Keats, Hunt and the Aesthetics of Pleasure

by Ayumi Mizukoshi

Overview

This book tackles the age-old interpretative problem of 'pleasure' in Keat's poetry by placing him in the context of the liberal, leisured and luxurious culture of Hunt's circle. Challenging the standard narrative which attribute Keat's astonishing poetic development to his separation from Hunt, the author cogently argues that Keats, profoundly imbued with Hunt's bourgeois ethic and aesthetic, remained a poet of sensuous pleasure through to the end of his short career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349425662
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	03/13/2001
Series:	Romanticism in Perspective:Texts, Cultures, Histories
Edition description:	1st ed. 2001
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

AYUMI MIZUKOSHI is a Lecturer at Teikyo Heisei University, Japan. She obtained her doctorate in English Literature from the University of Oxford, and her research interests include aesthetics and Romantic literature.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction: A Problem of Interpretation The Bourgeois Cultural Revolution The Aesthetics of Nature Classicism as Cultural Luxury 'A Leafy Luxury': Poems (1817) 'Wherein Lies Happiness?': Endymion (1818) 'Visions of Delight': Lamia (1820) Conclusion: The Return of the Aesthetic Notes Index

Editorial Reviews

'This book generously and fearlessly places Keat's work back into the context of literature and in the haunts of pleasure.' - James Najarian, European Romantic Review

From the Publisher

Mizukoski (English literature, Teikyo Heisei U., Japan) tackles the problem of interpreting John Keats' (1795-1821) sensuousness, which has been thought unseemly for a serious poet by critics since his own time. He emphasizes the young poet's membership in the Cockney and radical political circles dominated by his mentor Leigh Hunt, and at the same time tries to counter what he sees as over-politicizing tendencies by modern critics. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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