Romanticism Books

I know William Rodner personally as he was my World History professor my first year of college and he is now my history guru god! This man is articulate, intelligent and well read on many historical subjects however his love of Turner comes through often in his lectures. I have every intention of owning and reading this book one day but the thing that surprised me the most was that I didn't find out about the book from Dr. Rodner himself but from a posting on the wall outside his office. If I had not seen that article, I would NEVER have known how famous and influential in the larger world one of my beloved professors is. I recommend you read the book strictly on my word that it will be worth your while because I KNOW the man as teacher and historian and you WILL find this book accurate, passionate and fulfilling.

T. Garcia

Rodner's book was one of several top books from many thousands I went through in a long hegira through a college library with immense holdings in Art History. His immaculate chronology pulls back the curtain on what Turner experienced as the steam engine began its historical ascendancy in the first half of the 19th century. Even if you are very familiar with the works of Turner, this book will bring you far closer to the distinction and sensitivity of Turner's complex understanding of modernism. Many of Turner's paintings can be seen in the context of not only his travels, but how remarkably astute he was to the constantly changing pictorial impact of the industrial revolution. Further, as Rodner shows in a model of balanced intellectual enquiry, Turner recreates himself as artist as he engages History itself.
An all around great book and an outstanding eye-opener for students as well as Turner specialists.

I am very much an appreciator of Romantic literature, and this book communicates the impact and spirit of this type of literature very powerfully. It requires a certain amout of concentration and mental litheness to digest this material, but this makes it a fun challenge. I would definity recommend this book to anyone who enjoys or is drawn not only to Romantic literature, but literature in general (or even other arts, as well). I also write poetry, and I think this is a basic text for understanding one's own artistic output.

Our way of looking at art in the year 2000 is steeped in the Romantic mentality. The idea of the true poet as lone inspired genius, starving in a garret, creating to express his (and it generally was 'his' in those days) inner turmoil or vision is so ingrained that there almost seems no other possible standard. Yet as M.H. Abrahms points out in this scholarly, yet readable work on Romantic poetry and theory, this view of art and the artist is only as old as the age of Coleridge and Wordsworth. Up until 200 odd years ago, the artist's job had been to act as a mirror, reflecting the world as accurately as possible. The Romantics sought to reverse over 2000 years of previous art criticism by pushing the artist to the forefront and insisting that he be seen as a lamp, illuminating the world with his imagination and vision. Abrahms thoroughly examines the development of Romantic philosophy through the writings of the major English poets and thinkers of the age, drawing in discussions of continental Romanticism as well. Romantic views on Nature, God, Poets and Poetry, Truth, Vision and of course the Imagination are all thoroughly researched and meticulously compiled, making this one of the most comprehensive single volume books on the subject.

Now in a new edition updated and revised by author Andrew Chavez, A New Romanticism is a selection of prose and poetry offering thoughtful reflection to challenge the core tenets of religious and secular thinkers alike. Written especially to draw attention to underutilized yet remarkably powerful and profound human attributes, A New Romanticism explores the profound emotions of hope and despair, the majesty of the natural world, the glacial flow of time, and the twin cycles of creation and destruction. "That God Has Been Pronounced": That God has been pronounced dead / Does not delete or otherwise make it unnecessary / To attend to what are called higher laws or higher powers / Because the death of God / Is merely the death of a misinterpretation. / The sources that inspired the misinterpretation / Are still with us and very active. // Higher laws. / Higher powers. // Belief. / Faith. / Trust. // But nothing is enough. / Nothing is ever enough.

