The Polemics of Rachel Speght

Rachel Speght (1597-?) was the first Englishwoman to identify herself as a polemicist and critic of contemporary gender ideology. This study discusses both her tract, "A Mouzell for Melastomus" (1617) and her volume of poetry, "Mortalities Memorandum, with a Dreame Prefixed" (1612).

Rachel Speght (1597?-?) is the first Englishwoman to identify herself, unapologetically and by name, as a polemicist and critic of contemporary gender ideology. Her tract, A Mouzell for Melastomus (1617), is at once a spirited answer to Joseph Swetnam''s very popular treatise attacking women (1617) and also a serious effort to stake women''s claim to prevailing Protestant discourse of biblical exegesis, forcing it to yield a more expansive and more suitable concept of women''s nature and role. Her volume of poetry, Mortalities Memorandum, with a Dreame Prefixed (1612), includes a long memento mori meditation and an allegorical dream vision that recounts her own rapturous encounter with learning. Both vigorously defend women''s education and the encouragement of women''s talent.

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