The Elopement (1776)

“The Elopement” is a poem written by Sarah Wesley in May 1776 about the “Elopement of an amiable young lady”. The poem survives in a manuscript that has been digitized by David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University, in its collection “Frank Baker Collection of Wesleyana and British Methodism” collection. The survival of the poem in manuscript form aligns with Sarah Wesley’s preference for scribal publication. Sarah Wesley would have been about 17 years old when she wrote this poem, while her family was still very much strongly affiliated with Methodism and the Methodist church.

The poem itself is 10 pages long and the entire manuscript, including the brief introduction on its first page, is 12 pages long. The sentences and stanzas are well spaced out from each other as well as on the page itself, leaving quite a large margin on the right side of each page and making the poem appear neat and consequently, quite legible. She makes a few corrections, such as in the third line of the first stanza, and underlines some lines presumably for emphasis. Given Sarah Wesley’s preference for more discrete methods of circulation such as sharing her writing in her letters, it is likely that the original manuscript was intended by Sarah Wesley to be shared with her inner circle in the Bluestocking and Evangelical literary communities, and not to be published to the masses like it has been more recently. In regards to its publishing history, it is unknown who exactly Sarah Wesley shared this particular poem with and it is unclear whether she produced more revisions of this poem. In his book Women’s Literary Networks and Romanticism, Andrew Winckles notes that Sarah Wesley was known to request feedback on her poems which she would include in her correspondence with her friends (2017), so while it is possible that she had revised this work- there is currently no knowledge of any revisions and no public record of any revision definitively being done.

While it is unclear who Sarah Wesley shared this poem with, the formatting of the poem indicates that Sarah Wesley did intend for it to be circulated to some extent. Sarah Wesley writes a short address or introduction before the beginning of the poem, explaining that it is about “the supposed Elopement of an amiable young lady”, titles the poem, numbers each page of the poem on the upper left corner of each sheet of paper, writes clearly and legibly throughout, and dates and signs her name at the end of the poem. The inclusion of her signature and date on which the poem was written signifies that she was ensuring she would be credited for the poem, the well-spaced stanzas, and sentences, legible writing, and page numbers offer an effective structure for reading and even referencing if any were to be done. Given these facts, it is probable that Sarah Wesley had shared this poem with her literary networks within the Bluestocking and Evangelical communities. The introduction of the poem and Wesley’s foreboding and somewhat critical tone throughout the poem indicates that the poem was a sort of warning about the act of elopement- a perspective that would have aligned with the conservative and sacred ideas of marriage held by the Methodist church. This can be seen most clearly in the final stanza of the poem, where Sarah Wesley writes about “the moral from this scene we draw” (Wesley 10), about how “no temptation can remove a Duty, founded upon love” (Wesley 10). The poem is a story about foolishness in regard to elopement, almost like a fable that warns against it.

 There are no resources containing any sort of review of the poem, nor has there been any indication of any reprinting or republishing of the poem. Considering the religious climate in which the poem was written, where Evangelicalism was becoming increasingly popular, and Sarah Wesley’s affiliation with the Methodist Church, it is unsurprising that she wrote about the subject of elopement in a critical way. Sarah Wesley’s father, Charles Wesley, had actually been “concerned for her religious development, but would not force her into Methodist meetings in case aversion to her company prejudiced her against religion” (ODNB 2006). Sarah Wesley’s reluctance in sharing her work has also been attributed to her anxiety in “[countering] unfavourable judgements on the Wesley brothers’ actions and characters” (ODNB 2006), which makes it apparent that Sarah Wesley had in fact been wary of the reception of her poetry considering her family’s religious and social status. Her wariness is reflected in her approach to the subject of elopement, and in her warning to readers about it and its consequences.

Sarah Wesley’s use of manuscript for The Elopement creates an extremely intimate reading experience. Reading the poem in Sarah Wesley’s own handwriting makes it seem as though the poem was written by Sarah Wesley for each individual reader, creating a private and intimate connection between Sarah Wesley and the reader themselves. The use of manuscript in this poem also allows readers to have a greater understanding of Sarah Wesley’s authorship and the intention behind her writing. She underlines various phrases and lines for emphasis, cancels and corrects words, and uses large vertical brackets to highlight certain sections in her own poem. Readers can understand Sarah Wesley’s writing process, as well as read the poem in the way Sarah Wesley intended the poem to be read.