Name Anne Francis | ||
Anne francis tribute
Anne Francis, née Gittins (1738 – 7 November 1800) was an English classical scholar and poet.
Contents
Life
Francis was the daughter of the Rev. Daniel Gittins, rector of South Stoke, near Arundel, Sussex. She was educated by her father in the classics and Hebrew. She married the Rev. Robert Bransby Francis, rector of Edgefield, near Holt, Norfolk.
Though lacking formal classical training, Francis was clearly in contact with the leading Old Testament scholars of the time: her Poetical Translation of the Song of Songs was dedicated to John Parkhurst, and other subscribers included Robert Lowth and Benjamin Kennicott. The Poetical Translation focussed on what she saw as the direct dramatic action of the song, rather than its Christian allegorical interpretation. Taking a cue from Thomas Harmer, Francis distinguished the voice of an 'Egyptian Spouse' from that of a 'Jewish Queen': in this love triangle, Solomon's marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh was resented by an earlier wife. Her translation has not received much continuous attention. Yet in the verdict of one recent commentator, Francis's "insistence on bringing together learning and feeling, what she knew as male and female worlds, makes her Song of Songs an outstanding feminist monument."
She died on 7 November 1800.