Date: 1796, 1806

"Ambition!--not that emulative zeal Which wings the tow'ring souls of godlike men! / But bold, oppressive, self-created pow'r, / That, trampling o'er the barrier of the laws, / And scattering wide the tender shoots of pity, / Strikes at the root of reason, and confines / Nature itself in bondage!"

— Robinson [Née Darby], Mary [Perdita] (1758-1800)

Date: 1797

"Fear thee, O Death!--Or hug the chains that bind / To joyless, cheerless life, her sick, reluctant mind?"

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1797

"Thus man, the giant who now held her in captivity, would shrink to the diminutiveness of a fairy; and she would experience, that his utmost force was unable to enchain her soul, or compel her to fear him, while he was destitute of virtue."

— Radcliffe [née Ward], Ann (1764-1823)

Date: 1806

"The savage cheek / Smiles at the potent spoiler; braves his frown; / And while the partial gloom is most opake, / Still vaunts the mind unfetter'd!"

— Robinson [Née Darby], Mary [Perdita] (1758-1800)

Date: 1806

"The savage cheek / Smiles at the potent spoiler; braves his frown; / And while the partial gloom is most opake, / Still vaunts the mind unfetter'd!"

— Robinson [Née Darby], Mary [Perdita] (1758-1800)

Date: 1825

"This hallowed day, in Hymen's golden bands / Which joined consenting hearts and willing hands."

— Barbauld, Anna Letitia [née Aikin] (1743-1825)

Date: w. c. 1789, published 1825

"Dost thou not see,--or art thou blind with age,-- / How many Graces on her eyelids sit, / Linking those viewless chains that bind the soul, / And sharpening smooth discourse with pointed wit."

— Barbauld, Anna Letitia [née Aikin] (1743-1825)