At a time when a woman speaking before a mixed-gender audience risked acquiring the label promiscuous, thousands of women presented their views about social or moral issues through sentimental poetry, a blend of affect with intellect that allowed their participation in public debate. Bridging literary and rhetorical histories, traditional and semiotic interpretations, Antebellum American Women's Poetry: A Rhetoric of Sentimentexplores an often overlooked, yet significant and persuasive pre Civil War American discourse.
Considering the logos, ethos, and pathos...