ABSTRACT

For the past four decades Frank Kermode, critic and writer, has steadily established himself as one of the most brilliant minds of his generation. Author and editor of over forty books, his prodigious output includes some of the best literary criticism to be published. Questioning the public's harsh perception of 'the artist', Kermode at the same time gently pokes fun at artists' own, often inflated, self-image. He identifies what has become one of the defining characteristics of the Romantic tradition - the artist in isolation and the emerging power of the imagination. The ingeniousness of Kermode's argument and the polish and wit of the writing all serve to identify the book as one of his finest offerings. Back in print after an absence of over a decade, The Romantic Image is quintessential Kermode. Small wonder then that this, one of his earliest works, is such a classic. Enlightenment has seldom been so enjoyable!

part I|124 pages

Dancer and Tree

chapter 1|34 pages

The Artist in Isolation

chapter 2|15 pages

‘In Memory of Major Robert Gregory'

chapter 3|7 pages

The Image

chapter 4|52 pages

The Dancer

chapter 5|14 pages

The Tree

part II|73 pages

The Twentieth Century

chapter 6|14 pages

Arthur Symons

chapter 7|23 pages

T. E. Hulme

chapter 8|28 pages

‘Dissociation of Sensibility'

Modern Symbolist readings of literary history

chapter 9|6 pages

Conclusion

chapter |8 pages

Epilogue