Monna Innominata: Sonnets and Songs (Old World Series)

93, [1] pp. A collection of verse by the pre-Raphaelite author who also wrote the lyrics to two British Christmas carols. "Monna Innominata was first published in 1881, the same year in which Dante Gabriel's The House of Life appeared in its entirety. Therefore, it is tempting to read Christina's sonnet sequence as a response to her brother's. Indeed, in brief prose introduction to the sonnets, Christina refers to a male literary tradition of the glorification of women. However, as Christina indicates, these women "have come down to us resplendent wich charms, but (at least, to my apprehension) scant of attractiveness." In other words, though the physical beauty of women idealized in sonnets such as those which comprise The House of Life is painstakingly chronicled, these women rarely receive the opportunity to speak directly to the reader. Therefore, they have "charms,"but no "attractiveness,"since it is impossible to reconstruct the mutual attraction between these "donne innominate"and their male admirers. "Monna Innominata" is an explicit attempt to correct this ludicrous literary tradition. Therefore, Christina proposes a hypothetical situation in which a woman who "shares her lover's poetic aptitude""speaks for herself."" - The Victorian Web