Distilling Grief: Lucy Hutchinson’s Elegies and Alchemy

Abstract

This paper explores how Lucy Hutchinson used alchemical imagery to illustrate her evolving grief in her Elegies. An early form of chemistry, alchemy was thought to be not only purifying and healing but also deceptive and harmful. Hutchinson’s grief is similarly mutable, she suggests, as she traces her fluctuating emotions in the wake of her husband’s death. Even as she stresses the isolating nature of her mourning, her alchemical language highlights her engagement with other writers, including John Donne. She adapts Donne’s lyrics to suit her own poetic aims, echoing his alchemical language to add nuance to her depictions of her grief.

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