Swinburne

"Best known for his sexually provocative Poems and Ballads, Algernon Charles Swinburne was much admired throughout the nineteenth century for his daring subject-matter and superb poetic craftsmanship. This book introduces the reader to the work for which Swinburne is most famous, concentrating on three major collections - Poems and Ballads 1 (1866), Songs before Sunrise (1871) and Poems and Ballads 2 (1878) - his epic poem Tristram of Lyonesse (1882) and a number of his most influential essays." "Representative close-readings of selected poems and essays reveal the often complex webs of reference and allusion which give his work depth and richness. Throughout, special emphasis is placed on the ways in which Swinburne challenges and compels his readers to move beyond their regular viewpoints to experience new insights and perspectives."--BOOK JACKET.

Catherine Maxwell is Reader in Victorian Literature, in The School of English and Drama, Queen Mary, University of London.