In a comprehensive and theoretically astute study, Armstrong rescues Victorian poetry from its images as a 'moralised form of romantic verse' and unearths its often subversive critique of nineteenth-century culture and politics.
This collection of new feminist essays represents the work of young critics researching and teaching in British Universities. Aiming to set the agenda for feminist criticism in the nineties, the essays debate themes crucial to the development of feminist thought: among them, the problems of gendered knowledge and the implications of accounts of gendered language, cultural restraints on the representation of sexuality, women's agency, cultural and political change, a feminist aesthetics and new readings of race and class. This variety is given coherence by a unity of aim - to forge new feminist discourses by addressing conceptual and cultural questions central to problems of gender and sexual difference.The topics of discussion range from matrilinear thought to seventeenth-century prophecy; the poetry of Amelia Lanyer to Julia Margaret Cameron's photographs; from Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf to eighteenth-century colonial painting of the South Pacific; from medieval romance to feminist epistemology. The essays utilise and question the disciplines of literary criticism, art history, photography, psychoanalysis, Marxist history and post-structuralist theory.
The collection features a series of essays that reassess Victorian poetry through the lens of early 20th-century criticism. It provides insights into the evolution of poetic interpretation and highlights the contrasts between Victorian sensibilities and modern perspectives. This re-evaluation invites readers to explore the complexities of the era's poetry, enriching their understanding of its themes and relevance.
This updated edition of a classic work offers insights into Victorian poetry criticism, highlighting significant developments in the field. Isobel Armstrong includes a new preface, an afterword that explores the Fin de Siècle period, and a comprehensive bibliography covering the last two decades. These additions enhance the original text, making it a valuable resource for understanding the complexities of Victorian poetry, poetics, and political contexts.
Exploring the radical potential of the nineteenth-century novel, Isobel Armstrong challenges the prevailing view that these works are inherently conservative. She presents a poetics that emphasizes the novel as a dynamic form of social inquiry and experimentation, highlighting its capacity to interrogate societal norms and provoke critical thought. Through this lens, Armstrong redefines the role of the novel in reflecting and shaping social discourse.
