The Cambridge Companion to British Romantic Poetry

Sep 27, 2026

The Cambridge Companion to British Romantic Poetry provides a comprehensive overview and interpretation of Romantic poetry in its literary and historical contexts. Essays examine metrical, formal, and linguistic features, as well as relationships to history and the influence on other genres. Coverage includes reflections of empire and nationalism within and beyond the British Isles, and how oral transmission and print culture shaped a rapidly expanding mass readership. The collection also foregrounds less well-known or newly rediscovered authors alongside major poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Scott, Burns, Keats, Shelley, Byron, and Clare.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages410

Reading Time10 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: The companionable forms of Romantic poetry

1 The living pantheon of poets in 1820: pantheon or canon?

2 Romantic poetry and antiquity

3 Romantic meter and form

4 Romantic poetry and the standardization of English

5 Thinking in verse

6 Romantic poetry and the romantic novel

7 Wordsworth’s great Ode: Romanticism and the progress of poetry

8 Romantic poetry, sexuality, gender

9 Poetry, peripheries and empire

10 Romantic poetry and the science of nostalgia

11 Rethinking Romantic poetry and history: lyric resistance, lyric seduction

12 The medium of Romantic poetry

13 Romantic poets and contemporary poetry

the cambridge companion to british romantic poetry More than any other period of British literature, Romanticism is strongly identiﬁed with a single genre. Romantic poetry has been one of the most enduring, best-loved, most widely read, and most frequently studied genres for two centuries and remains no less so today. This Companion offers a comprehensive overview and interpretation of the poetry of the period in its literary and historical contexts. The essays consider its metrical, formal, and linguistic features; its relation to history; its inﬂuence on other genres; its reﬂections of empire and nationalism, both within and outside the British Isles; and the various implications of oral transmission and the rapid expansion of print culture and mass readership. Attention is given to the work of less well-known or recently rediscovered authors, alongside the achievements of some of the greatest poets in the English language: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Scott, Burns, Keats, Shelley, Byron, and Clare. james chandler is Director of the Franke Institute for the Humanities atthe University of Chicago. maureen n . m c lane is Lecturer in the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature at Harvard University. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO BRITISH ROMANTIC POETRY EDITED BY JAMES CHANDLER and MAUREEN N . McLANE Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, So Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York [www.cambridge.org](www.cambridge.org) Information on this [title: www.cambridge.org/9780521680837](title: www.cambridge.org/9780521680837) Cambridge University Press 2008 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2008 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data The Cambridge companion to British romantic poetry / edited by James Chandler and Maureen N. McLane. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes index. isbn 978-0-521-86235-6 (hbk.)– isbn 978-0-521-68083-7 (pbk.) 1. English poetry – 19th century – History and criticism – Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. English poetry – 18th century – History and criticism – Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Romanticism – Great Britain – Handbooks, manuals, etc. i. Chandler, James K. ii. McLane, Maureen N. iii. Title. pr590.c34 2008 821􀀃 .709145 – dc22 2008021913 isbn 978-0-521-86235-6 hardback isbn 978-0-521-68083-7 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 CONTENTS List of contributors page vii Acknowledgments x Chronology xi Introduction: The companionable forms of Romantic poetry 1 james chandler and maureen n . m c lane 1 The living pantheon of poets in 1820: pantheon or canon? 10 jeffrey n . cox 2 Romantic poetry and antiquity 35 nick groom 3 Romantic meter and form 53 susan stewart 4 Romantic poetry and the standardization of English 76 andrew elf en bein 5 Thinking in verse 98 simon jarvis 6 Romantic poetry and the romantic novel 117 ann wi erda rowland 7 Wordsworth’s great Ode: Romanticism and the progress of poetr

FAQs

What scope does the companion cover?

It offers a comprehensive overview and interpretation of British Romantic poetry, emphasizing both literary and historical contexts.

Which aspects of the poems do the essays focus on?

The essays consider metrical, formal, and linguistic features, along with relations to history and influence on other genres.

Does the book include broader cultural themes beyond poetic technique?

Yes. It addresses reflections of empire and nationalism, as well as implications of oral transmission and the expansion of print culture and mass readership.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Mafia Boss