Were her works merely an answer to her critics who reviewed her poems as the outpour of whimsical thoughts from a domesticated woman or was she putting her foot down for her fellow female writers in the male dominated Victorian literary circle?

Felicia Hemans was initially the poet of hearth and home for her readers. Her incipient stage of a glorious literary career began with poems written about her home and family occasions. She wrote On My Mother's Birthday, which is her oldest surviving poem, at the age of eight. Her initial poems were filled with happiness and joy of a rich little girl with all the luxuries in her life. Her life took a turn when her father went bankrupt from the Liverpool's Wall St. Crash that was caused by the French Revolution. Her family had to move to the Northern Wales to a smaller house and environment. The little girl's heart which was filled with golden and shimmering lights suddenly plunged into darkness when her father abandoned her family and her mother turned neurotic. Her only console was the rural atmosphere which Wales offered. She tried to escape from her domestic chaos by turning to nature. She used to spend hours composing poetry, sitting on a fallen tree trunk by the river near Pont Dafydd, Escob. Finally her spirit soared high when her mother offered her support for her interest and at the age of fourteen she published her poems dedicated to Prince of Wales and a collection called Poems in 1808. It caught the attention of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley who later became her admirers. When her brother entered into Army service she focused her attention on Britain and ongoing wars her country was facing. Even at this young age the sacrifice of soldiers and loss of their families affected her deeply. She wrote England and Spain (1808) as the result of this. At this time her heart was stolen by a young soldier named Alfred Hemans. She weaved dreams of domestic bliss and her future life with him. Her optimism and eagerness surely cast its charm on her work Domestic Affections and other poems (1812). At this time she also tried to learn a lot about worldly affairs and conflicts. She amazed her critics by writing about themes, boundaries and culture beyond Britain. She composed Restoration of Works of Art to Italy that criticised the actions of British enemy, France and celebrated the unity and integrity of Britain as a nation during the Napoleonic Wars. She also composed a poem called Modern Greece.