Selected Poetry and Prose

by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, William McCarthy (Editor), Elizabeth Kraft

At her death in 1825, Anna Letitia Barbauld was considered one of the great writers of her time. Distinguished as a poet and essayist, she was also in innovator in children’s literature, an eloquent supporter of liberal politics, and a literary critic of stature. This edition includes a generous selection of her poetry and the first comprehensive body of her prose in more than a century, with essays―some never before reprinted―on literature, religion, education, prejudice, women’s fashions, and class conflict.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, 18th Century, Romanticism

519 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Anna Laetitia Barbauld, née Aikin; was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and children's author.

Reviews

[Ary · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I hear this woman speak about the sublime one more time, I'll lose it!!

[David]

I see, having read through everything, why Barbauld never seems to make it into the list of the "Great Romantics," but there are some great moments. In my perspective she is a little too fond of the heroic couplet, and her inspirations tend to make her more of an "occasional" writer, but she has some strong opinions, especially re the abolition of slavery, that are worth hearing.

[Carrie Chappell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbauld is definitely one to be studied. I can't believe I haven't been aware of her until now. For me, she is most attractive in her philosophies and in the titling of her work. A poem called "To Dr. Aikin on his Complaining that she neglected him, October 20th 1768" is really exciting to me by name, but in execution I found not as much to love. Her obsession with the "embryo" stage of any idea was particularly interesting to me, though, and I wish I had the time to track it, research it. I don't know, folks...find the women writers we've lost to the puffy chairs given to Wordsworth and Coleridge. This woman was their role model, not vice versa.

[Diem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. The poetry of Barbauld didn't move me as much as her essays with the exception of the poem "Eight Hundred and Eleven" which was very powerful. I just prefer prose writing and really enjoy a political essay. Barbauld writes with a clarity and precision and intelligence that inspires envy in other writers. Her writing remains relevant and piercing. It is a tremendous loss to scholarship that her writing is only presented in Women's Literature classes.