Were the Romantics a bunch of drug-addled atheists who believed in free love? Was Blake a madman? And did Wordsworth really sleep with his sister? Few literary periods are less understood yet include more mythologized figures than the British Romantics - and most of the myths swirling about them are far from romantic. 30 Great Myths About the Romantics features a collection of thought provoking essays that address a range of commonly-held beliefs about key figures of the Romantic era - and about Romanticism itself.
Author Duncan Wu's goal is twofold: to correct some of the biases and misconceptions about the Romantics that have crept into modern critical discussion and to celebrate the mythic concepts, characters and objects that have passed down from the Romantics into contemporary culture (from Blake's Jerusalem and the person from Porlock to Shelley's elusive heart). Brimming with the foibles, follies, and eccentricities of the greatest writers in literary history, 30 Great Myths About the Romantics brings clarity to what we know - or think we know - about one of the most important periods in literary history.