Overview
In a work that is uniquely comprehensive and theoretically astute, Isobel Armstrong rescues Victorian poetry from its longstanding sepia image as 'a moralised form of romantic verse', and unearths its often subversive critique of nineteenth-century culture and politics.Synopsis
Victorian Poetry is a major re-evaluation of the genre by one of the leading scholars of the period. In a work both comprehensive and astute, the author demonstrates the sophisticaiton of Victorian poetry, rescuing it from its longstanding image as 'a moralized form of romantic verse'.
Amrstrong brings together the familiar poets of the era: Swinburne, Tennyson, Hopkins and Browning, and relates them to female and working-class poets. The aesthetics and politics of Victorian poetrym both conservative and radical, are then examined and brought together in a historical discussion that challenges some of the vital issues in contemporary criticism.
This volume marks an acheivement in the appreciation and understanding of Victorian literature, re-reading Victorian poetry from the midst of contemporary debate.