Calvin, Lock, and Lanyer Assignment
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Lecture_Lock.pptxAnne Vaughan Lock
Life
Anne Vaughan Lock Dering Prowse was born around 1534 into a Protestant social circle.
Her parents were both insiders of Henry VIII’s court; her father was famously tasked with bringing William Tyndale back from the continent, a mission that ultimately failed.
Her father benefitted from the dissolution of the monasteries, receiving church property in what is now Spitalfields, London. He is known for evangelizing to those around him, including his tenants.
In 1549 Anne Vaughan married Henry Lock.
During this time, Anne began a friendship with John Knox, a Scottish reformation thinker highly influential to the English Reformation.
Knox encouraged Anne to go to Geneva for more pure religious surroundings.
John Knox
Lock left for Geneva in 1557 during the Marian regime.
Lock continued a correspondence with John Knox, letters that reveal “a strong woman dedicated to the Protestant cause and actively loyal to it.”1
While in Geneva, Lock translated several of Calvin’s theological tracts into English, and appended her own “Meditation of a Penitent Sinner.”
“A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner”
Anne Vaughan Lock wrote the first sonnet sequence in English.
This sonnet sequence, “A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner,” is 26 sonnets long, 5 of which are the Prefatory Sonnets.
This series is framed as a paraphrase of Psalm 51, but they are actually very personal.
Paraphrase and translation of religious texts were common literary activities for women during the Early Modern period, but the effect of these works has been commonly underestimated. The act of paraphrase and translation provides an opening for literary intervention, and the voices of these female authors are quite distinct in their works, even though they represent their own as derivative of the original.
Lock’s paraphrase is distinct in its degree of representation. The extremely personal nature captures a voice that cannot be attributed merely to the original Psalm.
Anne Vaughan Lock had 4 children with Henry Lock, 3 of whom survived to adulthood: Henry, Anne, and Michaell.
When Anne’s husband died in 1571, she married Edward Dering that same year.
By 1579, Dering had died, and Anne married Richard Prowse.
Anne continued her translation work throughout her life, publishing additional translations until 1590.
Sometime thereafter Anne died, but there is no official record of her death.
Women’s Writing in the Early Modern Period
There were many female authors working during the Early Modern period, including Mary Sidney, Elizabeth Cary, Mary Wroth, Aphra Behn, Margaret Cavendish, and Jane Cavendish.
These major figures produced original poetry, prose, and drama.
Mary Sidney
Margaret Cavendish
Aphra Behn
But much more widespread were other literary efforts by women, including translation and paraphrase of religious texts.
This work was considered “safer” and more in line with the traditional roles of women.
However, we should not underestimate the literary value of translation and paraphrase, because the very act of translation requires the original interventions of the author. Thus, we get multivocal texts – that is, where we can hear the voices of both the original (i.e. Jean Calvin) and the translator.
Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife, and Elizabeth I were both known translators of religious texts. Their translations were widely distributed, and therefore highly influential.
Conclusions
Anne Vaughan Lock (her name takes this form because her greatest literary work was produced during the time that this would have been her primary name) wrote an important series of poems that expands on the more “traditional” literary role of women during this time period.
While women were not excluded from other original literary forms, like poetry and drama, Lock’s work is important in the ways it expands paraphrase and translation.
Through her poetry, we can witness a very personal religious experience that invokes Psalm 51 but incorporates very particular experiences and representations of religious struggle.
Religious struggle is a very common theme, one we will encounter multiple times this semester.
References
1. Felch, Susan. “Introduction.” Lock, Anne Vaughan, and Susan M. Felch. The Collected Works of Anne Vaughan Lock. 21.;185.; Vol. Tempe, Ariz: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1999. Print.
