Abstract
ABSTRACT This article investigates the ways in which Lucy Hutchinson’s manuscript verse draws on pastoral and related modes frequently associated with royalist poetics. It situates her approach in the context of her awareness of tensions over private landholding during the Civil War period, suggesting that her verse both looks back nostalgically to an ideal of elite landownership and recognises the challenges presented by popular democratic forces. In her elegies, she redeploys royalist tropes to articulate the pathos of her personal and political bereavements whilst developing a meta-commentary on her own morally suspect attachment to such poetic modes. Meanwhile, her separate, manuscript poem, ‘All sorts of men through various labours press’, explores the manner in which pastoral conventions may elide or expose conflicts within the ranks of her fellow Parliamentarians.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
