Victorian Soul-Talk: Poetry, Democracy, and the Body Politic

316 Pages·2017·7.087 MB·English

by  Julia F. Saville (auth.)

Palgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century
Writing and Culture
Series Editor
Joseph Bristow
Department of English
University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
USA
Palgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century Writing and Culture is a new
monograph series that aims to represent the most innovative research on
literaryworksthatwereproducedintheEnglish-speakingworldfromthe
timeoftheNapoleonicWarstothefindesiécle.Attentivetothehistorical
continuities between ‘Romantic’ and ‘Victorian’, the series will feature
studiesthathelpscholarshiptoreassessthemeaningofthesetermsduring
a century marked by diverse cultural, literary, and political movements.
The main aim of the series is to look at the increasing influence of types
ofhistoricismonourunderstandingofliteraryformsandgenres.Itreflects
the shift from critical theory to cultural history that has affected not only
theperiod1800-1900butalsoeveryfieldwithinthedisciplineofEnglish
literature.Alltitlesintheseriesseektoofferfreshcriticalperspectivesand
challenging readings of both canonical and non-canonical writings of
thisera.
More information aboutthisseries at
http://www.springer.com/series/14607
JuliaF.Saville
Victorian Soul-Talk
Poetry, Democracy, and the Body Politic
JuliaF.Saville
UniversityofIllinois
Urbana,Illinois,USA
PalgraveStudiesinNineteenth-CenturyWritingandCulture
ISBN978-3-319-52505-1 ISBN978-3-319-52506-8(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-52506-8
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017933697
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To thememory ofmy father,
AnthonyEric StaffordSaville(1919–2012)
Andfor mysister,
Susan ElizabethSaville White.
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Working on this book over the past decade, I have frequently been the
beneficiary of intellectual inspiration, imaginative vitality, and fellow feel-
ingofakindVictorianpoetsaimedtogeneratewiththeirsoul-talk.Within
the English Department at Illinois, many colleagues spent precious time
readingandcommentingonlargesegmentsofthisproject.Amongthese
were Curtis Perry, whose expertise on civic republicanism enriched the
book’s introduction; Trish Loughran and Justine Murison, who offered
rigorous feedback on early versions of the Walt Whitman chapter; and
LaurenGoodlad,mostgenerousandintellectuallyinspiringofcolleagues,
who all through the book’s incubation responded to nascent ideas and
helpedmetodigestmanybafflingparadoxesofnineteenth-centuryBritish
political culture. Other colleagues both at Illinois and elsewhere have
offered diverse forms of support. Among these I especially thank
Amanda Anderson, Martin Camargo, J. B. Capino, Eleanor
Courtemanche, Carol Neely, Rick Powers, Siobhan Somerville, Marjorie
Stone,BeverlyTaylor,ChipTucker,andStephanieKudukWeiner.Natalie
Houstoninparticularhasbeenastaunchintellectualcomradeandfriend.
Intheproject’searlyyears,Iwassupportedbytheexhaustivesleuthing
of superb research assistants funded by the joint ingenuity and resource-
fulness of then department head, Curtis Perry, and his ally, Rick Powers.
My special gratitude goes to Christina M. Walter, Elizabeth Hoiem, and
MelissaBailes,allofwhomarenowpursuingflourishingacademiccareers
of their own. Lively conversations with the graduate students in my
seminar on “Soul-Talk” in fall 2014 encouraged me to believe that this
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
topiccouldhaveappealtomorethanasmallVictorianpoetryreadership.
