KATHERINE PHILIPS: A CRITICAL EDITION OF THE POETRY by REBECCA LYNN TATE, B.A.. M.A. A DISSERTATION IN ENGLISH Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Copyright 1991, REBECCA LYNN TATE ACKNOWLEOGNENTS I am indebted to my director, Dr. Ernest W. Sullivan, II, for his guidance, encourageinent, and diligent work throughout the process of researching, writing, and revising this edition. I would like to thank him for his patience, availability, and expertise, and for being such an exemplary role model; his excellence as a teacher and as a scholar has been a source of inspiration to me throughout my graduate career at Texas Tech University. In addition, I wish to thank the other members of my committee for carefully, thoroughly, and patiently reviewing the drafts for this lengthy edition: Dr. Leon Higdon, Dr. Donald Rude, Dr. Richard Crider, and Dr. Nary NcBride. I wish also to acknowledge and thank those who provided funding for this research: the English Department at Texas Tech for purchas- ing microfilms; the Texas Tech University Women for Paul Whitfield Horn Fellowships in the spring and fall of 1987; and Nidland College for a paid sabbatical. I am very grateful to the staffs of the Bodleian, Cardiff City, Balliol College, British, Texas Tech, and University of Texas (Henry Ransom Center) libraries for their kind help. I particularly want to thank the staff at the National Library of Wales for their generous attention during my four weeks' study there. I also appreciate those libraries which sent microfilms and photographs of the artifacts: Duke University, Folger Shakespeare, Harvard University, Henry E. Huntington, Princeton University, University of Kentucky, University ii of Nottingham, University of Virginia, University of Nashington, and Yale University libraries. The following individuals have also made major contributions to the completion of this edition: ny devoted friend Aline Collins, whose selfless and unflagging help were absolutely essential; Reta and Bob Carter, who provided me with room, board, and encouragement during several months of intense study; my parents Elsie and Clyde Tate, for their emotional and financial support; and my husband Kim Dement, for his understanding, patience, and help. ni TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGNENTS 11 LIST OF SIGLA PREFACE V 11 VOLUNE ONE CHAPTER I. A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF KATHERINE PHILIPS II. A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO THE POETRY 12 III. GENERAL TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION 42 BIBLIOGRAPHY 158 THE TEXT: POENS #l-#55 163 VOLUNE TWO THE TEXT: POENS #56-#138 502 IV LIST OF ARTIFACT SIGLA Nanuscripts; 017 NS Locke e.17, Bodleian Library, Oxford 020 Pr. Bk. Firth b.20, Bodleian Library, Oxford 024 Orielton Estate NSS Parcel 24, National Library of Wales 107 NS 2.1073, Cardiff City Library 151 NS 151 pre-1700, Henry Ransom Center, University of Texas 183 NS 183, Huntington Library 207 NS b.207, Osborn Collection, Yale University Library 218 NS 21867 B, National Library of Wales 306 NS Tanner 306/Vol. 2, Bodleian Library, Oxford 336 NS 336, Balliol College, Oxford 338 NS PwV 338, Portland Collection, University of Nottingham Library 376 NS Loan 37/6, British Library 690 Harley NS 6900, British Library 694 Harley NS 6947, British Library 775 NS 775 B, National Library of Wales 776 NS 776 B, National Library of Wales Printed Texts: 63D Katherine Philips, Pompev (Dublin, 1663). 63L Katherine Philips, Pompey (London, 1663). 64 Katherine Philips, Poems (London, 1664). 67 Katherine Philips, Poems (London, 1667). 69 Katherine Philips, Poems (London, 1669) 78 Katherine Philips, Poems (London, 1678) VI PREFACE Katherine Philips was a poet writing during the Comraonwealth and early Restoration Periods. During her brief lifetime (1632-1664), Philips became one of the first woraen in England to publish poetry on secular topics and one of England's first women of letters. How- ever, there is stiU no reliable edition of her poetry that presents her complete canon and that presents her texts as near as possible to the author's originals. The first edition, published in 1664 shortly before her death, was a pirated one, and the 1667 edition, prepared by her literary executor, shows significant editorial intrusion. Other seventeenth-century editions were raerely reprints of the 1667 edition. The purpose of this edition, then, is to provide the coraplete canon of Katherine Philips' poetry in a reliable text that is as near as possible to what the author originally wrote. This edition consists of three introductory chapters followed by the text. The first introductory chapter presents a brief biography of Philips. The second chapter is a critical introduction to the poetry that briefly explores Philips' use of various genres, themes, motifs, and influences. This chapter also discusses Philips' society of friendship. The third chapter is a general textual introduction that outlines editorial procedure and describes the artifacts