Romantic Imperialism
Romantic Imperialism
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The years between 1790 and 1830 saw over 150 million people brought under British Imperial control, and one of the most momentous outbursts of British literary and artistic production, announcing a new world of social and individual traumas and possibilities. This book traces the emergence of new forms of imperialism and capitalism as part of a culture of modernization in the period, and looks at the ways in which they were identified with, and contested in, Romanticism, through original readings of texts by Wordsworth, Blake, Byron, Shelley and Scott.
- Original reading of Romanticism in the context of themes from postcolonial studies: imperialism, capitalism, modernisation and globalisation
- Unusual combination of historical and theoretical insights
- First title in Cambridge Studies in Romanticism to appear in paperback, reflecting broader appeal in postcolonial studies
Reviews & endorsements
"In this fascinating study, Makdisi...persuasively argues that romanticism emerges along with and in response to modernization and imperialism, that it marks a great historical crossroads between `one cultural moment and another'. Makdisi's brilliant reading of Blake's poem `London' connects neatly to his discussion of Wordsworth's reaction to that great center of empire and ties much of his work together. Highly recommended for upper-level undergraduate readers and above." Choice
"Romantic Imperialism takes an innovative and significant step in the ongoing scholarly project of connecting romanticism to its historical and cultural contexts." John Glendening, Albion
"The mode of reading Romantic works as embattled responses to the political, economic, and social manifestations of modernity...produces some ingenious results...The book at its most intriguing is more than another rote exercise in postcolonial critique." Linda Dowling, Studies in English Literature
Product details
- Published: May 1998
- Format: Paperback
- ISBN: 9780521586047
- Length: 268 pages
- Dimensions: 228 × 153 × 16 mm
- Weight: 0.38kg
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- Preface and acknowledgements
- 1. Introduction: universal empire
- 2. Home imperial: Wordsworth's London and the spot of time
- 3. Wordsworth and the image of nature
- 4. Waverley and the cultural politics of dispossession
- 5. Domesticating exoticism: transformations of Britain's Orient, 1785–1835
- 6. Beyond the realm of dreams: Byron, Shelley and the East
- 7. William Blake and the universal empire
- 8. Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography.
- Show more
