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Devolving Romanticism: Nation, Region and the Case of Devon and Cornwall
Author(s) -
Moore Dafydd
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
literature compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.158
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 1741-4113
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4113.2008.00567.x
Subject(s) - romanticism , archipelagic state , criticism , celtic languages , cornish , romance , identity (music) , literature , history , sociology , art , archaeology , law , aesthetics , political science
This essay considers the ways in which four nations, or archipelagic, criticism has impacted upon the study of eighteenth‐century and Romantic Britain. It traces the history of four nations’ criticism from its impact on the Celtic nations and the study of regional identity and culture. The second half of the essay considers Devon and Cornwall, and in particular the Cornish writer Richard Polwhele as a case study for this four nations approach. It considers Polwhele's literary and other writerly activities (particularly in the field of antiquarianism and topographical county histories) as an example of a possible regional Romanticism.