Stanzas of Woe, Stanzas of Anger: Ann Yearsley and Poetry as Complaint and Instruction

ABSTRACT After servants of the former Bristol Mayor terrorized and beat her sons, Ann Yearsley found she did not have the money or clout to continue with an official legal complaint. She could, however, make her complaint in print, writing Stanzas of Woe (1790). This understudied short volume serves as a complaint against Levi Eames, as it details her and her sons' experiences with his servants as well as her emotional distress. This essay explores Yearsley's attempts to express her anger and sorrow, and to win public opinion. It argues that Stanzas of Woe is more than complaint: it is also didactic literature, offering instruction in human connections. If the anger percolating through the volume reflects Yearsley's hurt, her advocacy of connection seeks to teach Eames and other readers to engage in kinder treatment of others. After considering the structure of the volume and its place in Yearsley studies, the essay looks more closely at the title poem, analyzing how Yearsley mixes instruction with complaint. As a way of understanding the success of her complaint, the end of the essay looks at contemporary reviews of the volume.