Biography
Katherine Philips, known as "The Matchless Orinda," is a famous author known for founding The Society of Friendship. The writings of Philips are similar to that of Mary Sidney Herbert. The Society of Friendship was a literary correspondence circle of friends who took pseudonyms. Well over half of Philips' work was dedicated to Anne Owen, also known as Lucasia, and a member of The Society of Friendship. Philips and Owen obviously shared a deeply emotional relationship, but whether or not their relationship was physical remains unknown. Philips said during her lifetime, the love between women was a pure love, platonic love uncorrupted by sexual desires.
Poems
Friendship's Mystery, To my Dearest Lucasia:
- This poem uses a lot of love and religious language
- Alchemical metaphors are present in this poem
- Alchemy: the conversion of base metals to gold by using "the philosopher's stone"
- Just as Philips describes turing metal into gold, Philips also uses this metal transformation as a metaphor for religious transformation in a person
- Throughout our lives, we move from un-pure to pure
On the Welsh Language:
- Philips says name and reputation are important
- Philips describes England's overtaking by Rome
- Rome conquered Athens and Britain in the 14th century
- Philips asks, "What Wales gave to England?"
- A beautiful language
- Philips asks, "When one country crushes another, what is left?"
- This is the type of poem typically written by a man
Epitaph:
- This poem is written to Philips' son who died six weeks after birth
- Philips' son broke through the prison shell of Earth
- Philips must have had a difficult life because the pressure of not having a male heir as a "high-born" woman for seven years would be socially and culturally difficult
- God may have called Philips' baby home because he was too good for this world
- "The Prison" is the human, physical body
- In this poem, God is the Alchemist converting Philips' baby into Heaven
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