Revolution and Romanticism

ISABELLA LICKBARROW

Poetical Effusions 1814

Isabella Lickbarrow writes ‘after the domestic employments of the day’, hoping ‘to assist the humble labours of herself and her orphan sisters, by raising from the generosity of the public a little fund, which would increase their family comforts and better their condition in life.’ Coming from Kendal, she numbers among her subscribers De Quincey, Southey and Wordsworth. Like Wordsworth she celebrates a Lake District childhood, but her voice is quite distinct. The one contemporary she draws attention to is Thomas Campbell, whose sad and catchy Hohinlinden is imitated with feeling and skill. Lichbarrow establishes herself as an accomplished and individual poet, her work strengthened rather than limited by association with a particular region.

£25 $48

Inverted on the waveless flood,
A spotless mirror smooth and clear,
Each fair surrounding object shone
In softer beauty imag’d there.

Brown hills, and woods of various shades,
Orchards and sloping meadows green,
Sweet rural seats, and shelter’d farms,
Were in the bright reflector seen....

Struck with the beauty of the scene,
I cry’d, Oh! may my yielding breast
Retain but images of peace,
Like those, sweet lake, on thine imprest.

(From ‘On Esthwaite Water’)

Home | Index of Titles

Revolution and Romanticism | Hibernia |
Poetry of the 1890s