This Companion brings together specially commissioned essays by distinguished international scholars that reflect both the diversity of Victorian poetry and the variety of critical approaches that illuminate it.

Editors’ Preface viii Notes on Contributors x Chronology xv Introduction: Victorian Poetics 1Carol T. Christ PART ONE Varieties and Forms 23 1 Epic 25Herbert F. Tucker 2 Domestic and Idyllic 42Linda H. Peterson 3 Lyric 59Matthew Rowlinson 4 Dramatic Monologue 80E. Warwick Slinn 5 Sonnet and Sonnet Sequence 99Alison Chapman 6 Elegy 115Seamus Perry 7 Hymn 134J. R. Watson 8 Nonsense 155Roderick McGillis 9 Verse Novel 171Dino Felluga 10 Verse Drama 187Adrienne Scullion 11 Working-Class Poetry 204Florence Boos 12 The Classical Tradition 229Richard Jenkyns 13 Arthurian Poetry and Medievalism 246Antony H. Harrison 14 Poetry in Translation 262J.-A. George 15 Tractarian Poetry 279Stephen Prickett 16 The Spasmodics 291Richard Cronin 17 The Pre-Raphaelite School 305David Riede 18 The Poetry of the 1890s 321Chris Snodgrass PART TWO Production, Distribution and Reception 343 19 The Market 345Lee Erickson 20 Anthologies and the Making of the Poetic Canon 361Natalie M. Houston 21 Reviewing 378Joanne Shattock 22 Poetry and Illustration 392Lorraine Janzen Kooistra PART THREE Victorian Poetry and Victorian Culture 419 23 Nationhood and Empire 421Margaret Linley 24 Poetry in the Four Nations 438Matthew Campbell 25 Poetry and Religion 457W. David Shaw 26 Poetry and Science 475Alan Rauch 27 Landscape and Cityscape 493Pauline Fletcher 28 Vision and Visuality 510Catherine Maxwell 29 Marriage and Gender 526Julia F. Saville 30 Sexuality and Love 543John Maynard Index 567

This Companion brings together specially commissioned essays by distinguished international scholars that reflect both the diversity of Victorian poetry and the variety of critical approaches that illuminate it. The volume opens with an introductory essay on Victorian poetics by Carol Christ that offers a commanding overview of the whole period. The remaining contributions are organized into three parts. The first surveys the variety of schools and styles in Victorian poetry; in the second, the focus shifts from the form and content of the poetry to the means of its production and distribution; the final part positions Victorian verse in its contexts and explores its interactions with dominant cultural discourses. The Companion as a whole does more than map the existing state of scholarship in the field; it sets out an agenda for future research.

"Yet overall, and at its best, it provides what few critical books can offer: a highly readable, even rollicking account of the whole era, as variegated and lively as Victorian poetry itself." (Review 19, 2011) "[A] comprehensive, challenging picture of Victorian poetry emerges when reading the entire collection of essays.... A feast of information." (Brontë Studies, November 2009) "The essays within are excellent. I think it an indispensable book. The essays address the multifariousness of Victorian poetry, and the variety of critical and theoretical issues; in addition, they give the reader a sense of the marketing and reception of the poetry." (Studies in English Literature, Fall 2008) "Scholars will want to own this book.... Highly recommended." (Choice) "A rich diversity of distinguished and learned scholars, mostly from North America and the UK, have combined in this singularly impressive and important volume, to provide what for many might at first sight seem to be an almost impossible harvest: fresh and original essays on carefully selected aspects of the poetry of Victorian England." (Reference Reviews) "Nicely affordable for the wealth of insights contained therein. Contains some fresh research.... This companion will not sit on the shelf and collect dust, but [will] be useful for both scholarly and entertaining reading." (English Literature in Transition) "Not only is the Companion brimming with fine arguments—there are far too many essays that warrant notice than can possibly be picked out in a short review—but it is also very well put together as a collection. Its clear table of contents and fulsome index make it easy to negotiate. Each essay is, moreover, followed by a generous list of references and suggested further reading." (The Tennyson Research Bulletin)

"Not only is the Companion brimming with fine arguments - there are far too many essays that warrant notice than can possibly be picked out in a short review - but it is also very well put together as a collection. Its clear table of contents and fulsome index make it easy to negotiate. Each essay is, moreover, followed by a generous list of references and suggested further reading."—Michael Hurley, Cambridge University, The Tennyson Research Bulletin