In a work that is uniquely comprehensive and theoretically astute, Isobel Armstrong rescues Victorian poetry from its longstanding sepia image as 'a moralised form of romantic verse', and unearths its often subversive critique of nineteenth-century culture and politics.

Victorian Poetry is a major re-evaluation of the genre by one of the foremost scholars of the period. In a work that is uniquely comprehensive and theoretically astute, Isobel Armstrong rescues Victorian poetry from its longstanding sepia image as a 'a moralised form of romantic verse', and unearths its often subversive critique of nineteenth-century culture and politics. For the first time, the aesthetics and politics of Victorian poetry are brought together in a sustained historical discussion. Isobel Armstrong examines its conservative and dissident traditions, and compares the work of familiar middle-class male poets to that of female and working-class poets. Victorian Poetry brilliantly demonstrates the extraordinary sophistication of the genre. At the same time it presents a vigorous challenge to some crucial issues in contemporary Marxist, post-structuralist and feminist criticism. The volume constitutes a landmark in the appreciation and understanding of Victorian literature.