The Pre-Raphaelite Poets

by Lionel Stevenson

Many books have been written about the Pre-Raphaelite movement in painting, but its manisfestation in poetry has been relatively ignored. These exemplary essays offer lively judgments on the themes and relationships of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, William Morris, and Algernon Charles Swinburne and provide fresh insights on their imagery and prosody. A portmanteau chapter evaluates the work of twelve other poets who were associated with the periphery of the movement.

Originally published in 1972.

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336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic review of the Pre-Raphaelite Poets that even I can understand, including their relationships to each other, other periods, other poets and their lasting influence on literature.

[aster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up from a museum a while ago. I studied some of Christina Rossetti's poems in school, and then some years later the Pre-Raphaelite art caught my eye too. This was an impulse buy because it seems to be first one to focus on the poetry rather than the painting. The introduction and first chapter describe how the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood shook up the painting scene, so you have that context to link with the poetry.

The book was published in 1972 by a Victorian scholar, so that's something to keep in mind with regards to the writing style. It weaves biography and criticism together, rather than being more essay-like. You would definitely need some background knowledge on other English poets of the time at least, but the biographical sections do continuously refer to the other members of the Brotherhood and peripheral artists.

I enjoyed Christina Rossetti and William Morris' chapters the most, since I did enjoy their work before starting the book. The nature of the book is criticism that weaves snippets of their poetry into the context of their lives and the times. There quotes from the poet's circles, their influences, who they influenced, how critics responded to them and how their personal lives unfolded. The chapters have a natural structure, working their way through chronologically and providing background information on the poet's lives and influences. Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Algernon Charles Swinburne's chapters have some long quotes from critics towards the end which I think could have been more succinctly covered. It gets very academic and dense here. I will also say that on some occasions it's clear this was written by a man in the 70s as he's a bit condescending of Elizabeth Siddal and some of the other models involved with the Brotherhood.

Overall, very informative and well-researched, as you would expect! 3.5 stars.