One of the greatest of the nineteenth century British poets was born on the 25 of this month.
Though mainly remembered for a single poem (and most people can not even remember its correct title) she was a major influence on and friend to an amazing number of poets with a greater reputation.
That famous poem is correctly titled Casabianca oldpoetry.com/opoem/26070
Felicia Dorothea Browne was born on 25 September 1793 in Liverpool, England. Her family were well respected within the local community. Her father was a businessman and her mother was the daughter of a former foreign consul to the city.
The family had an extensive library and Felicia was encouraged to make full use of it. She was in fact a precocious child and learned to read at an early age. She also took to writing her own poetry at an early age and the first recorded poem (On My Mother's Birthday oldpoetry.com/opoem/62400 ) was written when she was only eight.
Her father's business circumstances altered and the family moved to Wales the following year (1802) but Felicia's reading and writing continued and she wrote very many more poems in her childhood partly inspired by her reading and also by her interest in the arts which was encouraged by visits to the museums and galleries in London. A collection of these was published in 1808 when she was still only 15 years old. At this time, 3 years after the battle of Trafalgar, Britain was heavily involved in a war against Napoleonic France and 2 of Felicia's brothers were fighting in the army. One in Spain under Sir John Moore. Felicia eagerly devoured all the news she could get on this conflict.
Although still a young girl Felicia wrought a number of poems on a martial theme including the massive England and Spain oldpoetry.com/opoem/62877 written when she was only 14. This was also the year Felicia met the dashing Captain Hemans who she was to marry 5 years later.
The following year the family moved to Flintshire and Felicia increased her studies which now included French. Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German as well as music and art.
At the age of nineteen her second collection was published under the title of Domestic Affections and other poems. This received much better critical reviews. Her Sea-Piece oldpoetry.com/opoem/62878 was included in that publication. Her poetry now included many translations from Italian and Greek works.
Felicia married Captain Alfred Hemans in 1812 and her first child, Arthur, was born the following year. For a short time they had lived in Daventry where Captain Hemans was posted but soon returned to St Asaph were all her subsequent 4 children were born. Married bliss did not seem to last long however since Captain Hemans left for Rome in 1818 and Felicia never saw him again.
During the couples time together at St Asaph Felicia published her poem The Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy. oldpoetry.com/opoem/62879 At this time she was heavily influenced by Byron who actually wrote praising the piece as a good poem and one that he would take with him on his travels.
Felicia also wrote songs and published quite a number at various times. Her first collection was entitled "The Welsh Melodies" and included the charming poem "The Rock of Cader Idris" oldpoetry.com/opoem/62880 concerning the Welsh mountain and the legend that whoever survives a night their wakes either mad or a poet [this writer has tried to test the legend but opinion is divided as to the result].
After the departure of Captain Hemans in 1818 Felicia started to write even more and much of it was for publication in books, magazines and pamphlets. Her output was of such a volume and standard that she was able to support herself in this way. She was also able to pursue her own education by trips abroad.
Mrs Hemans, as she was most often known at that time, also started corresponding with many of the important literary figures of the time such as Joanna Baillie, Anne Grant, M J Jewsbury, Sir Walter Scott, captain Basil Hall, Dorothy and William Wordsworth. Fortunately some of her correspondence with these people has been preserved in the various collections.
Following the loss of her mother in 1827 Mrs Hemans wrote a volume entitled Hymns for Childhood containing such treasures as The Rainbow oldpoetry.com/opoem/43422 .Her own health began to deteriorate and for a while she moved back to Liverpool (Wavertree) but found the society there too provincial and stupid for her tastes (they in turn thought her eccentric). In June 1829 she spent some time visiting Scotland, staying with Sir Walter Scott but returned again to Liverpool. The following year she spent some time in the Lake District with the Wordsworths before returning to Scotland and then via Dublin and Holyhead back to Wales.
By this time she was very ill and in 1831 she leaves the United Kingdom for the last time, moving to Dublin. She continued writing poetry and songs as well as translations from the work of some German authors. Much of this was published.
In 1834 her health takes a marked turn for the worse and despite temporary residence in Wicklow it gets no better and she returns to Dublin. In 1835 she is still actively writing but her health is in a fatal decline. She dictates her last serious poem to her brother on April 26th (Sabbath Sonnet oldpoetry.com/opoem/5274 ), and dies on May 26th. Her remains are interred beneath St Anne's Church in Dublin
The information for this site comes in part from Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemans ) and from A Celebration of Woman Writers (digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html ) but mostly it is from Poems of Felicia Hemans published by William Blackwood and Sons, 1852 edition.
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