English Romantic Poetry: Ethos, Structure, and Symbol in Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats delves into the profound complexities and intellectual struggles of four seminal English Romantic poets. The book emphasizes the importance of reading their poetry in context, recognizing that great poetry transcends abstract statements and embodies deeper truths about nature, knowledge, and art. The author argues that understanding these poets requires more than just analyzing their works for abstract generalizations; rather, it calls for a close dissection of the poetry itself, which reflects the poets' desire to express a unified intuition of the world. By focusing on structure, symbol, and the interplay of elements in their poems, the study examines how the organization of a poem reveals the poet's worldview at the time of writing.

The analysis is organized into two main groups of poems: poems of perplexity and poems of reconciliation. The first group includes works that reflect the poets' existential struggles and disillusionment, as they grapple with the tension between youthful idealism and harsh reality. These poems—written in the early years of the poets' lives—embody a sense of personal and philosophical turmoil. In contrast, the second group comprises poems of reconciliation, which reflect how these poets eventually synthesized their inner conflicts into a positive and reconciled vision. The book aims to show how, despite their apparent rebellion against classical traditions, these poets contribute to a broader Western philosophical tradition, seeking clarity, acceptance, and creative resolution. Through this deep and thoughtful analysis, the book offers new insights into the essence of Romantic poetry and its enduring relevance.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1968.