Pre-Raphaelites and Their Circle

This useful volume presents the major works of the five leading Pre-Raphaelite poets. Foremost in the collection, and included in their entirety are D. G. Rossetti's The House of Life, C. G. Rossetti's "e;Monna Innominata,"e; William Morris's "e;Defence of Guenevere,"e; Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon, and Meredith's "e;Modern Love."e; Complementing these major poems is a fine, generous selection of the poets' shorter pieces that are typical of their work as a whole. For this second edition, Cecil Lang has substituted two early Swinburne poems, "e;The Leper"e; and "e;Anactoria,"e; for Fitzgerald's The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. These poems, which the editor describes as "e;shocking,"e; show a new aspect of Swinburne not discussed previously. Lang's Introduction describes briefly the founding of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, discusses each of the Pre-Raphaelite poets, both individually and in relation to the others, and grapples with the questions of definition of Pre-Raphaelitism and the similarities between its painting and poetry. The book is appropriately illustrated with thirty-two works by D. G. Rossetti, John Ruskin, William H. Hunt, and other Pre-Raphaelite artists. This is the only anthology available that provides a representative selection of the work of these important poets. It will be indispensable to students of Victorian poetry and appreciated by readers interested in the Pre-Raphaelites.