Page 7 - Poetry-Romance

The Language of Love

oetry has ever been the language of love. But as this
collection will demonstrate, the course of true love quite
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often does not run smoothly! The poetry in this volume will
not compare you to a summer’s day, or assure you that roses are
red. Instead, it offers a laugh-out-loud look at the complications
of love, romance, and just pairing in general.
Here, you’ll find ballads of lazy lovers and spurned suitors.
You’ll meet suitors whose hearts are focused primarily upon the
bank accounts of the objects of their affections. In “The Ballad of
Arabella,” you’ll discover just how important pearly teeth (and,
yes, a hefty bank account) can be to affairs of the heart. You’ll
find comments on the absurdity of pitching woo a bit too early in
the morning—and a look at romance in the vegetable kingdom.
For the Victorian romantic, a fresh complication was
emerging in the form of the “new” Victorian woman. The
liberated lady of Victorian times proved a perplexing creature.
How does one romance a lady doctor or lawyer? Here, you’ll meet
the Victorian “bluestocking,” the educated lady who can quote
twenty different poets in five dead languages (which can be a bit
challenging to her wooer, who may not be so well “versed”).
You’ll meet the Girton Girl, the Crystal-Gazer, and that rarest of
femmes, the Advertising Girl.
One might be tempted to relegate some of these plaintive
poems to the realm of “male chauvinism,” except... quite a few are
written by women! And quite a few also describe a sort of person
(male or female) that we encounter fairly often today, and find no
more agreeable now than these poets did over 100 years ago.
The poetry in this collection comes from a variety of Victorian
magazines, newspapers, and scrap albums. They are generally
presented in chronological order. Bylines, sources and dates are
given when available; works found as album clippings, alas, often
have none of these.
But enough said! It’s time to “fall in love” with some rare,
unusual, and delightfully witty Victorian poetry!

—Moira Allen

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