
791 Emilia Lanier (a.k.a Aemilia Bassano Lanyer) Revisited
From The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate
April 9, 2026 · 1h 7m · Episode 791
About this episode
This episode revisits Aemilia Bassano Lanyer, the first Englishwoman to publish a volume of poetry, exploring her life and connections to Shakespeare.
The "Forgotten Women of Literature" series continues with a look at Aemilia Bassano Lanyer (1569-1645), the first Englishwoman to publish a volume of poetry, the protofeminist Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611), which tells the story of Christ's crucifixion from a woman's perspective. In addition to her many accomplishments and incredible life story, Lanyer has tantalizingly close connections to William Shakespeare, causing Jacke (and other scholars) to examine whether she might have been the inspiration for the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets. [This episode originally ran on September 15, 2020. It has been chosen by a guest as one of his top ten favorite History of Literature Podcast episodes.] Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate . The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Jacke Wilson
Topics covered
- Aemilia Bassano Lanyer
- women in literature
- Shakespeare
- poetry
- feminism
- historical figures
Keywords
- Aemilia Bassano Lanyer
- Shakespeare
- poetry
- feminism
- women in literature
- historical analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Podglomerate
Books & works: Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum
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