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 Charles Swinburne. 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 Algernon Charles 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.