The Lesbian Muse and Poetic Identity, 1889-1930

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The book explores the historical portrayal of the poetic muse as a passive female figure, contrasting it with the male poet. It examines how late Victorian and twentieth-century women poets reclaimed this role, analyzing fin-de-siècle and modernist lyric poets. Key strategies identified include redefining the muse as a contemporary figure, portraying the muse as male, and establishing a reciprocal relationship between poet and muse, thus granting agency to both. This analysis highlights the evolution of female representation in poetry.