Performance Of Personas In Mary Robinson's Poetry

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Art Imitates Life: Performance of Personas in Mary Robinson’s Poetry Women writers of the Romantic period could never separate themselves from their body of work in the public eye. For Mary Robinson, it was both a blessing and a curse throughout her literary career. Robinson used her infamous reputation to her own will, taking on the persona of a prostitute or a damsel, exploiting her failed romantic exploits with royalty to draw in an audience. Moreover, however, using her reputation to tempt the people’s curiosities opened Robinson up to a lot of social criticism – her profession and sharing of her personal backstory affiliated her with prostitution. Although the controversy attached to her name may have conspired some grief in her literary