The Romantic Paradox: Love, Violence and the Uses of Romance, 1760-1830

by J. Labbe

Overview

Why are there so few 'happily ever afters' in the Romantic-period verse romance? Why do so many poets utilise the romance and its parts to such devastating effect? Why is gender so often the first victim? The Romantic Paradox investigates the prevalence of death in the poetic romances of the Della Cruscans, Coleridge, Keats, Mary Robinson, Felicia Hemans, Letitia Landon, and Byron, and posits that understanding the romance and its violent tendencies is vital to understanding Romanticism itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333760321
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	06/06/2000
Edition description:	2000
Pages:	211
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.99(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jacqueline M. Labbe is Senior Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Poetry at the University of Warwick.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction Reviving the Romance: What's Love Got To Do With It? Sexing the Romance: The Erotic Violence of the Della Cruscans Failing the Romance: Coleridge, Keats and the Wilted Hero Interrupting the Romance: Robinson, Hemans and Dead Men Transforming the Romance: The Murderous Worlds of Byron and Landon Notes Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

‘The Romantic Paradox provides a series of sensitive and accurate readings that challenge and enlarge our understanding of the complex relations between romanticism and the romance.' - David Punter, Professor of English, University of Sterling

From the Publisher

Labbe (19th-century poetry, University of Warwick, UK) investigates the prevalence of violence and death in the poetic romances of the Romantic period, and argues that poets in that period were highly skilled at dismembering the genre and allowing its parts to stand in for the whole narrative. She considers the poetry of the Della Cruscans, Coleridge, Keats, Robinson, Hemans, Landon, and Byron. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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