SUPPRESSED VOICES OF VICTORIAN POETRY: REPRESENTATION OF THE WORKING CLASS IN JANET HAMILTON’S POETRY

In contrast to the popularity of working-class issues among mainstream Victorian writers, the voices of working-class writers who deal with the problems of their own social groups are not sufficiently heard and noticed in the 19th century Victorian literature. Remarkably, Janet Hamilton (1795-1873) is one of these un-canonized working-class writers who tackle the problems of factory workers and use writing as a political instrument of creating solidarity among the workers by provoking them to resist oppression and exploitation. This study takes Janet Hamilton’s “Poems, Essays, and Sketches” (1870) as its object of scrutiny to unravel her unwavering commitment to improving social and economic conditions of the working classes. The study will throw an additional light on Hamilton’s worthwhile struggle to become the spokesperson for the suppressed and silenced voices of working classes who were marginalized and alienated.