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Named a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2009Romanticism and the Rise of English addresses a peculiar development in contemporary literary criticism: the disappearance of the history of the English language as a relevant topic. Elfenbein argues for a return not to older modes of criticism, but to questions about the relation between literature and language that have vanished from contemporary investigation. His book is an example of a kind of work that has often been called for but rarely realized—a social philology that takes seriously the formal and institutional forces shaping the production of English. This results not only in a history of English, but also in a recovery of major events shaping English studies as a coherent discipline. This book points to new directions in literary criticism by arguing for the need to reconceptualize authorial agency in light of a broadened understanding of linguistic history.
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Romanticism and the Rise of English
Romanticism and the Rise of English Andrew Elfenbein
Stanford University Press Stanford, California
Stanford University Press Stanford, California ©2009 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archivalquality paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elfenbein, Andrew. Romanticism and the rise of English / Andrew Elfenbein. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8047-6025-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. English language--18th century--Usage. 2. English language-19th century--Usage. 3. English literature--18th century--History and criticism. 4. English literature--19th century--History and criticism. 5. English philology--History. 6. Romanticism--Great Britain. I. Title. PE1083.E44 2009 420.9034--dc22 2008019788 Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 10.9/13 Adobe Garamond
Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction: The Dust of Philology § 1
vii 1
Purifying English
18
§ 2 Romantic Syntax
45
§ 3 Bad Englishes
73
§ 4 Sounding Meaning
108
§ 5 Sentencing Romanticism
144
§ 6 Afterlives: Philology, Elocution, Composition
185
Afterword
216
Abbreviations
221
Notes
223
Works Cited
239
Index
265
Acknowledgments
On the top floor of my university’s library, catalogued in an obsolete system, tucked away in a far corner, lurk books on the history of English. The literal and figurative distances of this material from more familiar concerns in literary criticism are part of this book’s content and have been a challenge in its production. I have nevertheless been lucky to find sympathetic readers and audiences. Special thanks to Leslie Brisman, James Chandler, Anna Clark, Brian Goldberg, Michael Hancher, Gordon Hirsch, Peter Manning, James McKusick, Maureen McLane, Andrew Scheil, Susan Wolfson, and the members of my university’s NineteenthCentury Subfield. My readers for Stanford University Press, William Keach and Stuart Curran, saved me from many oversights: the book is better for their help. I also am grateful to past and present members of the Textgroup at the Center for Cognitive Sciences: Paul van den Broek, David Rapp, Randy Fletcher, Brooke Lea, Mija Van Der Wege, and others. Danika Stegeman was a valuable research assistant, and Anne Carter has been of great help in the final preparation of the manuscript. Emily-J