The Politics of Romantic Poetry - In Search of the Pure Commonwealth

Sep 21, 2026

The Politics of Romantic Poetry presents a critical study of how political ideas and historical events shape Romantic English poetry and its public meanings. It develops its argument through three main phases: the Revolutionary years, the war against Napoleon, and England in 1819, tracing debates across authors, genres, and cultural institutions. The book integrates introductions for each section, detailed chapter analyses, and supporting notes and index, offering a structured political reading of Romanticism’s literary production.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages231

Reading Time5 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Part One: The Revolutionary Years

Part Two: The War against Napoleon

Part Three: England in 1819

Notes

Index

Romanticism in Perspective: Texts, Cultures, Histories General Editors: Marilyn Gaull, Professor of English, Temple University/New York University; Stephen Prickett, Regius Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Glasgow This series aims to offer a fresh assessment of Romanticism by looking at it from a wide variety of perspectives. Both comparative and interdisciplinary, it will bring together cognate themes from architecture, art history, landscape gardening, linguistics, literature, philosophy, politics, science, social and political history and theology to deal with original, contentious or as yet unexplored aspects of Romanticism as a Europe-wide phenomenon. Titles include: Toby R. Benis ROMANTICISM ON THE ROAD The Marginal Gains of Wordsworth’s Homeless Richard Cronin (editor) 1798: THE YEAR OF THE LYRICAL BALLADS Péter Dávidházi THE ROMANTIC CULT OF SHAKESPEARE Literary Reception in Anthropological Perspective Charles Donelan ROMANTICISM AND MALE FANTASY IN BYRON’S DON JUANA Marketable Vice Tim Fulford ROMANTICISM AND MASCULINITY Gender, Politics and Poetics in the Writings of Burke, Coleridge, Cobbett, Wordsworth, De Quincey and Hazlitt David Jasper THE SACRED AND SECULAR CANON IN ROMANTICISM Preserving the Sacred Truths Malcolm Kelsall JEFFERSON AND THE ICONOGRAPHY OF ROMANTICISM Folk, Land, Culture and the Romantic Nation Mark S. Lussier ROMANTIC DYNAMICS The Poetics of Physicality Andrew McCann CULTURAL POLITICS IN THE 1790s Literature, Radicalism and the Public Sphere Ashton Nichols THE REVOLUTIONARY‘I’ Wordsworth and the Politics of Self-Presentation Jeffrey C. Robinson RECEPTION AND POETICS IN KEATS‘My Ended Poet’ Anya Taylor BACCHUS IN ROMANTIC ENGLAND Writers and Drink, 1780–1830 Michael Wiley ROMANTIC GEOGRAPHY Wordsworth and Anglo-European Spaces Eric Wilson EMERSON’S SUBLIME SCIENCE John Wyatt WORDSWORTH’S POEMS OF TRAVEL, 1819–42 ‘Such Sweet Wayfaring’ Romanticism in Perspective Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–71490–3 (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England The Politics of Romantic Poetry In Search of the Pure Commonwealth Richard Cronin Reader in English Literature University of Glasgow First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-41423-9 ISBN 978-0-230-28705-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230287051 First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-1-349-41423-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cronin, Richard. The politics of romantic poetry : in search of the pure commonwealth / Richard Cronin. [p. cm](p. cm).—(Romanticism in perspective) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-1-349-41423-9 (cloth) 1. English poetry—19th century—History and criticism. 2. Politics and literature—Great Britain—History—19th century. 3. Politics and literature—Great Britain—History—18th century. 4. English poetry—18th century—History and criticism. 5. Political poetry, English—History and criticism. 6. France– –History—Revolution, 1789–1799—Influence. 7. Romanticism—Great Britain. 8. State, The, in literature. I. Title. II. Series. PR585.H5C76 1999 821'.709358—dc21 99–36364 CIP © Richard Cronin 2000 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this

FAQs

What is the main focus of the book?

The book focuses on how politics influences Romantic poetry, framing Romanticism as a historically charged Europe-wide phenomenon. It emphasizes political contexts that shape themes, reception, and poetic expression.

How is the book structured?

It is organized into three parts: the Revolutionary years, the war against Napoleon, and England in 1819. Each part includes an introduction followed by multiple numbered chapters.

Which authors and poets are discussed?

The contents reference authors and poets such as Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Blake, Walter Scott, and others. Chapters also address figures associated with revolutionary or political literary life.

Sep 21, 2026

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