The Death of Women in Wordsworth, Byron, and Poe

Abstract

This thesis explores and analyzes the portrayal of women, death, and suffering through the experiences of male speakers in William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, and Edgar Allan Poe's poetry. These poets create bereaved male speakers who mourn the loss of a dead woman in order to present themselves as male poets who are capable of showing intense emotions. While all three poets construct speakers who express suffering, each does so differently, each highlighting a different idea about the relationship between death and nature.