collated in the edition. This chapter also analyzes Philips' raethod of circu- lating her poems and the complex relationships among the artifacts. The section following the three introductory chapters is the text of the edition which contains 138 poems by Katherine Philips, including • • vii the translations fron French and Italian, the act songs fron Pompey, and Philips' juvenalia and dubia. Each poem contains a three-part textual apparatus: a brief textual introduction, the text of the poem with emendations noted, and a historical collation of the sub- stantive variants. vin VOLUNE ONE CHAPTER I A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF KATHERINE PHILIPS Katherine Phîlips was born January 1, 1631/32 (see title of poem #94), into a middle class Puritan faraily in Bucklersbury, London. Her Puritan father John Fowler was a cloth raerchant (Souers 7-8) who in 1642 invested 200 pounds in the Company of Adventurers, hoping to re- ceive 1000 acres of confiscated Catholic land in Ireland in return for his investment (Pendergast 423). Her mother Katherine Oxenbridge carae frora a staunch Puritan faraily. This family included Philips' great grandfather John Oxenbridge, an early Independent (Cooper 203-04). In addition, her Aunt Elizabeth was the third wife to Oliver St. John, a leading Parliamentarian and Cromwell's close advisor (Souers 16); her uncle John Oxenbridge was a noted Puritan preacher (Cooper 206-15); and her uncle Clement Oxenbridge was a civil servant during the Interregnura (Aylmer 230). The instructor of Katherine Philips' early education was her cousin Nrs. Blackett. She lived with the Fowler family from Philips' infancy and taught Philips to read and write. Aubrey notes in his biography of Philips that Nrs. Blackett attested to her student's intelligence and piety: "she had read the Bible thorough before she was full foure yeares old; she could have sayd I know not how many places of Scripture and chapters. She . had an excellent raeraory and could have brought away a sermon in her memory" (2:153-54). In 1640 at the age of eight, Philips was sent to Nrs. Salmon's school in Hackney (Aubrey 153; Souers 20) where she raanifested her inclination toward poetry. Aubrey notes that Philips "Loved poetrey at schoole, and nade verses there" (153). In fact, sone juvenalia, poens #128 and #129, are extant. In addition to developing her love of poetry at school, she also met two girls there who became her life- long friends. One of these was Nary Aubrey, called Rosania, cousin of John Aubrey. Another was Nary Harvey, later to become Lady Dering, wife of Sir Edward Dering (Aubrey 153; Souers 46, 69). These two friends were probably Philips' earliest Royalist influences and prob- ably provided later contacts with other Royalists. In 1646, Philips left Nrs. Salmon's schooi to acconpany her nother to Picton Castle in Penbrokeshire, Wales (Souers 20-21). John Fowler had died on Decenber 20, 1642 (Souers 10), but Philips had renained in school until her nother's second narriage to Sir Richard Phillipps of 1 Picton Castle. Through Sir Richard, Philips net her future hus- band, Colonel Janes Philips of Cardigan Priory. Sir Richard thought highly of Janes Philips: he was descended fron another branch of Sir Richard's fanily, and his first wife was Sir Richard's dead daughter Frances. In addition, Janes Philips was a successful nan and a pron- inent Parliamentarian. So even though he was considerably older than Philips (he was 54; she was 16), he was considered a good raatch. They 1 Claudia Linbert in "Katherine Philips: Another Step-Father and Another Sibling 'Nrs C: P.,' and'Polex:r'" Restoration: Studies in Enfilish Literarv Culture. 1660-1700 13 (Spring 1989):2-3, claims that Philips' mother's marriage to Sir Richard was her third marriage in- stead of her second and that her second husband's name was Henley. Limbert offers as proof a fiill of Conplaint filed by Erasnus Phillips, son of Sir Richard, in which he identifies Philips' nother as Katherine Henley. were narried in August 1648 (Souers 22-23; Chester and Arnytage 1: 281-82), and Philips becane step-nother to Janes* infant daughter Prances. After their narriage, the Philipses noved to Cardigan Priory where Philips, in spite of her Puritan upbringing and her narriage to a Par- lianentarian, becane a Royalist in her synpathies. As her husband be- cane nore and nore successful as a Parlianentarian (he becane the High Sheriff of Cardiganshire in 1649, was appointed to the High Court of Justice in 1651, and served continuously in Parlianent fron 1653 to 1660 [Willians 30]), Philips became more and nore Royalist in her syn- pathies. Her change of heart seems not to have been caused by a single event but rather by the steady influence of her friends. Her dearest friend at the time, Nary Aubrey (Rosania), cane from a Welsh fanily of Royalist sympathizers; her father, Sir John Aubrey of Llantrithyd was a leading Cavalier (Souers 46); thus, it is likely that Nary Aubrey was one of Philips' connections to other Welsh Royalists.