| The classics are an important component of the African American literary tradition. This study examines how women, specifically women of color, have published texts based on classical sources and reclaimed the classical tradition. When women writers re-present classical narratives they do so in a fashion that differs from the male counterparts of their eras. They challenge male-based stereotypes of classical figures and use classical genres to reflect the experiences of women. Most significantly, by revising classical texts these women (a) speak as laureates or voices of authority in the public sphere and (b) use classical sources to comment on their own cultures and express their own concerns. By examining each woman's contribution to classical revision I hope to offer a new way of understanding and appreciating women's poetry. I begin this study with Aphra Behn because she is one of the first women to fight for the ability to revise and publish classical texts. Other women like Phillis Wheatley, Henrietta Cordelia Ray, and Gwendolyn Brooks use similar strategies to give voice to their visions in particular poems. Because the poets lived in different times, the cultural significance of the classics varies in each case. |
