Introduction: understanding Romantic poetry

Abstract

Most people reading a book of this kind nip through the preliminary sections as quickly as possible. Title page, list of contents, acknowledgements (‘… thanks above all to my wife, but for whose tireless work typing the manuscript and strangling the dog, this book would never …’) are usually dull or condescending or both, and a bit like the wrapping on a Christmas present—irritating bits of tinsel that get in the way of the real business and hence need to be disposed of as fast as decently possible. If you have taken that understandable route and arrived at this point by slipping past the chronological table at the start, can I urge you to go back and browse through it for a bit? That list of dates is not routine, surplus wrapping but crucial to an understanding of Romantic poetry.