page_title: Lydia Sigourney
section_title: Writings and criticism
hierarchical_section_title: Lydia Sigourney / Writings and criticism
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustrated portrait of American writer Lydia Huntley Sigourney (1791–1865). From American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with Over 1,400 Portraits, Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, editors. Mast, Crowell &amp; Kirkpatrick, 1897 (revised edition from 1893), vol. 2, p. 657. Cropped version.
context_page_description: Lydia Huntley Sigourney, née Lydia Howard Huntley, was an American poet during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of Hartford". Most of her works were published with just her married name Mrs. Sigourney.
context_section_description: The main themes of Sigourney's writing include death, responsibility, religion — a strong belief in God and the Christian faith — and work. She often wrote elegies or poems for recently deceased neighbors, friends, and acquaintances. Her work is one example of Victorian-era death literature which views death as an escape to a better place, especially for children. A contemporary critic called her work, infused with morals, "more like the dew than the lightning". She enjoyed substantial popularity in her lifetime and earned several nicknames, including "the American Hemans", the "Sweet Singer of Hartford", and the "female Milton". Her influences included the work of Hannah More, William Wordsworth, and William Cowper.
caption: Engraving of Lydia Sigourney
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