Ithank them fortheirenthusiasticinterest.
In the course of the book’s writing, I also benefited from centenary
celebrations of Algernon Charles Swinburne at the University of London
in2009,andofRobertBrowningatBaylorUniversity,Waco,Texasin2012.
IespeciallythankCatherineMaxwellandStefanoEvangelista,whothrough
theircollaborationsfueledmyenthusiasmforSwinburne;JeromeMcGann,
whoofferedtimelyencouragement;andthelateLindaPeterson—aspirited
interlocutoronthetopicofRobertBrowning’ssoul-talk.Otherinvaluable
interlocutors include Stephanie Kuduk Weiner and Joseph Phelan, both
of whom provided generous feedback on an early version of the Clough
chapter;KarenDieleman,whoreadthemanuscriptinitsentirety;andJoseph
Bristow, whose sharp editorial eye helped make this a stronger book. The
personal attentiveness and efficiency of editors and staff at Palgrave
Macmillan—inparticularBenjaminDoyleandCamilleDavies—havemade
thepublicationprocesslessdauntingthanitmightotherwisehavebeen.
Financial support from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the
Humanities Research Board, and the English Department at Illinois
providedme with semesters of teaching release at critical junctures in the
manuscript’s development. An early draft of Chapter 3 appeared in
Victorian Studies as “Soul-Talk: Networks of Political Poetry in a Trans-
Channel Literary Triangle,” Copyright © 2013. Segments are reprinted
with thepermission ofIndiana University Press.
Finally,IthankmysisterSusanwho—sinceIleftmyfirsthomeinSouth
Africa—hasshownunflagginginterestinmyliteraryprogress.Thisbookis
forherandforourlate,much-missedfather.LastbecausenotleastIthank
MichaelVaillancourt,dearone,advisor,andfriend,whoserespectforthe
lifeofthemind,for“Allthequestingandtheguessing/Ofthesoul’sown
soul within,” has seenall thistalkof soul throughto itsend.
C
ONTENTS
1 Introduction:PoeticSoul-Talk andCivicVirtue 1
2 TransnationalRepublicanandFeminist:ThePoliticalEthics
ofElizabeth BarrettBrowning’sSoul Poetics 29
3 “CitizenClough,”the “Soul’sOwnSoul,”and the Dangers
ofComplying 83
4 “Talkinsidethe Soul”withRobertBrowning’s “Saviour
ofSociety” 131
5 “The Hum ofYourValvèd Voice”: Walt Whitman’sSoul
andHisDemocratic SoulPolitic 171
6 “Souls Overcast”and“The Shadow-less Soul”:
Swinburne’sElemental Republicanism 221
7 Conclusion 263
Bibliography 271
Index 291
ix
A
BBREVIATIONS
WEBB The Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Edited by
Sandra Donaldson with Rita Patteson, Marjorie Stone,
andBeverlyTaylor.5vols.London:Pickering&Chatto,
2010.
LTA The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning to Her Sister
Arabella. Edited by Scott Lewis. 2 vols. Waco, TX:
WedgestonePress,2002.
BC TheBrownings’Correspondence.EditedbyPhillipKelley,
Ronald Hudson, Scott Lewis, Edward Hagan, Joseph
Phelan, and Rhian Williams. 23 vols. Winfield, KS:
WedgestonePress,1984–2016.
PB The Poems of Robert Browning. Edited by John
Woolford, Daniel Karlin, and Joseph Phelan. 4 vols.
Harlow,UK:Longman-Pearson,1991.
Bonchurch Swinburne, Algernon Charles. The Complete Works
of Algernon Charles Swinburne. Bonchurch Edition.
Edited by Edmund Gosse & T. J. Wise. 1925. New
York:Russell&Russell,1968.
PACS ThePoemsofAlgernonCharlesSwinburne.6vols.London:
ChattoandWindus,1904.https://catalog.hathitrust.org/
Record/001024594.
SL The Swinburne Letters. Edited by Cecil Y. Lang. 6 vols.
NewHaven,CT:YaleUniversityPress,1959.
Tristram Tristram of Lyonesse in Algernon Charles Swinburne:
Major Poems and Selected Prose. Edited by Jerome
McGann and Charles L. Sligh. New Haven, CT: Yale
UniversityPress,2004.
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