This comprehensive guide to the poetry and letters of John Keats offers a highly readable and detailed textual analysis of the themes and techniques of his work. Blades assesses all the major writing - including the narratives and the great odes - and goes on to examine the context of the verse through a survey of the poet's letters and an examination of the key features of nineteenth century Romanticism. This lively and imaginative study concludes with a discussion of some of the most influential critical responses to Keats's work.

In this lively and stimulating study, detailed analysis of the poems is closely grounded in the literary and historical contexts in which Lyrical Ballads was first conceived, realized and subsequently expanded into two volumes. Documenting the revisions of the early edition, John Blades carefully reassesses the poems in the light of Wordsworth's and Coleridge's literary theories, while Part II of the study broadens the discussion by tracing the critical history of Lyrical Ballads over the two centuries since its first publication.

In this lively and stimulating study, detailed analysis of the poems is closely grounded in the literary and historical contexts in which Lyrical Ballads was first conceived, realized and subsequently expanded into two volumes. Documenting the revisions of the early edition, John Blades carefully reassesses the poems in the light of Wordsworth's and Coleridge's literary theories, and then broadens the discussion by tracing the critical history of Lyrical Ballads over the two centuries since its first publication.

This introduction reflects the recent upsurge in academic interest in Shakespeare's non-dramatic verse. Part 1 adopts a thematic approach to the Sonnets, guiding students through detailed textual analyses. Part 2 provides a clear critical and contextual framework for interpreting the poems, examining the development and characteristics of sonnet form, humanist themes and early modern print culture, concluding with a survey of the critical history of the Sonnets.

This guide to James Joyce's major novels presents a refreshing approach to understanding the work of this challenging and enigmatic giant of twentieth-century literature. Taking the student through a careful, step-by-step analysis of each text, John Blades demonstrates a practical and lively method of critical analysis.

The History plays established Shakespeare's reputation as an enormously popular and dramatic storyteller, demonstrating his skill in drawing such astonishing characters as Richard III and Sir John Falstaff. Featuring detailed analyses of extracts, John Blades guides the student through four of Shakespeare's most compelling Histories.
Part I of this stimulating study:
provides clear and engaging close readings of passages from Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, and Richard III
examines major themes, characters, language and Shakespeare's dramatic techniques
...

This stimulating study takes a fresh look at Browning's poetry and key themes. Part I uses carefully selected extracts for close textual analysis, while Part II examines Browning's life, contexts and a sample of criticism. The volume is an ideal introductory guide for those who are studying Browning's poems for the first time.

This stimulating study takes a fresh look at Browning's poetry and key themes. Part I uses carefully selected extracts for close textual analysis, while Part II examines Browning's life, contexts and a sample of criticism. The volume is an ideal introductory guide for those who are studying Browning's poems for the first time.