Using the 180-year history of Keats'sEve of St. Agnes as a basis for theorizing about the reading process, Stillinger's book explores the nature and whereabouts of "meaning" in complex works. A proponent of authorial intent, Stillinger argues a theoretical compromise between author and reader, applying a theory of interpretive democracy that includes the endlessly multifarious reader's response as well as Keats's guessed-at intent. Stillinger also considers the process of constructing meaning, and posits an answer to why Keats's work is considered canonical, and why it is still being read and admired.

"A fugitive handprint in a bowl of cream, a bird tangled in the grapevines of a mural, holy women who clap their voices into prayers-this is a world of unexpected beauty, and Pucci as a translator deserves our respect and praise for having clapped these poems into songs."-Joel C. Relhan, Wheaton College, Norton, MA. Owing to the rich storehouse of information it contains, the poetry of Venantius Fortunatus (c. 535-600) has long been mined as a historical source for Merovingian society, a focus that overshadows an appreciation of the poems' literary value. This volume, offering free-verse translations of Fortunatus' personal poetry, remains faithful to the historical sweep of the poet's lines while paying attention to the literary qualities that make these poems masterpieces of their kind. The volume includes an overview of late antique Gaul, Fortunatus' biography, interpretations of the poems, prosopographical introductions, maps, bibliography, and indices. Joseph Pucci is Associate Professor of Classics and in the Program in Medieval Studies and Associate Professor of comparative Literature at Brown University.

This anthology fills the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date collection of the most important contemporary writings on the English romantic poets. During the 1980s, many theoretical innovations in literary study swept academic criticism. Many of these approaches--from deconstructive, new historicist, and feminist perspectives--used romantic texts as primary examples and altered radically the ways in which we read. Other major changes have occurred in textual studies, dramatically transforming the works of these poets. The world of English romantic poetry has certainly changed, and Romantic Poetry keeps pace with those changes. Karl Kroeber and Gene W. Ruoff have organized the book by poet--Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelly, and Keats--and have included essays representative of key critical approaches to each poet's work. In addition to their excellent general introduction, the editors have provided brief, helpful forewords to each essay, showing how it reflects current approaches to its subject. The book also has an extensive bibliography sure to serve as an important research aid. Students on all levels will find this book invaluable.