Abstract

This study is an attempt to contest the assumption that nineteen century American women poets were sentimental. Accordingly, the main intuition is otherwise; some of these women are highly intellectual and their poetry is not of less vigor and complexity as that of the poetry written by the English metaphysical poets in the second half of seventeenth century England. In order to account for this intuition, the study has tried to delineate the main features of nineteenth century American poetry in order to have them as a yardstick against the wit and the ingenuity of three famous nineteen century American women poets: Emily Dickinson, Helen Jackson and Mary Ritter. To substantiate the study assumption that these poets can aptly be dubbed American metaphysical poets, representative poems for the three writers were analyzed, and it was found out that the poetry of those poets is highly intellectual, both in theme and style.

Key words: Poetic tradition, sentimental poetry; intellectual poetry, elliptical syntax, American metaphysical poetry, Emily Dickson, Helen Hunt Jackson, Mary .L Ritter.