Elizabeth Pennington (17 January 1732 - February 1759) was an English poet.[1]
All Saints Church, Huntingdon. Photo by Stephen Nunney, 2002. Licensed by Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0), courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Life[]
Pennington was born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.[2] Her father was Rev. John Pennington, rector of All Saint's church in Huntingdon.[3]
She formed an early friendship with fellow poet Martha Ferrar, a life-long friend who was the chief beneficiary of her will.[2] During her life she also formed friendships with Frances Sheridan and Samuel Richardson.
She died in London.[1]
Writing[]
Pennington was praised by John Dunton in his poetic roll call of women writers, The Feminiad (1754). The poems Dunton was familiar with must have circulated in manuscript, as there is no evidence of Pennington publishing anything in her lifetime.
Pennington's 3 poems that survive –'Ode to a Thrush', 'Ode to Morning', and 'The Copper Farthing' – were all posthumously published. All 3 became anthology pieces, and were published in anthologies such as Poems of Eminent Ladies (1780) and Specimens of British Poetesses (1798).
Her poetry makes effective use of the burlesque mode, and shows the influence of John Philips's The Splendid Shilling.[4] Her entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography notes that her "ability to write in a learned and heroic style, despite her limited opportunity for education, is remarkable."[2]
Recognition[]
Pennington's "Ode to a Thrush" was included in Dodsley's Collection of Poems in Six Volumes; by several hands.[5]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elizabeth Pennington, PeoplePill. Web, Jan. 9, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gasper, Julia. "Pennington, Elizabeth (1732–1759), poet". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/74076. Template:ODNBsub
- ↑ Elizabeth Pennington, English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, Jan. 9, 2021.
- ↑ Elizabeth Pennington, "The Copper Farthing: or, the School-Boy". English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, Mar. 9, 2018.
- ↑ Elizabeth Pennington, Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive. Web, Jan. 9, 2021.
External links[]
- Poems
- Elizabeth Pennington at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive ("Ode to a Thrush")
- "The Copper Farthing"
- About
- Elizabeth Pennington at English Poetry, 1579-1830
- Elizabeth Pennington at PeoplePill
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