Gender, Genre, and the Romantic Poets

Presents an exploration of the relationship between gender issues and genre choice in the work of the canonical male poets of the Romantic period. This text examines the ways in which such poetic genres as the pastoral, the sonnet, the ode, the epic and the drama are deployed in the work of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats, Byron and Shelley. The author provides insights into the ambiguous constructions of masculinity within their poetry, and draws upon recent reappraisals of traditional notions of Romanticism. Throughout the book offers sustained attention to specific textual examples, providing an introduction to this complex area of study.