The position of George Eliot?s poetry within Victorian poetry and within her own canon is crucial for an accurate picture of the writer, as Wendy S. Williams shows in her in-depth examination of Eliot?s poetry and her role as poetess. Williams examines Eliot?s poetry in relationship to her gender and sexual politics and her shifting religious beliefs, arguing that Eliot?s adoption of the poetess persona reveals her commitment to help refine society through compassion and fellow-feeling.