Behn, Aphra - V. Sackville-West (essay date 1928)

V. Sackville-West (essay date 1928)

SOURCE: "Works: The Poet," in Aphra Behn: The Incomparable Astrea, The Viking Press, 1928, pp. 157-63.

[Vita Sackville-West was an English poet, novelist, biographer, and essayist. In the following excerpt, she judges whether Behn should more appropriately be considered a poet or a songwriter.]

Much has been written about Mrs. Behn as a playwright, and as a novelist she has been mentioned from time to time, but as a poet she has scarcely been mentioned at all. "Love in fantastic triumph sate,"—how many people can quote beyond that first splendid line? Yet she herself claimed that poetry was her talent, so it seems fair to examine, now that she is no longer there to speak for herself, what justification she had for that arrogance. I cannot help having some respect for the opinion that writers hold of themselves, even though their judgment almost invariably prove to be wrong. Had she said song-writer,...

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