Studying English Literature in Context Critical Readings

In the nineteenth century many poets viewed their craft as analogous to science, employing similar methods to reach similar conclusions. Victorian poets engaged with science on a number of different levels: they wrote about scientific ideas, employed scientific methods like empirical observation and induction, and sought to verify scientific truths. They also were keenly aware of what poetry could offer that science did not: an insight into human nature and moral truths. In response to scientific theories that upended accepted beliefs about the world and humanity’s place within it – geological uniformitarianism, evolution and natural selection, sexual selection and the coming heat death of the universe – poets like Alfred Tennyson, George Meredith, Constance Naden and May Kendall conducted poetic experiments in human nature, testing the impact of groundbreaking scientific theories on human society and behaviour. In so doing, they advocate for productive exchange between science and poetry, but also champion poetry’s unique remit.