Taking its cue from Jacques Derrida’s concept of le mal d’archive, this study explores the interrelations between the experience of loss, melancholia, archi

“[Abrams] can sum up whole epochs and genres with a telling phrase. . . .Admirably cogent and erudite throughout.” —Kirkus Reviews

Examines the Romantic period in poetry that includes the works of Byron, Shelley, Keats and others.

The words classic and romantic, we are often told, cannot be defined at all, and even if they could be defined, some would add, we should not be much profited.