': Erotics, Politics and Redemption in the Friendship Poetry of Katherine Philips." Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Vol. 38. Fall, 2007, pp. 71–86. * Trolander, Paul and Zeynep. Tenger. "Katherine Philips and Coterie Critical Practices." ''Eighteenth-Century Studies''. 37.3 (2004): 367–387. * Shopland, Norena "The Welsh Sappho" ''Forbidden Lives: LGBT stories from Wales'' Seren Books (2017)


External links

* * * Audio
Robert Pinsky reads "A Married State"
by Katherine Philips
Katherine Philips at Luminarium.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philips, Katherine 1631 births 1664 deaths 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights 17th-century English women writers 17th-century English writers Deaths from smallpox English women poets Infectious disease deaths in England British women dramatists and playwrights Writers from London Tory poets 17th century in LGBT history