In offering other texts relevant to Romantic studies, our aim in this book has in most cases been to provide substantial extracts, much longer than would be possible in a printed form. The aim of this handbook is to offer the first truly integrated survey of this interdisciplinary and international field of Nineteenth Century Poets. Romantic writing, for the purposes of this volume, is defined to include poetry, prose (essays of various kinds and informal writings such as letters), that was being written at the same time. The best known poets who wrote during the period were Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, but this book also provides a generous selection of poets, including the major poets whose work is now arousing considerable interest. The concise presentation of the main concepts of Social and Cultural Outlook of every poet is intended not only to offer readers a unique overview of current research in the field; it is also meant to serve as a forum for bringing together approaches from areas as varied as neurosciences and literary history, thus adding further contour and depth to this emergent field of study.