A reader of this book is going to be challenged. I suppose there are people out there who can follow the reasoning of the essay and poetry and feel right at home, but then, the vast majority of people who read this book are going to be challenged. The prose and the poetry are written in a clear and concise manner, this makes the reading very easy, but then, it is the ideas that carry the bulk of the challenge that a person will face. It is not that the ideas are complex. Chavez tells us, "It is easy/So very easy/ While being the hardest thing." What he means by this is clearly that the hardest thing in the world to face is ourselves; not only as an individual but as a species. It is not always easy to look in the mirror.
I think Chavez is right. The current crop of ideas fueling modernity are mostly exhausted. What other reason is there for retro being so much in vogue? We learn that nature has provided one and all with everything that is neeeded to insure the survival of the species. The thing is, A New Romanticism: Updated And Revised, challenges a reader right away with a terminology that is sure to make most people raise an eyebrow. Chavez tells us that there are three dominant attributes of mind that rule over all creative productions in the arts and sciences. He calls these attributes native genius, creative genius, and the speaker of words. Are there more frightening words than genius to place before a general reader's eyes? Chavez tells us that we should fight the tendency to fall prostrate before such awe-inspiring words. These "divine" attributes belong to each member of the species. We learn that the best thing to do is claim, own, and use these powers because they are just about all that we have left in the world that has not been spoiled by overuse, politicization, or vulgarization. He presents them as the saving graces of modernity and argues that if we are to have a future as a nation or civilization then we will have to become more familiar with things that are not so pleasant or live-affirming.
Chavez not only offers an alternative to the major streams of modern thought, he gives us a way to widen the scope of our positions no matter what that position might be. I think he is aware that if a person gains a widened scope then he will end up where there is a great leveling of the field. It is not so much our differences that define us as it is the similarities.
Again, I would recommend this book to everyone but I would also caution a reader that he, or she, is going to be challenged. Chavez tells us that with the appearance of his book a new world is born. I think he might be right.

This is the best piece of literary criticism I have read on a Russian author, and definitely one of the best pieces in lit studies in general. Greenleaf is sophisticated yet remarkably clear and persuasive. And the book is not just useful for readers of Pushkin; I would argue that any lit student should read some of this, to get a sense of how genre figures into literary analysis. I loved it.

This book received major awards from both the modern language association (MLA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. It is best described by the citation from the MLA judges: "In a volume whose elegant style and civilized irony are a loving critical tribute to Russia's 'national poet,' Monika Greenleaf confronts Pushkin's protean nature with exhaustive comparative research, independent- minded recourse to contemporary critical theory, unfailing fairness to her scholarly predecessors, and a sharp eye for the details and patterns of Pushkin's major and minor texts. Her notion of 'self-portraiture' allows her to join readings of Pushkin's work, culture, and biography together in a subtle, persuasive whole that is sure to be a landmark in Russian studies for years to come."

Peter Manning is a deeply insightful human being and a great father. His cutting analysis and exploration of the works and lives of the Romantic Poets is must reading for anyone who considers him or herself to have even the smallest of romantic leanings.

Professor Peter Manning has allowed me to appreciate and understand romantic literature to an extent which I would have never thought possible. Professor Manning's passion for the subject shines through every sentance in this scholarly masterpiece. Dr. Manning's years of study and reflection in the Lake District of England, a source of inspiration (and often an adress) for many of the masters in his study no doubt contributed to his abilty to achieve a higher level of understanding of the beautiful poetry to which he has devoted his professional life. Dr. Manning represents all that is good about scholarship and intellectual pursuit in this country.

It has been a favorite pastime of academic biographers of both Shelley and Byron to deride Trelawny. This should suprise nobody. To begin with, with few exceptions, one of the primary qualifications of being a full-fledged academic is delight in derision, especially in derision of those who have firsthand knowledge of the subjects they have spent hours in the stacks on University libraries to gain, perhaps, one mote of additional information.-The common criticism of Trelawny is that he was "naive"-By this they mean that his gives a simple, straightforward account of the time he spent with the two great poets without any ponderous theories to bog him down.-Trelawny first admired Byron, but quickly became disillusioned with his cynicism and became a lifelong admirer of Shelley, so much so that he remarked thus, "As a general rule,threfore, it is wise to avoid writers whose works amuse or delight you, for when you see them they will delight you no more. Shelley was a grand exception to this rule. To form a just idea of his poetry, you should have witnessed his daily life; his words and actions best illustrated his writings." After Shelley's death, he continues to follow Byron on his misadventures until his death. The book is a treat in that it is a delight to read, with page-turning accounts of his roistering times with two great men who shaped our literary world.-Not one footnote! He was there!

