Abstract
This chapter sets out to explore Sylvia Pankhurst’s poems, in particular the early works (1913–21) in which she describes her experiences as a suffragette and campaigner. It begins, therefore, with a description of suffragette poetry and its relationship to Sylvia Pankhurst’s writing, before focusing upon Pankhurst herself and her poetry. The subsequent in-depth analysis explores three distinct questions. First, how does Pankhurst evoke the ‘deeds’ or actions that the suffragettes used to enact political change, in particular hunger strikes and forcible feeding? Second, how do the ‘words’ or language of the poems depict material hardships? Third, how does Pankhurst create a sense of the suffragette community, as multiple voices filter through the texts? Overall, therefore, this chapter asks how Sylvia Pankhurst employed poetry to support and promote the cause of women’s suffrage.