New and definitive edition of Rossetti's masterpiece, with full notes and apparatus. Described by W.S. Blunt as 'the greatest of the all the great Victorian poems', this sequence of 103 sonnets was composed between 1847 and 1881, and finally published complete in Ballads and Sonnets just six months before Rossetti's death. These passionate celebrations of the ecstasy of love threatened by change and Fate inspired the Aesthetes and Decadents of the eighties and nineties, leading to Walter Pater's Mona Lisa and Oscar Wilde's Salome. This new edition of Rossetti's poetic masterpiece is presented here with Introduction, Notes and definitive texts and date. All variants are given for each poem (some sonnets exist in as many as eight versions), and each sonnet is given a documented date of composition and first publication. The illustrations include some rarely-seen images, notably a self-portrait by Elizabeth Siddal, the poet's wife, in whose coffin he placed his original poems, only to exhume them eight years later. ROGER C. LEWIS is Emeritus Professor of English, Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada.

For critics like John Ruskin and Walter Pater, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1892) was one of the great creative figures of the day, a painter and a poet of major stature. Yeats and the young Pound regarded him as an exemplary figure of solitary dedication to art and beauty.
Rossetti's most original work may have been in preparing the way for the modernists, who in turn dethroned him. He called the sonnet 'a moment's monument', and his best short lyrics are instants of oppressed emotion cut free of time. In this, as in the suggestiveness of his imagery, he anticipates the French Symbolists. He can also be regarded as the founder of modern verse translation, not only for the freshness of his versions but also for his choice of poets---Villon, Cavalcanti and the young Dante.
In this selection, Clive Wilmer has made a personal choice, emphasizing the 'pure poetry' of the lyrics at the expense of the more conventionally Victorian monologues and narratives. He has also included a generous selection from the translations, and provided a biographical and critical introduction.

Frank Laurence Lucas (1894-1967) was a renowned English author, poet and classicist, often remembered for his polemical attacks on key modernist figures such as T. S. Eliot, as well as his meticulous scholarship in the production of texts such as the four-volume Complete Works of John Webster. First published in 1933, this book presents an accessible selection of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poetry edited by Lucas. The text is divided into two parts, with the first part containing translated works by other poets and the second original works by Rossetti. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Rossetti's poetry and the writings of Lucas.

Few collections of verse have been associated with such drama as these poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82). Much of this work had disappeared in 1862 when it was buried with Rossetti's wife, Elizabeth Siddal, only to be brought back to the light of day in 1869. Rossetti added further poems and the work first appeared in 1870. The full impact of the sexually explicit material was soon felt. In his article 'The Fleshly School of Poetry', the writer Robert Williams Buchanan denounced Rossetti as corrupt and decadent. Others joined the chorus of disapproving voices. Steeped in remorse about his treatment of his wife, and riddled with guilt about his affair with Jane Morris, Rossetti broke down and attempted suicide. Behind all the sensation, however, lies Rossetti's subtle and complex literary intelligence attempting, many years before Freud, to find honest modes of expression for the central importance of the libido.

Few collections of verse have been associated with such drama as these poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82). Much of this work had disappeared in 1862 when it was buried with Rossetti's wife, Elizabeth Siddal, only to be brought back to the light of day in 1869. Rossetti added further poems and the work first appeared in 1870. The full impact of the sexually explicit material was soon felt. In his article 'The Fleshly School of Poetry', the writer Robert Williams Buchanan denounced Rossetti as corrupt and decadent. Others joined the chorus of disapproving voices. Steeped in remorse about his treatment of his wife, and riddled with guilt about his affair with Jane Morris, Rossetti broke down and attempted suicide. Behind all the sensation, however, lies Rossetti's subtle and complex literary intelligence attempting, many years before Freud, to find honest modes of expression for the central importance of the libido.

