Romanticism: An Anthology
“In the third edition of his groundbreaking Romanticism: An Anthology, Duncan Wu has made a very good text even better. For those interested in stirring the familiar ingredients (Blake to Byron) back into the rich soup of the times in which they dwelt, this anthology offers the best opportunity. Wu gives us the texts of familiar poems made strange--sometimes by being presented in their first printed version, sometimes by the juxtaposition implied by Wu's canny practice of the anthologizer's art.”—David Latane, Virginia Commonwealth University“The Wu anthology, even more magnificent and indispensable in its Third Edition, is not simply the most useful or the most learned anthology of English Romantic poetry and thought; it is the most exciting. The flames of that excitement are fed by generous cords of minor poets and major essayists, carefully selected, intelligently bundled. But even the old-growth timber of the major poets burns with a brighter flame by being most provocatively introduced, brilliantly edited (especially Blake), and stacked against the kindling of the lesser lyricists. The combination of earlier and revised versions of the same poem is dazzlingly illuminating. One might say of Wu's Romanticism: An Anthology, in comparison to any other collection, what Wu himself says in introducing the early use of the term “Romanticism: "Romanticism was 'organic' and 'plastic,' as against the 'mechanical' tendencies of Classicism." Perhaps the anthology itself cannot keep growing in subsequent editions without becoming unwieldy; but the enthusiasm it generates can grow without bounds and will prove both "organic"--well rooted in accurate, historically placed texts--and "plastic," ever subject to imaginative reshaping.”—Leslie Brisman, Yale University“The fourth edition of Duncan Wu’sRomanticism: An Anthologyoffers the perfect combination of breadth and depth.  It contains a superb selection of literary texts with thought-provoking annotations and contextual materials that help bring the Romantic era to life.”—Kim Wheatley, College of William and Mary“No one familiar with Duncan Wu's impressive body of Romantic period scholarship and criticism will be surprised at the high quality ofRomanticism: An Anthology. I have chosen it for my "British Romantic Poetry" as this text is superior to any other available in its combination of essential canonical poetry with an astute selection of other literature, including extensive representation of women writers.”—Paul Betz, Georgetown University