Algernon Charles Swinburne Critical Research Guide

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Critical Research Guide ◈ Deirdre Fanzo ◈ ENG 356

Background Information:

Algernon Charles Swinburne was one of the great Victorian poets whose compositions often included such taboo topics as lesbianism, cannibalism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism. Swinburne was heavily influenced by the pornographic works of de Sade, and his collection of poetry Poems and Ballads​ (1866) caused what may be the greatest controversy in English poetic history. Other notable works include Atalanta in Calydon​ (1865), Songs before Sunrise (1871), and A Century of Roundels ​(1883), which was dedicated to his friend and fellow poet Christina Rossetti, as well as the unfinished, posthumously published Lesbia Brandon​.

Algernon Charles Swinburne, 1862, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Major Critical Editions:

◈ Hyder, Clyde K., editor. Algernon Swinburne: The Critical Heritage​​. Routledge, 2014.

◈ O’Gorman, Francis, editor. Algernon Charles Swinburne: 21st Century Oxford Authors​​. Oxford University Press, 2017.

◈ Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Major Poems and Selected Prose by Algernon CharlesSwinburne​. Edited by Jerome McGann and Charles L. Sligh, Yale University Press, 2004.

 

The Critical Heritage ​is a collection of critical sources on prominent literary figures, including contemporary responses to these older works. This piece in the collection focuses on Swinburne and features important critical essays in response to his work. Algernon Charles Swinburne: 21st Century Oxford Authors​ is considered to be the first rigorous scholarly collection of Swinburne’s works, featuring criticism which draws on both contemporary sources and manuscripts. Major Poems and Selected Prose by AlgernonCharles Swinburne ​features a vast array of Swinburne’s works accompanied by notes and commentary from the editors.

 

The collection “Mayfield, John S., Papers: Swinburne Series” can be found at Georgetown

University and is one of the largest private collections of Swinburne’s works.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *