Charlotte Smith's Background

• Charlotte Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. Major contributor to the revival of the English sonnet, wrote many political novels of sensibility- a character trait important in the mid to late 18th century which meant one was attuned with nature and was easily and rightly affected by the feelings of others. 
• Smith was born May 4th 1749 into a wealthy family, but her father's irresponsible spending forced her to marry early at a very early age. The marriage she later described to be prostitution, was a violent one full of marital discord with a man named Benjamin Smith. Her unhappiness and violence within her marriage leads me to think it fueled the fire within in her for truth, reason and equality in the world. Set her apart from many females in her time!
• Charlotte Smith eventually left Benjamin Smith and began writing to support her twelve children she had with him. Not only was this very brave of her, but also extremely uncommon because women of her time never left their husbands or had the courage to do so. 
• Smith's struggle to provide for her many children and numerous attempts to gain legal protection provided many of the themes of her poetry and novels. *Supporting my observation of Smith's incorporation of her own personal life.
•  Portraits of herself and family in her works provided many details of her life. Unlike other   authors.
• Very successful writer, publishing ten novels, three books of poetry, four children's books, and other assorted works, over the course of her career.
• Majority of Smith's novels were autobiographical. Prefaces to Smith's novels told the story of her own struggles she had faced, including the death of several of her children.
• Repetitive theme of her novels included vocal critic of the laws that had kept her and her children in poverty. Reflection of the revolutionary spirit perhaps?? A definite fight for rights for all.
• Smith's Poetry: Signed herself "Charlotte Smith of Bignor Park" on the title page of Elegiac Sonnets. All works of poetry were published under her own name (VERY daring decision for a woman at the time) 
• Though her novels ranked in much more cash, throughout her career Smith identified herself as a poet, because she believed her poetry would bring her respectability. 
• Smith became involved with English radicals while living in Brighton from 1791-1793. She supported the French Revolution and its republican principles. 
• Her novel Desmond tells the story of a man who journeys to revolutionary France and is convinced of the rightness of the revolution and contends that England should be reformed as well. The novel was published in June 1792, a year before France and England went to war and before the Reign of Terror began, which shocked the British public, turning them against the revolutionaries. 
• Smith's experiences prompted her to argue for legal reforms that would grant women more rights, making the case for these reforms through her novels. Smith's stories showed the "legal, economic, and sexual exploitation" of women by marriage and property laws. 

All information from the post found at:

 http://www.poemhunter.com/charlotte-smith/biography/

Drum roll please...

Today marks day one of my research process on Charlotte Smith (1749-1806):

After exploring the works of various romantic authors in my British Literature book the one that appealed to me the most was Charlotte Smith. Though I was previously unfamiliar with her works, I found her poetry and boasts on equality very intriguing. From the start of my research blog, I had decided I really wanted to select an author that produced deep, meaningful poetry. Charlotte Smith seemed to fit that mold almost perfectly with the interesting motives she possessed in all of her writing. Much of her work was considered to reflect the views of Mary Wollstonecraft and Anna Levitia Barbauld, which were both feminist authors I have previously read. This connection makes me feel like I can empathize much better with Smith and her poetry from already learning about how the woman of her time really felt. In fact, in my literature book I recently read that Mary Wollstonecraft and Anna Levitia Barbauld were both major influences and inspirations in Charlotte Smith's writing. Their contributions to the revival of sonnet form in poetry served as a major contribution to the romantic era of literature. I enjoyed reading the works of Smith because though she had a constant theme of typical romantic characteristics in her works, she also incorporated her own personal life. This greatly questioned the gender roles of her time by using a common time-honored form of writing to create powerful meaning. I have found her style extremely inventive and inspiring. In addition to the deep and powerful meanings woven into her works, Smith's emphasis on nature and it's importance reflected numerous romantic beliefs while also transforming her poetry into a beautiful arrangement of words. Her interesting observations and questions that arise from reading her works makes me excited to further explore and research them. 

New at this, but excited to try!

Here on my blog you can explore all of my documented research and questions as I study the works of an author from the romantic period of literature. My indecisiveness has gotten the best of me recently and I'm still trying to choose between a handful of authors I would enjoy learning more about. In my next blog I will inform you of who that is, and explain why I chose that particular author to research.