Katherine Philips and her Works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Katherine Philips and her Works - Essay Example Philips detached herself from Presbyterian traditions and admired the king and his church policy. Katherine’s mother married a Welshman called Hector Philips after the death of his father John Fowler. When Katherine was sixteen years old, she married James Philips a Welsh parliamentarian in 1647. James Philips was said to be fifty-four years old. However, there was little conflict between Katherine and her husband on political issues in that Katherine was a royalist and James was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell. This division is recorded in her poetry works. Katherine spent most of her time in London through her husband continued to reside in Wales. Her husband encouraged her literary creativity. Katherine had two children a daughter a son. Katherine founded the society of friends, which originated from the cult in Neoplatonic love imported by Henrietta Maria in 1630 where members acquired pseudonyms from French romances of cavalier dramas. Katherine Philips borrowed these ideas and dramatized it in her society of friendship. The society of friendship existed between 1651 and 166. This society helped Katherine to establish a standard in literary skills for generations as she managed to establish herself as a model for female writers after her death. She was regarded as the apostle of female friendship and this attached great respect to her name. Katherine Philip’s home became the center of the group. Actually, she wrote one hundred and sixteen poems, completed five verse translations, and translated two plays by Pierre Corneille from the French between 1606 and 1684. Her plays were produced in public theaters in both London and Dublin becoming the first female dramatists to have her works produced in public. Phillips did not receive any payment for her work, unlike Alpha Behn who is the first woman to write for the English stage as a professional. Anne Owen was the most important female member of the circle of friendship. She was known as Lucasia in  Philips’s poems.