‘Demand No Direr Name’: Eternity in British Romantic Poetry

The introduction defines eternity in the context of this study, revealing the complex philosophical and religious underpinnings of the ideas during the Romantic period. It asserts the importance of eternity for an understanding of Romantic poetry, choosing examples from the poets included in this study and outlining the intellectual tradition (philosophical and religious, spanning the Bible, Plato, Plotinus, Kant, and others) drawn upon by the poets. The introduction explains the key principles for each poet’s inclusion in the study, and discusses the prevalence and significance of images of eternity in Romantic poetry before focusing upon the aesthetic and philosophical power of eternity in Romantic poetry. It claims that the featured poets are united through their emphasis that insight is not obtained through regurgitating doctrine or ideology that exists independently of the work. Rather, eternity is earned, line by line, in the poetry itself.