19th Century Poets
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A reference page on Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), British Romantic poet of the Victorian era, best known for her Sonnets from the Portuguese, love poems written for her husband Robert Browning, with whom she eloped to Italy at the age of 40.
A reference page on Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), British Romantic poet of the Victorian era, best known for her Sonnets from the Portuguese, love poems written for her husband Robert Browning, with whom she eloped to Italy at the age of 40.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Begin first with her poems: you’ll find Sonnets from the Portuguese & Selected Poems (1844) at the University of Maryland’s Womens Studies Reading Room. There’s also a large collection of her poems in the eMule Poetry Archives.
Begin first with her poems: you’ll find Sonnets from the Portuguese & Selected Poems (1844) at the University of Maryland’s Womens Studies Reading Room. There’s also a large collection of her poems in the eMule Poetry Archives.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A biography & lots of commentary are linked from the EBB site in The Victorian Web.
A biography & lots of commentary are linked from the EBB site in The Victorian Web.
Elizabeth & Robert Browning
The Brownings’ love story, epitome of Victorian Romanticism, is realized with poems & RealAudio songs at the site created for the PBS special, Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing.
The Brownings’ love story, epitome of Victorian Romanticism, is realized with poems & RealAudio songs at the site created for the PBS special, Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing.
Robert Browning
Known during his lifetime mostly as Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s husband, Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues & poems earned later acclaim & made his work a major influence on the 20th century modernists. His works are archived on the Net at the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry On-Line & in the eMule Poetry Archives.
Known during his lifetime mostly as Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s husband, Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues & poems earned later acclaim & made his work a major influence on the 20th century modernists. His works are archived on the Net at the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry On-Line & in the eMule Poetry Archives.
Robert Browning
Matthew Jolly’s Browning Pages are a rich resource of information about Browning, including a prose biography, graphic chronology & extensive reference bibliography.
Matthew Jolly’s Browning Pages are a rich resource of information about Browning, including a prose biography, graphic chronology & extensive reference bibliography.
Robert Browning
For commentary & context, visit Browning’s page at The Victorian Web & consult University of Minnesota Professor Michael Hancher’s list of Browning lit crit references.
For commentary & context, visit Browning’s page at The Victorian Web & consult University of Minnesota Professor Michael Hancher’s list of Browning lit crit references.
George Gordon, Lord Byron
There is a generous selection of Byron’s poems at the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry Online.
There is a generous selection of Byron’s poems at the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry Online.
George Gordon, Lord Byron
More Byroniana & Byron poems are enshrined on the Net at Marilee Cody’s Comprehensive Study site & Byron’s letters & journals are gathered at Jeffrey Hoeper’s Byron site. If you still have questions, consult with the members of the Byron discussion list.
More Byroniana & Byron poems are enshrined on the Net at Marilee Cody’s Comprehensive Study site & Byron’s letters & journals are gathered at Jeffrey Hoeper’s Byron site. If you still have questions, consult with the members of the Byron discussion list.
The Annotated Don Juan (Byron)
Bob Blair calls Byron’s masterwork “probably the most entertaining long poem in the English language” & has devoted 4 years to compiling this annotated version for your reading pleasure.
Bob Blair calls Byron’s masterwork “probably the most entertaining long poem in the English language” & has devoted 4 years to compiling this annotated version for your reading pleasure.
John Clare
Briefly famous as “the Green Man,” Clare spent his last years in the insane asylum, “unfit for society after years addicted to poetical prosings,” & is now known as “the forgotten Romantic.” But Simon Kovesi at Oxford Brookes University has a site devoted to him & a selection of his poems is in the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry On-Line.
Briefly famous as “the Green Man,” Clare spent his last years in the insane asylum, “unfit for society after years addicted to poetical prosings,” & is now known as “the forgotten Romantic.” But Simon Kovesi at Oxford Brookes University has a site devoted to him & a selection of his poems is in the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry On-Line.
John Clare
There is an ever-expanding library of John Clare’s poems at this English blog site -- lovely use of the blog format to create a searchable archive of one poet’s work.
There is an ever-expanding library of John Clare’s poems at this English blog site -- lovely use of the blog format to create a searchable archive of one poet’s work.
John Clare
Passions in Poetry also has the texts of several of Clare’s poems & a brief biography in its “classic poetry” collection.
Passions in Poetry also has the texts of several of Clare’s poems & a brief biography in its “classic poetry” collection.