The Rossettis were one of the most remarkable and talented families in Victorian Britain. Of the two parents and three siblings, Dante Gabriel (1828 82) and Christina (1830 94) stood out, but throughout their lives they remained a tightly-knit unit. William Michael (1829 1919), who published this two-volume work in 1895, was the family record keeper and in the memoir of his brother we have an unmatched account of the family dynamic. He was not always candid about his brother's affairs but his biography is unparalleled for its fresh directness. Unlike all subsequent biographers, William wrote from the inside, and even if he was unable to tell the whole story, the intimate details of the day-to-day life of the great painter and poet have about them the ring of truth and authenticity. Volume 1 is given over to William's extensive and sympathetic memoir of his brother's life.

The Rossettis were one of the most remarkable and talented families in Victorian Britain. Of the two parents and three siblings, Dante Gabriel (1828 82) and Christina (1830 94) stood out, but throughout their lives they remained a tightly-knit unit. William Michael (1829 1919), who published this two-volume work in 1895, was the family record keeper and in the memoir of his brother we have an unmatched account of the family dynamic. He was not always candid about his brother's affairs but his biography is unparalleled for its fresh directness. Unlike all subsequent biographers, William wrote from the inside, and even if he was unable to tell the whole story, the intimate details of the day-to-day life of the great painter and poet have about them the ring of truth and authenticity. Volume 2 contains hundreds of Dante's letters to his family, with helpful explanatory notes by William.

Excerpt: ...together, alive from the abyss, Clung the soul-wrung implacable close kiss; And pity of self through all made broken moan Which said, 'For once, for once, for once alone ' And still Love sang, and what he sang was this: - III 'O ye, all ye that walk in Willow-wood, That walk with hollow faces burning white; What fathom-depth of soul-struck widowhood, What long, what longer hours, one lifelong night, Ere ye again, who so in vain have wooed Your last hope lost, who so in vain invite Your lips to that their unforgotten food, Ere ye, ere ye again shall see the light Alas the bitter banks in Willowwood, With tear-spurge wan, with blood-wort burning red: Alas if ever such a pillow could Steep deep the soul in sleep till she were dead, - Better all life forget her than this thing, That Willowwood should hold her wandering ' IV So sang he: and as meeting rose and rose Together cling through the wind's wellaway Nor change at once, yet near the end of day The leaves drop loosened where the heart-stain glows, - So when the song died did the kiss unclose; And her face fell back drowned, and was as grey As its grey eyes; and if it ever may Meet mine again I know not if Love knows. Only I know that I leaned low and drank A long draught from the water where she sank, Her breath and all her tears and all her soul: And as I leaned, I know I felt Love's face Pressed on my neck with moan of pity and grace, Till both our heads were in his aureole. WITHOUT HER What of her glass without her? The blank grey There where the pool is blind of the moon's face. Her dress without her? The tossed empty space Of cloud-rack whence the moon has passed away. Her paths without her? Day's appointed sway Usurped by desolate night. Her pillowed place Without her? Tears, ah me for love's good grace, And cold forgetfulness of...

Although today William Blake (1757-1827) is recognised as a visionary poet and artist, at the time of his death he was unknown except for his presumed insanity. This highly influential two-volume biography by the barrister Alexander Gilchrist, first published in 1863 and reissued here in its second edition (1880), rescued William Blake from almost complete obscurity. The accepted interpretation of his madness was challenged and his creative talents were brought to the attention of Victorian society by the inclusion of selected writings and artistic works, nearly all previously unpublished. Volume 1 of Gilchrist's book is an account of William Blake's life, combining excerpts from his written works and paintings with detailed biographical information drawn from surviving letters and contemporary accounts.

Although today William Blake (1757 1827) is recognised as a visionary poet and artist, at the time of his death he was unknown except for his presumed insanity. This highly influential two-volume biography by the barrister Alexander Gilchrist, first published in 1863 and reissued here in its second edition (1880), rescued William Blake from almost complete obscurity. The accepted interpretation of his madness was challenged and his creative talents were brought to the attention of Victorian society by the inclusion of selected writings and artistic works, nearly all previously unpublished. Volume 2 contains a large selection of Blake's poetry and prose together with an annotated catalogue of his drawings and paintings.