Sentence:  The Mysteries of Udolpho" have been so much laughed at as the type of Gothic absurdity that it is difficult to come at the book with a fresh eye. We come, expecting to ridicule. Then, when we find beauty, as we do, we go to the other extreme and <WSD>rhapsodize</WSD>. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To speak with exaggerated or rapturous enthusiasm ("about, (up)on" or "over" something).