30 great myths about the Romantics / Duncan Wu.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record and CIP data provided by publisher.

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; A Note on Monetary Values; Myth 1 Romanticism began in 1798; Myth 2 English Romanticism was a reaction against the Enlightenment; 2.1 New Forms of Sociability; 2.2 The Language of Passion; 2.3 The Poet as Prophet; Myth 3 The Romantics hated the sciences; Myth 4 The Romantics repudiated the Augustans, especially Pope and Dryden; Myth 5 The Romantic poets were misunderstood, solitary geniuses; Myth 6 Romantic poems were produced by spontaneous inspiration; Myth 7 Blake was mad.

Myth 8 Blake wrote `Jerusalem' as an anthem to EnglishnessMyth 9 Lyrical Ballads (1798) was designed to illustrate `the two cardinal points of poetry', using poems about everyday life and the supernatural; Myth 10 Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads was a manifesto for the Romantic revolution; Myth 11 Wordsworth had an incestuous relationship with his sister; Myth 12 Tory Wordsworth; Myth 13 The person from Porlock; Myth 14 Jane Austen had an incestuous relationship with her sister; Myth 15 The Keswick rapist; Myth 16 Byron had an affair with his sister.

Myth 17 Byron was a great lover of womenMyth 18 Byron was a champion of democracy; Myth 19 Byron was a `noble warrior' who died fighting for Greek freedom; Myth 20 Shelley committed suicide by sailboat; Myth 21 Shelley's heart; Myth 22 Keats's `humble origins'; Myth 23 Keats was gay; Myth 24 Keats was killed by a review; Myth 25 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote Frankenstein; Myth 26 Women writers were an exploited underclass-unknown, unloved, and unpaid; Myth 27 The Romantics were atheists; Myth 28 The Romantics were counter-cultural drug users.

Myth 29 The Romantics practised free love on principleMyth 30 The Romantics were the rock stars of their day; Coda; Further Reading; Index; EULA.

"Wu is not a scholar who trades in faddish or modish opinion, and as its title implies, this is by its very nature an exercise in controversy and debate. The book represents a triumph of individual scholarship over what is claimed as often flawed, albeit consensual, critical opinion. Wu's fluid, readable prose is accessible to all, and his extensive and subtle insights are a joy to read. This unique addition to the student bookshelf provides enjoyment and instruction simultaneously."-- Jane Moore, Cardiff University.