Tennyson and Swinburne as Romantic Naturalists / Kerry McSweeney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McSweeney, Kerry, Author.

Series:

Heritage

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English poetry--19th century--History and criticism.

English poetry.

Great Britain.

England.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909--Criticism and interpretation.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892--Criticism and interpretation.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 222 pages)

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The central importance of naturalistic vision – of a sense of man’s life as part of nature – is emphasized in this study of the poetry of Tennyson and Swinburne. In tracing this vision, Professor McSweeney makes a series of qualitative distinctions leading to a revaluation of the achievements of both poets. McSweeney begins with an examination of Swinburne’s critical and creative response to Tennyson, revealing Swinburne’s perception of the effect that Tennyson’s suppression of naturalistic vision and his consequent overemphasis on morality and metaphysical speculation had on his poetry. A brief discussion of Tennyson’s response to Swinburne is followed by an analysis of the literary climate of the 1820s and 1830s, necessary for an understanding of the central feature of Tennyson’s artistic development: the complex mutation which transformed him from a wholly Romantic poet into a largely Victorian one. Tracing the development of Tennyson’s poetry, McSweeney examines some of the best-known works, including ‘The Lady of Shalott,’ ‘The Hesperides,’ ‘The Two Voices,’ and ‘The Lotos Eaters,’ and supplies analyses of In Memoriam and Idylls of the King. A thematic overview of Swinburne’s canon generates an examination which substantiates the argument that his poetry, contrary to George Meredith’s opinion, possesses an ‘internal centre.’ Close readings o four of the most important poems of the second half of Swinburne’s career, By the North Sea, Tristram of Lynesse, A Nympholept, and The Lake of Guabe, are included. This book places the two poets in the central tradition of Romantic naturalism and will be of interest to specialists in nineteenth-century literature as well as those interested in English literature in general.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

1 Swinburne's Tennyson

2 Tennyson's Poetry 1830 to 1842

3 The Natural Magic of In Memoriam

4 Sexuality and Vision in Idylls of the King

5 Swinburne's Internal Centre

6 Swinburne after 1878: Four Readings

7 Tennyson and Swinburne

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

1-4875-7769-9

OCLC:

1153454384