The Cambridge Introduction to Victorian Poetry

Victorian poetry was read and enjoyed by a much larger audience than is sometimes thought. Publication in widely circulating periodicals, reprinting in book reviews, and excerpting in novels and essay ensured that major poets such as Tennyson, Browning, Hardy, and Rossetti were household names, and they remain popular today. The Cambridge Introduction to Victorian Poetry provides an accessible overview of British poetry from 1830 to 1901, playing particular attention to its role in mass-media print culture. The book traces lively dialogues between poets and explains poets' choices of form, style, and language. It also demonstrates poetry's relevance to Victorian debates on science, social justice, religion, imperialism, and art. Featuring a glossary of literary terms, a guide to further reading, and two examples of close readings of Victorian poems, this introduction is the starting-point for the study of verse in the nineteenth century.