The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry (Edinburgh Critical Studies in Victorian Culture)

The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry surveys the variety of ways in which Persia, and the multitude of ideological, historical, cultural and political notions that it embodied, were received, circulated, and appropriated. The word ‘Persia’ to the Victorian was not just the name of a territorial entity but a matrix of different notions, created and crafted by a range of oral and written stories, themes and tropes. ‘Persia’ was a product of a mental vision with a long historical heritage, formed by a variety of sources, and circulating in different media. The Victorians responded to this heritage from different perspectives, marked by every shade of social class, religious affiliation, or political allegiance. This book charts this diversity of perceptions, exploring the ways in which ‘Persia’ figures in Victorian poetry across a broad range of works incorporating literary, historical, and cultural material. A study of the wealth of meanings that Persia real or imagined held for Victorian poetry The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry surveys the variety of ways in which Persia, and the multitude of ideological, historical, cultural and political notions that it embodied, were received, circulated and appropriated. Providing the first systematic index of nineteenth-century poems that were in any way involved with Persia, the book explores its presence across a broad range of works incorporating literary, historical and cultural material. "The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry surveys the variety of ways in which Persia, and the multitude of ideological, historical, cultural and political notions that it embodied, were received, circulated and appropriated. Providing the first systemic index of nineteenth-century poems that were in any way involved with Persia, the book explores its presence across a broad range of works incorporating literary, historical and cultural material."--Www.bookdepository.com Contents Series Editor’s Preface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Persia in the West 2. Persia and Nineteenth-Century English Poetry 3. ‘Sohrab and Rustum’ 4. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 5. Ferishtah’s Fancies Epilogue: The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry Bibliography Index