Myth and Identity of the Romantic Artist in European Literature

Elena Anastasaki is Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at the Department of Language and Intercultural Studies at the University of Thessaly (Greece). She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the Universities of Kent and Paris 8.

"This book by an excellent comparatist is a remarkable study in sociopoetics. Addressing the fundamental question of artistic identity, it is a splendid work of reference to draw upon for anyone interested in the culture and aesthetics of the romantic era." Alain Montandon, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature (CELIS/UCA)"This comparative study, impressive in scope, traces the emergence of the notion of modern artistic identity in European Literature. Theoretically informed, as well as providing subtle analyses of original literature, this brilliant book sheds new light on our fascinating literary past."Dimitris Kargiotis, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Ioannina"Elena Anastasaki’s monograph is comparativism at its best – an interdisciplinary study on artists and geniuses, as well as (self-)stylisation and (self-)mythification of poets and poetic figures during the Romantic period in Europe."Elke Sturm-Trigonakis, Professor of Comparative Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki/Greece

• AcknowledgmentsNotes on TranslationIntroduction Overview of the Background Scene Outline of Approach, Key Concepts and Methodology Book StructurePart OneChapter 1, Forming Identity: An Interdisciplinary Approach Ethos and the Image of the Author Narrative and Identity Theories: Narrating the Self, an Ontological Dilemma Identity and Aesthetics Kant, Schiller, and Romantic Aesthetics Chapter 2, The Making of Artistic Genius A philosophical Concept The Figure of Chatterton Coleridge’s Chatterton: A Life-long Companion Alfred de Vigny’s Chatterton: The Emblem of a Social Cause Chapter 3, Goethe’s Prometheus, Rousseau’s Pygmalion, and their Progeny "Here sit I, forming mortals / After my image": The Promethean Artist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "Prometheus" Lord Byron, "Ode to Prometheus" Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound Victor Hugo, "Genius," "The grieving poem weeps" Théophile Gautier, "On the Prometheus of Madrid" Pygmalion and the Ontological Status of the Work of Art Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Pygmalion Thomas Lovell Beddoes, "Pygmalion, or the Cyprian Statuary" Part TwoChapter 4, "Now, if I know myself, I should say, that I have no character at all"–Byron’s Mythmaking Strategies The Quest for a Personal Voice The Poet’s Physical Appearance The Poet as Pilgrim: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage Poetic Ventriloquism: The Lament of Tasso and The Prophecy of Dante Byron’s Public Persona Chapter 5, Percy Shelley and the Metaphysical Authenticity of the Poet Alastor, or The Adventures of the Poetic Mind From Aesthetic Experience to the Aesthetic Self Adonais, or the Self from Without – Pivotal Moments of Self Awareness From Poet to Poet: "To Wordsworth" and "Lines to __" ("Sonnet to Byron") Chapter 6, Honoré de Balzac, the Napoleon of Letters "[L]a tête dans le ciel et les pieds sur cette terre" – Balzac’s Fictional Artists The Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man The Artist as Martyr Sympathetic Parody: Grotesque and Sublime Identities The Bourgeois Artist Chapter 7, Théophile Gautier, Stylistic Identity and Poetic Time The Negation of the Self: Les Jeunes-France The Golden Fleece: A Quest for Rubens’ Blonds, or How Art Spoils Reality Autobiographic Sketches and the Poet as Shapeshifter Conclusion, A Sociopoetical Approach to Genius Materialistic Representations of Genius The Poet’s Two Bodies Napoleon Artistic Identity as a Narrative Construct in a European Context Works Cited and Consulted