Renaissance Women Poets

Whitney’s two volumes of verse miscellany, ‘Sweet Nosegay’ (1573) and ‘The Copy of a Letter’ (1567), were part of a literary trend of combining classical and Biblical references with popular and vernacular sources, and reflect the growing literary appetites of the urban population.

As well a selection of her original poetry, this volume includes Sidney’s version of the Psalms of David and Petrach’s ‘Triumph of Death’.

Lanyer’s poetry is devotional and is the most single-minded and explicit inits advocacy of female spirituality and virtue. Included here are ‘Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum’ and ‘The Description of Cooke-ham’.