This essay examines Mary Wortley Montagu's self-representation in her letters, in the context of literature, history, and culture, especially her literal and metaphorical translations of a Turkish love lyric in Letter XXX, to Alexander Pope, in the spring of 1717. Beginning with a survey of recent feminist and postcolonial criticism in Montagu studies, I continue beyond those perspectives to study Montagu's own words as she presents herself and her purpose in the letter, and as she makes use of tropes of foreignness, literary tradition, and artistic merit. Along with a consideration of feminist interpretations of Montagu, this essay contributes a historical and cultural approach to the poet’s role, and the political resonance of her choice to translate this Turkish lyric.
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Citation: Elizabeth Kelley Bowman, “The Poet as Translator: Mary Wortley Montagu Approaches the Turkish Lyric," Comparative Literature Studies 49 (2012): 28 MS. pages. [Issue number to be determined.]
