Hester Chapone is best remembered as an influential writer in the 18th century, particularly for her conduct literature and moral essays. Although she was born and lived in England, her works were widely read and respected in the early American colonies, influencing many American poets and writers. While Chapone is not typically categorized as an American poet in the strict national sense, her intellectual and literary impact was significant in shaping early American poetry, especially among women writers who admired her style, ideas, and moral clarity. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider her a literary figure of transatlantic importance whose poetic and prose contributions echo in the context of 18th Century American Poets.
This article explores Hester Chapone’s life, her literary output with a focus on poetry, her influence on American poetry, and her comparison with American contemporaries such as Jane Colman Turell, Elizabeth Grainger, and Phillis Wheatley. It argues for her inclusion in the wider literary discourse surrounding 18th Century American Poets, not as a national representative, but as a transatlantic voice that shaped poetic ideals in the new world.
Hester Chapone
Hester Chapone was born Hester Mulso in 1727 in Twywell, Northamptonshire, England. She grew up in a well-educated and morally conscientious family. From a young age, she showed an interest in literature, philosophy, and writing. Despite the constraints placed upon women during the 18th century, she found ways to educate herself and produce thoughtful works that would later influence many readers, including those in the American colonies.
Chapone married briefly and tragically lost her husband within months. This short-lived marriage did not deter her from continuing her intellectual pursuits. She maintained correspondence with prominent literary figures, including Samuel Richardson and Elizabeth Carter. Her most famous prose work, Letters on the Improvement of the Mind, was aimed at young women and quickly became influential in both England and America.
While Chapone is primarily known for prose, her poetic works are often overlooked. Her poetry includes elegies, devotional pieces, and reflections on the human condition. These themes were commonly echoed by early American poets, especially those writing from a moral or religious standpoint.
Chapone’s Poetry and Its Themes
Chapone’s poetry reflects the Enlightenment ideals of reason, virtue, and moral clarity, often expressed through simple diction and elegant form. Her poems are typically meditative, religious, or instructive. Some poems reflect personal loss, such as those written after the death of her husband, while others offer didactic messages on virtue, the soul, and the afterlife.
In one of her most reflective poems, “An Invocation to Wisdom,” Chapone seeks divine guidance and spiritual enlightenment. She writes:
“Lead me, O Wisdom, through the maze
Of mortal error, pride, and praise;
That I may live, and love, and see
The path of truth revealed to me.”
This devotional tone and moral purpose align with the thematic concerns of 18th Century American poetry, particularly among Puritan-influenced poets such as Jane Colman Turell. Like Turell, Chapone’s verse reveals a religious seriousness and commitment to improving the soul through reasoned reflection.
The Influence of Chapone on 18th Century American Poetry
Though Chapone was British, her works were widely read in early America. Her prose was used in the education of young women, and her poetry often appeared in anthologies and moral readers on both sides of the Atlantic. For American poets such as Sarah Osborn and Mercy Otis Warren, Chapone’s example was instructive. She showed that a woman could write with moral authority and poetic elegance without defying societal norms.
In particular, Chapone’s focus on religious themes, the soul’s development, and moral duty resonated strongly with American poetry of the 18th century. The American colonies, especially in New England, were deeply influenced by Puritan theology, which emphasized personal piety, discipline, and introspection. Chapone’s poems, even when written in a more Anglican or Enlightenment-inflected idiom, were accessible to American readers and compatible with their values.
Moreover, Chapone’s clear, simple style was well-suited to early American tastes. Her avoidance of excessive ornamentation made her poetry easy to understand and widely appreciated. This clarity and didacticism were characteristic of many 18th Century American poets, who saw poetry as a means of moral instruction rather than mere entertainment.
Comparison with Jane Colman Turell
Jane Colman Turell, an 18th Century American poet, was a clergyman’s daughter and an avid reader of devotional literature. Like Chapone, she wrote from a deep religious conviction. Turell’s poems often reflect on sin, grace, and divine judgment. Her poem, “To My Muse,” for example, pleads for inspiration rooted in moral virtue rather than secular fame.
