Literature of the Romantic Period

This book provides a selective, critical guide to the best and the typical in scholarship and criticism directed towards literature of the Romantic period, circa 1780-1830. It includes chapters on the most studied poets of the period: Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and Clare. It also contains separate chapters on the fiction (and other writings) of Scott, and the novels of Austen, Mary Shelley, and Peacock. Reflecting recent changes in understanding of the period, there are also chapters on women poets, political prose, essayists, and a range of male poets including Burns, Cowper, and Crabbe. A separate chapter is devoted to women novelists of the period. An introduction surveys general studies of the period and evaluates contributions to debate about the nature of the Romantic. All chapters include a list of references at their ends. Throughout, the impact of literary theory and recent editorial work is taken into account. The book will prove an invaluable resource to students, academics, teachers, and general readers.