If you're interested in the life of Edward John Trelawny, you'll have to look elsewhere. Suffice it to say that Tre' (as his friends knew him) was a privateer, a scoundrel, a lover of poetry, a freedom-fighter and a loyal friend of the most prolific literary talents of the romantic period. 'The Last Days of Shelley and Byron' is an account, not of Trelawny's extraordinary life & adventures, but of the two men that helped make that life so extraordinary. In his own words, he tells of the secret lives of Byron, Claire Clairmont and the Shelley's, their romp through sunny Italy and the tragic death of Percy off the coast of Spezzia. The tale continues as Tre' follows Byron to the civil wars of Greece, where Byron too dies. To his credit, though, it is never "Trlawny's tale", but "Byron and Shelley's tale" as told by Trelawny. It is a deep, insightful book that shows the poets as only a close friend could. Yet throughout, one can not help but love Trelawny himself: the man who supported the impoverished Mary Shelley to her dying day... the man who bought a slave for $10,000 only to set him free... the man who reached into the embers of Shelly's pyre, withdrawing his heart. If you love the poetry of Byron and Shelley & have even a passing interest in the men behind the legends, then Trelawny's memoirs are a must-read.

This book is amazing. Buy it.

It is rare to find such a clear explication of a topic in what is typically a turgid field. Henderson manages to combine originality of thought with lucid writing to create a little gem of a book. While sometimes she may stretch a bit to make her points, it is forgivable in service of developing her provocative thesis. A bit steep at ( ), but nonetheless worthwhile.

This is the most concise account of the shared origins of Gothic and Romantic I've read, and I've read several. The sections on publishing and on periodical reception are, on the whole, beautifully done. While the chapter on Joanna Baillie is an important contribution to what we know of that understudied dramatist, the chapter on Lyrical Ballads is without question the book's centerpiece.

Gamer's work offers a rare combination of intelligence and subversion. This readable, well-researched, brilliantly aruged book rightly turns most previously held ideas about "high Romantic literature" and popular culture on their heads. His thesis, that revered Romantic writers appropriated low-brow Gothic culture whilst denying it in order to elevate their own stature and reinforce their own valuations of "the Romantic" is eeriely applicable to the battles within our own culture today. I plan to incorporate this in my own teaching; it is a work whose implications far exceed the period which it addresses. It is also a refreshing departure from commonly turgid and overwrought academic writing. Bravo.

This is probably the best book I've read all year. As an English teacher, I appreciate Bate's literary sensibility, and as a citizen of the earth, I value his insights into our environment. I have recommended this book to every intelligent person I know.

Jonathan Bate's short book, 'Romantic Ecology'(1991) was a landmark in literary ecocriticism. In 'The Song of the Earth' Bate has developed his theme further and in doing so has produced an instant classic.

The purpose of the book is to show how poetry is not only relevant but necessary in an age of increasing environmental unease. It is a manifesto for the urgency of 'ecopoetics'. Bate writes: 'This is a book about why poetry continues to matter as we enter a new millennium that will be ruled by technology. It is a book about modern western man's alienation from nature. It is about the capacity of the writer to restore us to the earth which is our home' (vii)

Chapters are as follows: 1. Going, Going 2. The State of Nature 3. A Voice for Ariel 4. Major Weather 5. The Picturesque Environment 6. Nests, Shell, Landmarks 7. Poets, Apes and Other Animals 8. The Place of Poetry 9. What are Poets For?

My favourite chapter is 'Major Weather' which, in some quite startling and original ways, charts the influence of climate on writing . The centre piece of the chapter is a reading of Keat's 'Ode to Autumn' as a 'weather poem', resembling 'a well-regulated ecosystem'. For Bate, the ode 'is not an escapist fantasy which turns its back on the ruptures of Regency culture, as late twentieth century criticism tended to suggest. No: it is a meditation on how human culture can only function through links and reciprocal relations with nature.'(103-4). I learned 'Ode to Autumn' as a schoolchild, and it has always stayed with me. Now I see eloquently expressed the reasons for its significance to me.

Bate has set himself a difficult but worthy task, to argue for poetry as 'the place where we save the earth', that if culture is the cause of environmental destruction it can also be its remedy. This, then, is a book that should be read by everyone with an interest in literature, by everyone with an interest in the continuation of life on the planet.

funn