Victorian Muse

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Victorian Muse

The Afterlife of Dante's Beatrice in Nineteenth-Century Literature

Theory of art Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900

Author: Julia Straub

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Language: English

Published by: Continuum

Published on: 3rd November 2011

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 192 pages

ISBN: 9781441180681


Introduction

The figure of Dante's Beatrice can be seen as a cultural phenomenon or myth during the nineteenth century, inspiring a wide variety of representations in literature and the visual arts.

This study looks at the cultural afterlife of Beatrice in the Victorian period in remarkably different contexts.

Focus of the Study

Focusing on literary representations and selected examples from the visual arts, this book examines works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, George Eliot, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Walter Pater as well as by John Ruskin, Maria Rossetti and Arthur Henry Hallam.

Julia Straub's analysis shows how the various representations of Beatrice in literature and in the visual arts reflect in meaningful ways some of the central social and aesthetic concerns of the Victorian period, most importantly its discourse on gender.

Conclusion

This study offers fascinating insights into the Victorian reception of Dante by exploring the powerful appeal of his muse.

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