Hemans versus Wordsworth

Felicia Hemans' poem "The Wife of Asdrubal" is a horrific story, recounting the wife of a governor and her brutal vengence upon her husband--by killing herself and her two sons right in front of him. The poem itself alludes that the Wife may have had some reasonable intentions in doing what she did. Perhaps her husband had done something really quite repulsive, unforgivable even--and this was the only rational way to accomplish vengence. The questions is: is vengence really the primary purpose behind her "homicidal suicide?"

The description before the actual poem in the reading states, "there Asdrubal's wife appeared in her best apparel, as if the day of her death hd been a day of triumph; and after having uttered the most bitter imprecations against her husband, whom she saw standing below...(406)." Surely he did something to provoke such an action--or was the wife only overtaken with madness? The poem is faily ironic considering the fact that Hemans and her sons were "abandoned" when her military husband became "ill." She was left alone to care for so many children--perhaps she was a little overwhelmed by the circumstances, understandably.

In "The Wife of Asdrubal," the wife does what Shakespeare, in his beginning sonnets, might have considered the worst possible form on vengence on a loved one. She destroys his sons--the only way that his personage could be continued, truly exterminating any of his hereditary "beauty" from the world.

What's interesting about this poem is how much it differs from the typical writing style of Dorothy Wordsworth. Granted, Hemans and Wordsworth come from very different backgrounds, but both of them were female writers during a time when their breed was scarce. Dorothy Wordsworth came from a world that revolved around the supposed literary genius of her brother, only expressing herself through writing in order to "please" her brother. Felicia Hemans, however, found herself strongly encouraged as a child to pursue writing in a pre-mature professional form. The reading describes her as a child prodigy, pushed by her parents to immerse herself in her craft.

When you compare Wordsworth and Hemans' poetry, it's easy to see a shift in style. Hemans' is extremely developed and somewhat brutal at times, particularly in "The Wife of Asdrubal." Wordsworth's poems are much more pastoral and primarily focused on what she always surrounded herself with--nature. There's something to be said about being a poet with great versatility (for example, Hemans), but also, there is great merit in having the ability to artfully explore just one medium. Both poets speak to the idea that female writers were really quite "up and coming," whether they realized it or not.

What is interesting to me is the feeling of unwillingness that seems to accompany Hemans' work. From her biography, we can gather that she was pushed a great deal by her parents to make something of herself in poetry. Of course, she did as they wished, but her work still carries a deep undertone of "wanting to do something else." I wish that I could accurately pinpoint a moment in her work that speaks to this observation, however, I'm not sure if I can do it. Where I get this impression the most is in her poems that became almost synomymous with The Pledge of Allegiance in American schools. They are dutifully crafted, almost as if to get her admirers to ignore her for a bit. Wordsworth's poems are much more free-flowing and not necessarily forced.

I think that it's possible for a reader to tell if the author enjoy what he or she has written--it almost always come across in the reading.