Anne Killigrew (1660–1685) was an English poet and painter, described by contemporaries as "A Grace for beauty, and a Muse for wit."

Dryden praised her accomplishments in both Poësie, and Painting, and compared her poetic abilities to the famous Greek woman poet of antiquity, Sappho.

Thomas Killigrew (1612–1683) not only wrote plays but held a royal patent for the King's Company,[2] and built the theatre now known as Drury Lane.

[2][1][4] Her grandfather, Robert Killigrew, was knighted by King James I in 1603, and appointed Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Henrietta Maria in 1630.

[7][3][1] Another aunt, Elizabeth Boyle, served as a Lady-in-waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria, and bore an illegitimate daughter to Charles I as of 1651, while he was still in exile.

On 8 May 1673 Elizabeth married the Reverend John Lambe, who took up the position of rector at Wheathampstead, Henry Killigrew having resigned from the post.

[2]: 30–31 Little is recorded about Anne's education, but she received instruction in both poetry and painting and was encouraged to pursue her creative talents, options unusual for women in the 17th century.

Residing at court, Killigrew was part of a milieu of poetic feminist inspiration on a daily basis; she was a companion of strong intelligent women who encouraged her writing career as much as their own.

[9] Before her death Anne Killigrew's poems were circulated in manuscript through selected networks of "social authorship", in which participants were often identified by pennames.

[11] Before 2009, none of her poems were known to exist in manuscript form; then a small number were found among the papers of the John Evelyn family at the British Library.

[2]: 31, 34 [13] Anne Killigrew excelled in multiple media, which was noted by contemporary poet, mentor, and family friend, John Dryden in his dedicatory ode to her.

He addresses her as "the Accomplisht Young LADY Mrs Anne Killigrew, Excellent in the two Sister-Arts of Poësie, and Painting.

[3] John Dryden's famous, extolling ode praises Killigrew for her beauty, virtue, and literary and artistic talent.

Dryden was one of several contemporaries who wrote in praise of Killigrew after her death, and the posthumous collection of her work published in 1686 included additional poems commending her literary merit, irreproachable piety, and personal charm.

Killigrew's virtue and poetic talent are also emphasized in poems by her contemporaries John Chatwin and Edmund Wodehouse.

They have argued variously that Dryden's ode should be read as a formal exercise illustrative of Augustan sensibility,[19] as irony,[20] as a validation of poetry rather than of a person,[21] or as political allegory.

Killigrew was significant to Dryden as a moral exemplar as well as a writer of poems, and is praised by him on both grounds and presented as a model for others.

Seen in this light, as an "ethically sensitive poet", who was "a member of the community whose goals he sought to serve, she merited and received his best effort".

"Women could not speak in the voices of bard, theologian, scholar, or courtly lover" but were largely limited to "tones of private life".

[26] Finally Killigrew introduces darker themes into the pastoral form, using it to warn women of the dangerous potential of transient love affairs.

"Anne Killigrew's poetry finds its value as an act of reflection and exploration of courtly life and morality.

[27] In "To the Queen", Killigrew turns the heroic mode of her opening poem, "Alexandreis", on its head and uses it to critique the Stuart court.

"[9][12] Through her poems, Killigrew foregrounds and praises women for strength and heroic power ("Alexandreis", "To the Queen", "Herodias") as well as for virtue.

[2]: 34–36 [12] She encourages her readers to lead a virtuous life while she acknowledges the ongoing experience of temptation and "gilded nothings" which mislead the soul ("A Farewell to Worldly Joys").

[1][12] Regarding virtue, Anne Killigrew may be more accurately characterized as a self-deprecating and witty observer rather than as a didactic moralist.

[1] "The poem narrates her personal history as a poet, her desire to write, her ambition to be recognized, and, finally, her feelings of being badly treated by an audience who refused to believe her the author of her own work.

"[28] Through a shifting series of metaphors reminiscent of a love affair, Killigrew describes her changing relationship with the god of poetry and with her audience.