William Morris and the Uses of Violence, 18561890

By (author) Ingrid Hanson

Publication date:

15 April 2013

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780857283191

‘William Morris and the Uses of Violence, 1856–1890’ combines a close reading of Morris’s work with historical and philosophical analysis in order to argue, contrary to prevailing critical opinion, that his writings demonstrate an enduring commitment to an ideal of violent battle. The work examines Morris’s representations of violence in relation to the wider cultural preoccupations and political movements with which they intersect, including medievalism, Teutonism, and the visionary, fractured socialism of the ‘fin de siècle’. 

‘Specialists will value Hanson’s astute, compelling close readings of transformative yet conflicted myths of violence in William Morris’s poetry and prose; students of war, politics, gender and historiography in Victorian literature and culture will relish the challenging questions raised by this wide-ranging, richly contextualised and ethically conscious study.’ —Samantha Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature, University of Bristol