Date: 1715

"Nature to Man's Breast has made no Windows, / To show us what they act within Doors."

— Centlivre [née Freeman; other married name Carroll], Susanna (bap. 1669?, d. 1723)

Date: 1717

"I render back the Treasure of thy Heart: / When in some new fair Breast it finds a Room, And I shall lie neglected in my Tomb; / Remember, oh! remember, the fair She / Can never love thee, darling Youth! like me."

— Behn, Aphra (1640?-1689)

Date: 1720

"Large is my forehead made, not wond'rous fair, / But room enough for all the Muses there."

— Sansom, Martha [née Fowke] (1690-1736)

Date: 1721

"Her Mind well suited the fair Cabinet that contained it; she was humble, generous, unaffected, yet learned, wise, modest, and prudent above her Years or Sex; gay in Conversation, but by Nature thoughtful; had all the Softness of a Woman, with the Constancy and Courage of a Hero: In fine, her Sou...

— Aubin, Penelope (1679?-1731?)

Date: 1723

In one's Garret-Closet one's Muse may "take Possession": "Poetry being one of those subtle Devils, that if driven out by never so many firm Purposes, good Resolutions, Aversion to that Poverty it intails upon its Adherents; yet it will always return and find a Passage to the Heart, Brain, ...

— Barker, Jane (1675-1743)

Date: 1723

"Mine [heart] open lies, without the least Defence; / No Guard of Art; but its own Innocence; / Under which Fort it could fierce Storms endure: / But from thy Wit I find no Fort secure."

— Barker, Jane (1675-1743)

Date: 1723, 1725

"Reflection was unhing'd; the noble Seat of Memory fill'd with Chimera's and disjointed Notions; wild and confus'd Ideas whirl'd in his distracted Brain; and all the Man, except the Form, was changed."

— Haywood [née Fowler], Eliza (1693?-1756)

Date: 1724, 1725

"But alas! what Courage, what Discretion, what cool Reserve, what Sanctity of Wishes can defend the Heart, when once the God of Love has found an Entrance there!"

— Haywood [née Fowler], Eliza (1693?-1756)

Date: 1724, 1725

"The soft and tender Soul of Emanuella, was a fit Temple for the enslaving Deity to work his utmost Wonders in"

— Haywood [née Fowler], Eliza (1693?-1756)

Date: 1725

"Forgive the harsh Expression, for believe, of all Mankind, I cou'd esteem you as a Friend--but, alas! my Heart wants room to entertain you as a tender Guest; long e're I knew your Merits it was taken up, all the Affections of my Soul are riveted to another--to him I am bound by all the ties of H...

— Haywood [née Fowler], Eliza (1693?-1756)