Companion to Victorian Poetry

Richard Cronin teaches at Glasgow University. His publications include The Politics of Romantic Poetry (2000) and Romantic Victorians: English Literature 1824-1840 (2002)Antony H. Harrison teaches at North Carolina State University. His books include Victorian Poets and Romantic Poems (1990), Victorian Poets and the Politics of Culture (1998), The Culture of Christina Rossetti (1999), and The Letters of Christina Rossetti (4 vols, 1998-2004). Alison Chapman teaches at Glasgow University and is the author of The Afterlife of Christina Rossetti (2000), editor of Victorian Women's Poetry (2003), and co-editor of Women and Italy in the Nineteenth Century (2002).

"Yet overall, and at its best, it provides what few critical books can offer: a highly readable, even rollicking account of the whole era, as variegated and lively as Victorian poetry itself." (Review 19, 2011)"[A] comprehensive, challenging picture of Victorian poetry emerges when reading the entire collection of essays.... A feast of information." (Brontë Studies, November 2009)"The essays within are excellent. I think it an indispensable book. The essays address the multifariousness of Victorian poetry, and the variety of critical and theoretical issues; in addition, they give the reader a sense of the marketing and reception of the poetry." (Studies in English Literature, Fall 2008)"Scholars will want to own this book.... Highly recommended." (Choice)"A rich diversity of distinguished and learned scholars, mostly from North America and the UK, have combined in this singularly impressive and important volume, to provide what for many might at first sight seem to be an almost impossible harvest: fresh and original essays on carefully selected aspects of the poetry of Victorian England." (Reference Reviews)"Nicely affordable for the wealth of insights contained therein. Contains some fresh research.... This companion will not sit on the shelf and collect dust, but [will] be useful for both scholarly and entertaining reading." (English Literature in Transition)"Not only is the Companion brimming with fine arguments—there are far too many essays that warrant notice than can possibly be picked out in a short review—but it is also very well put together as a collection. Its clear table of contents and fulsome index make it easy to negotiate. Each essay is, moreover, followed by a generous list of references and suggested further reading." (The Tennyson Research Bulletin)

• Editors’ Preface viiiNotes on Contributors xChronology xvIntroduction: Victorian Poetics 1Carol T. Christ PART ONE Varieties and Forms 231 Epic 25Herbert F. Tucker 2 Domestic and Idyllic 42Linda H. Peterson 3 Lyric 59Matthew Rowlinson 4 Dramatic Monologue 80E. Warwick Slinn 5 Sonnet and Sonnet Sequence 99Alison Chapman 6 Elegy 115Seamus Perry 7 Hymn 134J. R. Watson 8 Nonsense 155Roderick McGillis 9 Verse Novel 171Dino Felluga10 Verse Drama 187Adrienne Scullion 11 Working-Class Poetry 204Florence Boos 12 The Classical Tradition 229Richard Jenkyns 13 Arthurian Poetry and Medievalism 246Antony H. Harrison 14 Poetry in Translation 262J.-A. George 15 Tractarian Poetry 279Stephen Prickett 16 The Spasmodics 291Richard Cronin 17 The Pre-Raphaelite School 305David Riede 18 The Poetry of the 1890s 321Chris Snodgrass PART TWO Production, Distribution and Reception 34319 The Market 345Lee Erickson 20 Anthologies and the Making of the Poetic Canon 361Natalie M. Houston 21 Reviewing 378Joanne Shattock 22 Poetry and Illustration 392Lorraine Janzen Kooistra PART THREE Victorian Poetry and Victorian Culture 41923 Nationhood and Empire 421Margaret Linley 24 Poetry in the Four Nations 438Matthew Campbell 25 Poetry and Religion 457W. David Shaw 26 Poetry and Science 475Alan Rauch 27 Landscape and Cityscape 493Pauline Fletcher 28 Vision and Visuality 510Catherine Maxwell 29 Marriage and Gender 526Julia F. Saville 30 Sexuality and Love 543John Maynard Index 567