Introduction

Abstract

The 1820s and 1830s continue to be considered as a period in which little poetry of note was published. Stewart sets out the critical and historical context for a period in which poetic culture was more vibrant than critics have typically assumed, and yet marked by a new doubt about poetry’s cultural status. Stewart argues that the period’s poetry helps us question issues relating to gender, book history, literary form, and periodisation in new ways. We continue to question the role that poetry should have in society; this period offers a new perspective on these concerns.