Victorian Poetry: An Annotated Anthology is a fully annotated and illustrated collection of Victorian poetry.


The Anthology features a generous selection of work by all the major figures of the age, including Matthew Arnold, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson and Oscar Wilde, as well as many less well-known writers. Several long poems are presented in their entirety, such as Arnold's 'Empedocles on Etna', Clough's Amours de Voyage, Meredith's Modern Love and Tennyson's In Memoriam AHH. All the major genres of the period are represented, including dramatic monologue, dramatic lyric, lyric, sonnet, elegy, ballad, philosophical drama, and the epistolary poem.

Each poet is introduced by a biographical headnote, and each poem is prefaced by a note giving publication details, biographical facts, contextual material, and other information. The poems themselves are also fully annotated. Extensive introductory material enables readers to read across the volume chronologically, thematically, or by individual author.