Although is is well known that the Romantics were obsessed with Shakespeare, extraordinarily little attention has been paid to how this affected their creative practice and their theories of the imagination. Yet Shakespeare's effect on both was crucial, as Jonathan Bate shows in this detailed study, which includes the first full critical discussions of Shakespeare and Wordsworth, and of the influence of the plays on the poetry of Blake and Coleridge. The book also offers a fresh account of Shakespeare's powerful presence in the letters and poems of Keats and Byron, and in the Romantic drama, especially in Shelley's The Cenci
Reviews
'notable... a study of something we thought we knew about but largely didn't' Frank Kermode, London Review of Books
'a pioneering work which sets new standards for 'influence' study' R. S. White, Shakespeare Survey
'an important book, and one that will be required reading for anyone concerned with Romantic literature.' Nicholas Roe, Notes and Queries
'a reinterpretation of the Romantics' remaking of Shakespeare in their own image, and also a triumphant vindication of their beliefs about the alchemical power of the imagination' Paul Dean, Year's Work in English Studies
'wide-ranging, well-written and highly intelligent... valuable and exciting' T. W. Craik, Charles Lamb Bulletin
'Persuasively learned, but wearing its learning with grace and ease' R. A. Foakes, Modern Language Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780198129943
Author Jonathan Bate
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 137mm * 18mm