The Poetical Works of Felicia Hemans: Complete, with a Critical Preface...

What is the nature of memory, heroism, and home? Felicia Hemans' Poetical Works presents the complete poetry of one of the Romantic era's most popular and influential voices—a woman whose work outsold Byron and Wordsworth in her lifetime yet brought a distinctly feminine perspective to Romantic themes. Hemans (1793-1835) explored domesticity and heroism, memory and loss, national identity and exile, maternal love and sacrifice with lyrical beauty and emotional depth. Her poetry combines Romantic passion with moral seriousness, celebrating beauty and feeling while examining duty, faith, and the costs of devotion. From intimate lyrics to ambitious historical narratives, Hemans created a body of work that spoke powerfully to her contemporaries and offers modern readers insight into Romantic-era women's experience, creativity, and intellectual life.

This complete edition presents Hemans' full range: her most famous poems like "Casabianca" ("The boy stood on the burning deck") and "The Homes of England"; historical narratives exploring heroism, sacrifice, and national memory; domestic lyrics on motherhood, childhood, and home; meditations on art, music, and beauty; and religious poetry exploring faith and consolation. Hemans excelled at dramatic monologues that gave voice to historical women, exploring their inner lives and moral dilemmas. Her work balances sentiment with intellectual rigor, emotional intensity with formal control, and celebrates women's strength while acknowledging their constraints. The critical preface provides context on Hemans' life, literary influence, and her role in shaping Victorian poetry and culture.

For contemplative readers, Hemans' poetry offers profound meditation on memory, devotion, and the meaning of home. Her work asks: What is the relationship between private feeling and public duty? How do we honor the past while living in the present? What does it mean to create beauty and meaning within domestic life? How do we balance love and loss, devotion and self? What consolations does faith offer in the face of suffering? Hemans' verse becomes a companion for exploring the inner life—celebrating emotional depth, moral seriousness, and the power of memory and imagination to create meaning.

What You'll Discover
Hemans' complete poetical works (1793-1835)
Famous poems: "Casabianca," "The Homes of England"
Historical narratives, domestic lyrics, and religious poetry
Dramatic monologues giving voice to historical women
Contemplative insights into memory, devotion, and home
A major female voice in Romantic poetry

Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793-1835) was one of the most commercially successful and widely read poets of the Romantic era. Despite personal struggles including an unhappy marriage and financial pressures, she produced an extraordinary body of work that influenced Victorian poetry and culture. Her exploration of women's experience, her technical mastery, and her ability to combine emotional intensity with moral depth made her a pivotal figure in English literary history, though she was later overshadowed by male Romantic poets.

Perfect for: Readers of Romantic poetry and women's literature, students of Felicia Hemans and 19th-century poetry, contemplative readers exploring memory and devotion, those interested in women's voices in literary history, anyone drawn to lyrical beauty and emotional depth, readers of domestic and historical poetry, students of Victorian culture and Romantic-era gender dynamics.

Paperback edition. Hemans' complete poetical works—offering contemplative wisdom on memory, heroism, home, and the inner life through the lyrical voice of Romantic poetry's most popular female poet.