Our study of the literature of the period includes: (1) The poets Wordsworth and Coleridge, who did not so much originate as give direction to the romantic revival. (2) Byron and Shelley, often called revolutionary poets. (3) The poet Keats, whose works are famous for their sense of beauty and for their almost perfect workmanship. (4) A review of the minor poets of romanticism, Campbell, Moore, Hood, Beddoes, Hunt, and Felicia Hemans. (5) The life and works of Walter Scott, romantic poet and novelist. (6) A glance at the fiction writers of the period, and a study of the works of Jane Austen. (7) The critics and essayists, of whom we selected these two as the most typical: Charles Lamb, famous for his Essays of Elia; and De Quincey, notable for his brilliant style, his analysis of dreams, and his endeavor to make a science of literary criticism.
SELECTIONS FOR READING. For general reference such anthologies as
Manly's English Poetry and English Prose are useful. The works of
major authors are available in various school editions, prepared
especially for class use. A few of these handy editions are named
below; others are listed in the General Bibliography.
Best poems of Wordsworth and of Coleridge in Athenæum Press Series.
Briefer selections from Wordsworth in Golden Treasury, Cassell's
National Library, Maynard's English Classics. Coleridge's Ancient
Mariner in Standard English Classics, Pocket Classics. Selections
from Coleridge and Campbell in one volume of Riverside Literature.
Scott's Lady of the Lake and Ivanhoe in Standard English Classics;
Marmion and The Talisman in Pocket Classics; Lay of the Last
Minstrel and Quentin Durward in Lake English Classics; the same and
other works of Scott in various other school editions.
Selected poems of Byron in Standard English Classics, English
Readings. Best poems of Shelley in Athenæum Press; briefer
selections in Belles Lettres, Golden Treasury, English Classics.
Selections from Keats in Athenæum Press, Muses Library, Riverside
Literature.
Lamb's Essays of Elia in Lake English Classics; selected essays in
Standard English Classics, Temple Classics, Camelot Series. Tales
from Shakespeare in Ginn and Company's Classics for Children.
Selections from De Quincey, a representative collection, in
Athenæum Press; English Mail Coach and Joan of Arc in Standard
English Classics, English Readings; Confessions of an Opium Eater
in Temple Classics, Everyman's Library; Revolt of the Tartars in
Lake Classics, Silver Classics.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in Pocket Classics; the same and
other novels in Everyman's Library.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Extended works in English history and literature are
listed in the General Bibliography. The following works are
valuable in a study of the early nineteenth century and the
romantic movement.