Poetry and Politics in The Women's Penny Paper/Woman's Herald , 1888-1893: "One swift, bright fore-gleam of celestial day"

Abstract

A close contextual reading of the poetry printed in the Women's Penny Paper (later the Woman's Herald ), published 1888-1893, reveals that apparent ideological contradictions between the prose and poetic elements of the paper may reveal complementarity as much as inconsistency. The paper's political aspirations are re-envisioned in conventional poetry as a state of future exaltation compatible with Christian belief. Poetry helps bridge the disjuncture between political and domestic ideals of womanhood; extends the empathetic impact of journalistic reporting; enables feminist redeployment of biblical paradigms; and ultimately helps create a myth of divinised femininity sanctioning the appeal for political rights.