John Clare’s “I Am”
Declaring that “Pathology, it seems, has trumped the poetry... All the more reason to launch a salvage operation,” David Barber gives us an excellent introduction to Clare, then offers his own, Carolyn Kizer’s & Christopher Ricks’ RealAudio readings of Clare’s late poem “I Am,” in Atlantic Unbound’s Soundings poetry series.
Declaring that “Pathology, it seems, has trumped the poetry... All the more reason to launch a salvage operation,” David Barber gives us an excellent introduction to Clare, then offers his own, Carolyn Kizer’s & Christopher Ricks’ RealAudio readings of Clare’s late poem “I Am,” in Atlantic Unbound’s Soundings poetry series.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Our reference page on Gothic/Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834), with Wordsworth a founder of the Romantic movement in poetry, noted critic and philosopher whose influence can be seen in many succeeding generations of poets.
Our reference page on Gothic/Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834), with Wordsworth a founder of the Romantic movement in poetry, noted critic and philosopher whose influence can be seen in many succeeding generations of poets.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The University of Virginia’s British poetry e-archive has the text of STC’s poems, indexed every which way, for those times when you want to quote “Kubla Khan.” Plus a dictionary to help you interpret the 200-year-old English & other foreign-language expressions in his poems & a Coleridge timeline, with links.
The University of Virginia’s British poetry e-archive has the text of STC’s poems, indexed every which way, for those times when you want to quote “Kubla Khan.” Plus a dictionary to help you interpret the 200-year-old English & other foreign-language expressions in his poems & a Coleridge timeline, with links.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Many of Coleridge’s poems are online at the University of Toronto, where you can also find the great Victorian critic Walter Pater’s essay on him.
Many of Coleridge’s poems are online at the University of Toronto, where you can also find the great Victorian critic Walter Pater’s essay on him.
Lyrical Ballads (Coleridge & Wordsworth)
The first edition (1798) of the two poets’ “experiments... to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society is adapted to the purposes of poetic pleasure” is online at the University of Virginia’s Electronic Text Center.
The first edition (1798) of the two poets’ “experiments... to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society is adapted to the purposes of poetic pleasure” is online at the University of Virginia’s Electronic Text Center.
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (Coleridge)
The University of Dundee’s English Department has created this Web concordance to “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere,” which you can use to find any word in the poem in its context, plus a workbook to stimulate your thinking.
The University of Dundee’s English Department has created this Web concordance to “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere,” which you can use to find any word in the poem in its context, plus a workbook to stimulate your thinking.
Emily Dickinson
A reference page on Emily Dickinson, reclusive 19th century poet who became known as the “Belle of Amherst” and an iconic influence on American poetry after the posthumous publication of her work.
A reference page on Emily Dickinson, reclusive 19th century poet who became known as the “Belle of Amherst” and an iconic influence on American poetry after the posthumous publication of her work.
Emily Dickinson
She only published 8 poems in her liftime, but now!... we have all 1768 as written, complete with the abrupt dashes and bumpy wordplay. No titles for her, thank you.
She only published 8 poems in her liftime, but now!... we have all 1768 as written, complete with the abrupt dashes and bumpy wordplay. No titles for her, thank you.
Emily Dickinson
The Academy of American Poets’ Emily Dickinson page, Randy Given’s complete ED poems, or Bartleby.com’s reprint of the 1924 Complete Poems are good places to study the Belle of Amherst... or try the Emily Dickinson Random Epigram Machine.
The Academy of American Poets’ Emily Dickinson page, Randy Given’s complete ED poems, or Bartleby.com’s reprint of the 1924 Complete Poems are good places to study the Belle of Amherst... or try the Emily Dickinson Random Epigram Machine.
“Emily Dickinson, Continuing Enigma”
About.com’s own Women’s History Guidesite tells the story of how her poems came to public attention & offers a vast compendium of ED links.
About.com’s own Women’s History Guidesite tells the story of how her poems came to public attention & offers a vast compendium of ED links.
Paul Lawrence Dunbar
Although his life was short (1872 - 1906), his literary output was prodigious, including a number of well-loved poems in both dialect & standard English. Dunbar is cited by the University of Dayton as “the first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim,” and their site offers an extensive collection of his poems in audio form, interpreted by Herbert Martin.
