Mary Masters facts for kids
Mary Masters (1694?-1759?) was an English poet and letter-writer of the 18th century, who has gained some historic attention because of her association with Samuel Johnson. Contemporary evaluations stress her contribution to the evolving model of women in society, both by her publishing her work, and by the themes and opinions in that work.
Biography
Despite this, she seems to have been known to many of the literati of the day, whose names are listed as subscribers to her two collections. James Boswell records that Dr. Johnson, whom she occasionally visited, revised her volumes and "illuminated them here and there with a ray of his own genius"; that association on its own, and the entry on Boswell's Life appear to have given Masters' name (if not her life and work) some historical currency. She is also associated with editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, Edward Cave, and whose house was one of a number in which she resided when visiting London.
In her Familiar Letters and Poems upon several Occasions (London, 1755) there are three "Short ...", the first of which, the well-known 'Tis religion that can give Sweetest pleasures while we live, has been adopted in many hymnals. The original consists of six lines only; two more were added in John Rippon's Selection of Hymns (1787), and the eight lines divided into two stanzas, in which form the hymn is now known. ..... She is spoken of, in the Monthly Review, as "chaste, moral, and religious", and "an agreeable and ingenious writer".
She is noted as a letter-writer, and in her epistles expresses proto-feminist views.
She is supposed to have died about 1759.
Works
Mary published two books of poetry, both by subscription:
- Poems on several occasions (1733)
- Familiar Letters and Poems on Several Occasions (1755),
See also
- List of 18th-century British working-class writers
