Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Anachronism, prematurity, hope. These are the striking terms that resonate and recur throughout Jerome Christensen's Romanticism at the End of History. For Christensen, these terms simply describe the Romantic aspiration to realize new, unpredictable, and hopeful futures by means of a strong-willed refusal to accept the apparent inevitability of the past. In the vision of this critically ambitious study, Romanticism— both the historical period and the permanently available stance of the soul—is 'a conspiracy against the given,' and Christensen invites us all to participate in this conspiracy. Readers who tend to think in terms of the ethical and imaginative uses to which poetry can be put will surely be attracted by the broad ambitions of this book. And they may be dazzled by some of the really exciting readings of writers such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Scott. But they may also be puzzled about how these readings exemplify the Romantic hope to which the book summons us. Nonetheless, Romanticism at the End of History represents a fascinating and intelligent defense of Romanticism at a time when, it seems, Romanticism has few able defenders." Reviewed by Sean McConnell, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
The Romantics lived through a turn of the century that, like our own, seemed to mark an end to history as it had long been understood. They faced accelerated change, including unprecedented state power, armies capable of mass destruction, a polyglot imperial system, and a market economy driven by speculation. In Romanticism at the End of History, Jerome Christensen challenges the prevailing belief that the Romantics were reluctant to respond to social injustice. Through provocative and searching readings of the poetry of Wordsworth; the poems, criticism, and journalism of Coleridge; the Confessions of De Quincey; and Sir Walter Scott's Waverley, Christensen concludes that during complicated times of war and revolution English Romantic writers were forced to redefine their role as artists.
--Frank McConnell, University of California, Santa Barbara "Rocky Mountain Review"