Although his life was short (1872 - 1906), his literary output was prodigious, including a number of well-loved poems in both dialect & standard English. Dunbar is cited by the University of Dayton as “the first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim,” and their site offers an extensive collection of his poems in audio form, interpreted by Herbert Martin.
John Keats
The Poetical Works of John Keats, reprinted from the original editions, are at Bartleby.com, “Great Books Online.”
The Poetical Works of John Keats, reprinted from the original editions, are at Bartleby.com, “Great Books Online.”
John Keats
His portrait, an image of a handwritten letter, poem manuscripts, a photo of Keats House in Rome & RealAudio readings of several of Keats’ poems are in the British Library’s Keats exhibition.
His portrait, an image of a handwritten letter, poem manuscripts, a photo of Keats House in Rome & RealAudio readings of several of Keats’ poems are in the British Library’s Keats exhibition.
William Topaz McGonagall
We invite you to partake in what we consider the absolute freefall of the bottomless barrel, the worst poem of all time: William Topaz McGonagall’s “The Tay Bridge Disaster.”
We invite you to partake in what we consider the absolute freefall of the bottomless barrel, the worst poem of all time: William Topaz McGonagall’s “The Tay Bridge Disaster.”
Edgar Allan Poe
A reference page on Edgar Allan Poe, American Romantic poet, balladeer, journalist and inventor of the modern detective story and horror tale.
A reference page on Edgar Allan Poe, American Romantic poet, balladeer, journalist and inventor of the modern detective story and horror tale.
Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was not yet three when his mother died. He was in the room, with his little brother, & spent over two days with the corpse before someone else showed up, had an intimate relationship with death throughout his life. But his poems make him one of our Survivors.
Poe was not yet three when his mother died. He was in the room, with his little brother, & spent over two days with the corpse before someone else showed up, had an intimate relationship with death throughout his life. But his poems make him one of our Survivors.
Edgar Allan Poe
Tom Devaney takes our readers on the tour he offered one summer through Edgar Allan Poe’s Philadelphia house, allowing visitors to explore the empty space of the house, phantom black cats, walled-in windows, surprise-whispers, and nothingness.
Tom Devaney takes our readers on the tour he offered one summer through Edgar Allan Poe’s Philadelphia house, allowing visitors to explore the empty space of the house, phantom black cats, walled-in windows, surprise-whispers, and nothingness.
Arthur Rimbaud
LD’s Rimbaud site is entitled The Drunken Boat & includes its namesake poem among the pages devoted to “childhood . poetry . letters . verlaine . absinthe . books . links . total eclipse . vagabonds . mailing list.” There’s good material here, but since it’s a Tripod site, you have to put up with that annoying popup ad. It’s also the home of the Drunken Boat listserv.
LD’s Rimbaud site is entitled The Drunken Boat & includes its namesake poem among the pages devoted to “childhood . poetry . letters . verlaine . absinthe . books . links . total eclipse . vagabonds . mailing list.” There’s good material here, but since it’s a Tripod site, you have to put up with that annoying popup ad. It’s also the home of the Drunken Boat listserv.
Arthur Rimbaud
Peter Pullicino’s Rimbaud site is an excellent resource, boasting an extensive timeline, “Les Voyelles” with color-coded letters, an English translation & analysis, a great page of maps, generous selections from A Season in Hell & Rimbaud’s early poems in French, & an extract from Henry Miller’s study of Rimbaud -- all accompanied by appropriately spooky images.
Peter Pullicino’s Rimbaud site is an excellent resource, boasting an extensive timeline, “Les Voyelles” with color-coded letters, an English translation & analysis, a great page of maps, generous selections from A Season in Hell & Rimbaud’s early poems in French, & an extract from Henry Miller’s study of Rimbaud -- all accompanied by appropriately spooky images.
Romantic lit links & e-texts
Michael Gamer’s rich collection at the University of Pennsylvania will point you to any resource you may need for the study of Romantic literature in English.
Michael Gamer’s rich collection at the University of Pennsylvania will point you to any resource you may need for the study of Romantic literature in English.
Romanticism on the Net
Since 1996, Romanticism on the Net has been the place to go for peer-reviewed electronic lit crit in Romantic studies.
Since 1996, Romanticism on the Net has been the place to go for peer-reviewed electronic lit crit in Romantic studies.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Poet & painter, Pre-Raphaelite, Rossetti brought color & realism into painting & into the poems he buried with his consumptive true-love. The Victorian Web is a good place to get an overview of his life & work, OCAIW has links to his paintings on the Web & good selections of his poems are at Passions in Poetry & the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry Online.
