Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a painter, poet and a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings may have brought him greater fame, but Rossetti himself regarded poetry as the higher art. In a letter to T.J. Hake, he wrote: “My own belief is that I am a poet (within the limit of my powers) primarily, and that it is my poetic tendencies that chiefly give value to my pictures” (
Correspondence, 110). Although his poems appeared in contemporary magazines and journals, Rossetti did not publish an original collection until 1870, when he was in his forties. Favourite poetic forms were the narrative ballad and sonnet, as well as the dramatic monologue and the ode. Inspired by the poetry of well-known Romantics like Byron, Shelley and Coleridge, Rossetti’s own work also helped to…
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Citation: Roe, Dinah. "Dante Gabriel Rossetti". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3853, accessed 24 November 2024.]
