Review by Choice Review
Often associated with the French Revolution, Romanticism is seen as a dividing line between the navel-gazing older generation and their radical younger cousins. Cox (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder) rejects the assumption that late Romantics drew primary inspiration from Wordsworth's generation. Written as a chronicle, this book shows Romantics exploiting the tensions produced by times of political crisis. For instance, during the short-lived Peace of Amiens between England and France, one finds the pairing of melodrama, a vehicle for expression and resistance, with the traditionalism of English tragedy. The resultant hybrid theater was consistent with the poets' rejection of national allegiances. However, it is not clear whether a culture clash influenced the poets or merely provided them with an opportunity to express their native predilection for melodrama and confused national boundaries. Cox's focus on specific historical moments lends the study a grounded quality, but the abundant evidence renders it somewhat dry. The author mostly steers clear of traditional explorations of Romantic mysticism and contemporary analyses of "identities" in the period. Though this is refreshing, a treatment of how the historical approach might alter one's view of the poetry would have lent the proceedings more urgency. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Lower-division undergraduates and above. --Robin Kyle Mookerjee, Eugene Lang College, The New School for the Liberal Arts
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