Poet & painter, Pre-Raphaelite, Rossetti brought color & realism into painting & into the poems he buried with his consumptive true-love. The Victorian Web is a good place to get an overview of his life & work, OCAIW has links to his paintings on the Web & good selections of his poems are at Passions in Poetry & the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry Online.
The Rossetti Archive
Like Blake, Rossetti combined painting & poetry in multimedia masterworks which take on marvelous depth & dimension when presented in hypermedia form on the Web. The Rossetti Archive is still new & incomplete, but well worth a tour.
Like Blake, Rossetti combined painting & poetry in multimedia masterworks which take on marvelous depth & dimension when presented in hypermedia form on the Web. The Rossetti Archive is still new & incomplete, but well worth a tour.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley’s Complete Poetical Works are at Bartleby.com & the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry Online has selected poems & his prose “Defence of Poetry.”
Shelley’s Complete Poetical Works are at Bartleby.com & the University of Toronto’s Representative Poetry Online has selected poems & his prose “Defence of Poetry.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Five of Shelley’s sonnets are at Sonnet Central, including a RealAudio version of Ozymandias read by Sonnet Central Webmaster Eric Blomquist.
Five of Shelley’s sonnets are at Sonnet Central, including a RealAudio version of Ozymandias read by Sonnet Central Webmaster Eric Blomquist.
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman was the quintessential American poet who sang of individual freedom, democracy & the brotherhood of man in the many editions of his compendious masterpiece, Leaves of Grass.
Walt Whitman was the quintessential American poet who sang of individual freedom, democracy & the brotherhood of man in the many editions of his compendious masterpiece, Leaves of Grass.
Walt Whitman
The most complete online collection of everything pertaining to WW is at the Walt Whitman Archive (currently in revision), which has an mp3 of the wax cylinder recording of Whitman’s voice reading four lines from “America.”
The most complete online collection of everything pertaining to WW is at the Walt Whitman Archive (currently in revision), which has an mp3 of the wax cylinder recording of Whitman’s voice reading four lines from “America.”
Walt Whitman
In the Library of Congress’ American Memory digital collection, you can leaf through Whitman’s notebooks, see his thoughts in his own hand.
In the Library of Congress’ American Memory digital collection, you can leaf through Whitman’s notebooks, see his thoughts in his own hand.
William Wordsworth
Our reference page on William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), whose theory of poetry began the Romantic movement in English poetry at the end of the 18th century, and whose poems immortalize the sublime landscapes of his beloved Lake District.
Our reference page on William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), whose theory of poetry began the Romantic movement in English poetry at the end of the 18th century, and whose poems immortalize the sublime landscapes of his beloved Lake District.
William Wordsworth
Among the resources at David Rasnake’s Wordsworth site are a hypertextual biography & a gallery of Wordsworth portrait images.
Among the resources at David Rasnake’s Wordsworth site are a hypertextual biography & a gallery of Wordsworth portrait images.
William Wordsworth
TCG’s Wordsworth page at the University of South Dakota includes a brief bio & an interesting FAQ which lists other places to go for critical interpretations of Wordsworth poems.
TCG’s Wordsworth page at the University of South Dakota includes a brief bio & an interesting FAQ which lists other places to go for critical interpretations of Wordsworth poems.
William Wordsworth
Bartleby.com has the complete text of Wordsworth’s poetical works. His poems are also in Representative Poetry On-Line at the University of Toronto (where you can find Walter Pater’s essay on him, too) & in The Wordsworth Variorum Archive, which displays the various published versions of his work side-by-side.
Bartleby.com has the complete text of Wordsworth’s poetical works. His poems are also in Representative Poetry On-Line at the University of Toronto (where you can find Walter Pater’s essay on him, too) & in The Wordsworth Variorum Archive, which displays the various published versions of his work side-by-side.
Lyrical Ballads (Wordsworth & Coleridge)
The first edition (1798) of the two poets’ “experiments... to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society is adapted to the purposes of poetic pleasure” is online at the University of Virginia’s Electronic Text Center.
The first edition (1798) of the two poets’ “experiments... to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society is adapted to the purposes of poetic pleasure” is online at the University of Virginia’s Electronic Text Center.