Young Romantics: The Tangled Lives of English Poetry’s Greatest Generation
Release date: 2010 / 311 pages
Synopsis (from the back cover): …Young Romantics tells the interlinked stories of the very young English Romantic poets from an entirely fresh perspective — celebrating their outsized yearning for friendship and their youthfulness, as well as their individuality and political radicalism.
First Sentence: The Protestant cemetery in Rome stands at a distance from the grand sites of the rest of the city, just outside its old fortifications.
Review: This was a delightful surprise!! I must admit, I had feared reading it would feel like “work,” but devoured it in three days. I taught American and world literature for fifteen years, but somehow never did get around to teaching British literature, so my knowledge of Lord Byron, Keats, and the Shelleys was from college courses (twenty years ago) and the time-worn classics that appear in 9th grade anthologies everywhere (To a Sky-lark, Ode to a Nightingale, Edymion, etc…).
But what fascinating lives this coterie experienced! And Hay has created an eminently readable narrative that is difficult to put aside. Young Romantics describes “the practical, emotional and intellectual consequences of living as part of a politically and philosophically radical network” (309). I love poetry and devoted many years to teaching the wonder of the right words in the right order to many an adolescent, but have always been grateful to be allowed to live a quiet life of my own choosing, complicated by neither genius nor fettered by gender. This wonderful work eloquently describes how complicated these two strands can interwine and bind great individuals.
I also enjoyed watching how proponents of “free love” — hundreds of years before American hippies embraced this “modern” philosophy — idealistically tried to live above the realities of human nature and how utterly real Hay’s account of their experiences were. This group of friends try to balance the need for community with individuation and succeed to varying degrees:
“Creativity for the first generation of Romantic poets was inherently solitary, since it stemmed from, and idealised, the genius of the individual spirit.” (142)
“This was a dilemma of solitude and sociability, about whether the poet needed companionship or isolation in order to produce great work.” (66)
So, why read an academic treatise on Romantic poets from long ago? Simply because they were truly fascinating — in their talents, as well as their short-comings. Hay presents three-dimensional “real” people who were of their time, yet have survived well past their time. And, even more, to learn anew what is most valued in community and to the individual, apart from genius and prestige (fame), across the years.
In the words of Hay — “This is not a biography of a particular person, nor does it tell the story of a tightly coherent group o findividuals. Instead, it explores the interlinked lives of a group of writers, all of whom were characterised by their youth, by their idealism, and by a particularly passionate engagement with politics, art, and the romance of intellectual adventure.” (xiv)
So, if I have piqued your attention for this lovely academic work, please leave me a comment and I will choose a lucky winner by the weekend!
Yes, I’d love to read this. I think it would be interesting and enlightening. Thanks!
Sounds fascinating! Please enter my name.
ooh my interest is piqued! Thanks for the review!
Tantalizing…that’s the word I thought of after reading your review. Please count me in!
I’m hooked! Please enter me in the giveaway.
It’s great I’ve found this review. I actually have this book in my amazon wishlist. I am a huge admirer of the romantics, I love their works and what these poets and thinkers stood for and presented in their writing. Your post did not only pique my interest but made me want the book even more.
I’ve visted that Protestant cemetery in Rome and was thrilled to see some of those gravesites: I was majoring in English at the time. That was a long time ago (a life time) but I still love those “Romantics.” I’d love to have this book.
O.M.G. This sounds wonderful. Admittedly, I know little of British literature beyond what was addressed in a couple of survey courses I took in college. Reading a book like this sounds like it could fill in the gaps of missing knowledge I desperately want (Byron and Keats particularly). Thanks for the chance!
I’m so glad to see interest in this wonderful work! I wish I had more than one copy to share!
Count me in!
Thank you so much for this great review. I think this has the potential to appeal to teens if “hand sold” to them. I plan to buy it for my library and try to get one teen to read it–word of mouth could take over from there.
It sounds so good – - -
Yes, Pam! I’m sorry I didn’t include that this would be an excellent choice for high school students — accessible and interesting. And the bits about “free love” would generate discussion well, too… I’m so glad you left this comment!
Your review of this book reminds me of my son and his group of friends who are trying to make it big in the music scene. I look forward to reading it.
I took a couple of British lit courses in college, and truly enjoyed the Romantic poets. I’m definitely putting this one on my reading list. Thanks for the review!!
This looks like a lovely read! I would la la LOVE to win and read this! Cheers!