Abstract

This publication provides - for the first time since the late 1800s - a comprehensive anthology of sonnets written by Victorian poets. Covering both canonical and largely forgotten poets, the coverage ranges from single sonnets to complete sonnet sequences. Rather than restricting itself to a small number of sonnets from a limited list of poets, as in general Victorian poetry anthologies, this five-volume set includes a representative selection of sonnets for each individual poet in order to display the diversity and innovation brought to the sonnet form by Victorian poets. More than one hundred poets and over three thousand sonnets are included.

The anthology fills an important gap in the field of Victorian anthologies by making available a large number of examples of a poetic form that was one of the most important in nineteenth-century poetry. The sonnets are ordered chronologically by date of publication. This enables the reader to trace developments over a period of seventy years, during which a fundamental re-appraisal of the sonnet, in both structural and thematic forms, occurred.

'An extraordinary achievement. Brilliantly designed to allow readers to trace the form’s evolution across thousands of sonnets or to situate major figures amidst contemporary sonnet production, the ‘Anthem Anthology’ is indispensable to scholars, teachers and students of nineteenth-century poetry.' —Linda K. Hughes, Addie Levy Professor of Literature, Christian Texas University, USA

‘The Anthem Anthology of Victorian Sonnets’ is a comprehensive collection of three thousand sonnets written by poets between 1836 and the early years of the twentieth century. The work contains a representative selection of sonnets for each individual poet, in order to display the diversity and innovation brought to the sonnet form by Victorian poets.

'This ground-breaking collection presents many exciting discoveries alongside more familiar contemporaneous material, and displays the astonishing plenitude and the technical resourcefulness of Victorian sonnet-writing. In so doing it re-orientates our sense of the historical florescence of the sonnet form and re-draws the map of Victorian poetry as a whole.' —Richard Allen, Professor of English, formerly of Anglia Ruskin University, UK

'This formidable undertaking of anthologizing Victorian sonnets in five volumes, thoughtfully indexed, is chiefly valuable for its inclusion of so many little known or unknown writers of the genre. Those who thought they knew Victorian literature will have to think again.' —Archie Burnett, Professor of English and Co-director, Editorial Institute, Boston University, USA

Michael J. Allen was awarded a PhD for his study on 'The Victorian Sonnet: Antecedents, Form and Function', from Anglia Ruskin University in 2006.

'This magnificent anthology is a resounding vindication of the Victorian sonneteers. It at last allows scholars to study and readers to enjoy the full range of sonnets by famous and forgotten poets, including sonnet sequences as subtle and comprehensive as any Victorian novels.' —John Holmes, Senior Lecturer in English, University of Reading, UK

'An unrivalled representation of the sonnet in the Victorian age that demonstrates an impressive knowledge of the area. Its vast scope offers the possibility for rich new critical narratives on the sonnet to emerge; a valuable research resource.' —Marion Thain, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Birmingham, UK