The Polemics & Poems of Rachel Speght

Rachel Speght (1597?-?) is the first Englishwoman to identify herself unapologetically and by name as a polemicist and critic of contemporary gender ideology. Her tract A Mouzell for Melastomus (1617) is at once a spirited answer to Joseph Swetnam''s very popular treatise attacking women (1617) and also a serious effort to stake women''s claim to prevailing Protestant discourse of biblical exegesis forcing it to yield a more expansive and more suitable concept of women''s nature and role. Her volume of poetry Mortalities Memorandum with a Dreame Prefixed (1612) includes a long memento mori mediation and an allegorical dream vision that recounts her own rapturous encounter with learning. Both vigorously defend women''s education and the encouragement of women''s talent.