Chapone and Turell shared a concern with moral improvement, the soul’s journey, and the dangers of vanity. Both wrote in rhymed couplets and adhered to traditional forms. However, while Chapone’s religious tone is rational and measured, reflecting Enlightenment ideals, Turell’s is more Calvinist, emphasizing human depravity and divine grace.
Despite these theological differences, both poets occupy similar cultural positions. They are female voices advocating moral reflection in a male-dominated literary sphere. They use poetry to educate rather than merely to entertain. Their verses offer insight into the role of women in shaping the moral fabric of their societies—one in England, the other in colonial America.
Chapone and Phillis Wheatley: Different Paths to Recognition
Phillis Wheatley, one of the most well-known 18th Century American poets, was an African woman enslaved in Boston who gained literary fame for her elegant neoclassical verse. Wheatley’s poetry also emphasized moral reflection, religious faith, and the value of learning. Like Chapone, she was educated and admired for her literary abilities in both America and England.
Despite the vast differences in their lives—Chapone being a middle-class Englishwoman and Wheatley being an enslaved African—there are thematic and stylistic similarities. Both poets favored classical allusions and used formal poetic structures. Both employed poetry as a way to promote virtue and moral development.
However, Wheatley’s poetic voice was shaped by her identity and social conditions. She often had to justify her right to write poetry, something Chapone did not face to the same extent. Chapone, though limited by her gender, was able to publish freely and correspond with other intellectuals. Wheatley, in contrast, had to submit to examinations and prefaces to prove her authorship.
Nevertheless, Chapone’s influence on the American literary world was such that even poets like Wheatley would have encountered her ideas, if not her poetry directly, through shared educational texts and transatlantic discourse.
Chapone’s Reception in Early America
Chapone’s Letters on the Improvement of the Mind was published in America shortly after its English release and remained in print well into the 19th century. This book shaped generations of young women and was considered essential reading in both English and American households. It emphasized rational piety, self-control, and the importance of education for women.
Her poetry, though less widely known, appeared in literary collections and was admired for its moral clarity and dignified tone. American anthologists often included her poems alongside those of American writers, suggesting that her work was seen as compatible with American literary values.
In this way, Hester Chapone’s poetry helped define the moral and aesthetic standards of early American poetry. Her example encouraged American women to write, to reflect, and to contribute to the public moral discourse.
Chapone’s Legacy in the American Literary Canon
While Hester Chapone is not a household name today, her influence in shaping the ethical and poetic ideals of early America is undeniable. She stands as a figure whose writing crossed the Atlantic and helped define what it meant to be an educated, moral woman in a rapidly changing world. Her prose taught women how to think, and her poetry showed them how to feel with dignity and purpose.
As more scholars revisit the contributions of women to early literature, Chapone’s poetry deserves renewed attention—not only in British literary history but in the context of 18th Century American poets. Her style, themes, and influence helped shape the poetic imagination of the colonial and early national periods in America.
Conclusion
Hester Chapone, though born in England, can rightly be considered a foundational figure in the moral and poetic education of early American readers. Her writing shaped the moral ideals of women in the American colonies and offered a poetic model grounded in clarity, virtue, and religious sentiment. Her poems, while few in number, resonate with the values of early American poetry, especially among women writers seeking to express their inner lives with dignity and purpose.
By comparing her work with other 18th Century American poets, such as Jane Colman Turell and Phillis Wheatley, we see how her influence bridged continents and contributed to a broader cultural movement in which poetry served as a guide to moral life. In this sense, Hester Chapone may be embraced as part of the wider American poetic tradition, offering transatlantic insight into the shared literary values of the Enlightenment age.
Her contribution to American poetry lies not in national identity but in literary spirit. In that spirit, she stands among the early voices that helped shape y virtue, clarity, and moral reflection.
