Death Becomes Her: Figuration and Decay in Swift's "Birthday Poems" to Stella.

The article offers poetry criticism of the poetry collection "Birthday Poems" by Jonathan Swift. It comments on Swift's relationship with Esther Johnson, whom he nicknamed "Stella," and whom he mentored while he was secretary to sir William Temple. It talks about the complexity of Swift's poem "On S...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Eighteenth Century: Theory & Interpretation Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 431 - 451
Autor principal: Palumbo, David M.
Formato: Poetry Review
Publicado: University of Pennsylvania Press Winter2010
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The article offers poetry criticism of the poetry collection "Birthday Poems" by Jonathan Swift. It comments on Swift's relationship with Esther Johnson, whom he nicknamed "Stella," and whom he mentored while he was secretary to sir William Temple. It talks about the complexity of Swift's poem "On Stella's Birthday, 1719" and on discrepancies between Johnson's actual age and that which he stated her at in the poem was in fact a critique of the deadening effects of traditional femininity.