The re-enchantment of antiquity and romance revival in British literature and culture 1870-1914.

There has been significant exploration of both nineteenth century romance revival, fairytale and folklore, and reception studies exploring the centrality of classical knowledge to Victorian writing. However, no extensive study has brought together classical reception, the history of archaeology, and literary and book history, to argue that there was a concerted effort to 're-enchant' classical antiquity in the mould of the 'faerie-esque'.

I explore 're-enchantment' as a restoration of an impression of wonder to perceptions of antiquity following a destabilisation of the neoclassical ideal by the excavation of ancient cities. I argue that the classical was romanticised in a dialectic encapsulating an enchanting 'mythic-ness' appealing to the vogue for the 'faerie-esque' (the preoccupation of writers and artists with fairytales and folklore, often bound up with medieval revival) while remaining redolent of the classical tradition.

I make a case-study of the motifs of Pegasus, Perseus and Bellerophon by comparing anthologies of fairytale and folklore with those of ancient myth, alongside contemporary Victorian authors writing in the romance tradition, in periodical literature, and accompanying works of art and illustration. I examine romance revival in the Victorian literary tradition, but also argue that early modernist writers were heavily influenced by romantic conceptions of antiquity, showing how the early works of modernists were often 'romantic' rather than strictly 'modernist', and that the legacy of this literary upbringing often underlies the modernist text.

Borrowing methodology from book history, I argue that the relationship between written and visual aspects of literature is key in formulating the dialectic between 'faerie-esque' and 'classical'. Illustrative matter combines the authority of the classical tradition with the enchanting space of the 'faerie-esque', and that a preoccupation with rich, visual aspects of literature corresponds to heightened interest in the material remains of ancient cultures.

I suggest that certain visual symbols, such as that of Pegasus, come to act as a marker of literary quality associated with the romantic. This questions the paradoxical underlining of English Literature by 'foreign' ancient symbols, and the dialogue between 'English' and 'world literature'. Lack of work on the interplay between visual and textual in these contexts of excavation and the 'faerie-esque' revival has left gaps in scholarly appreciation of how both modern English Literature and Classics defined themselves against alternative historical models of 'literature', and notions of 'native' and 'foreign'.

I aim to show how this dialectic plays a critical role in the formulation of nineteenth century national identities and the relationship between 'English' and 'world' literature, to move away from a one-dimensional view of literature and provide insight into how reception creates a multi-layered, nuanced view of identity and genre, whereby genre and content overlap to create new meanings. Pragmatically, I also hope to provide greater insight into how the materiality of text shapes meaning, and work closely with heritage organisations and bookshops to promote the study of different forms and editions of texts and raise awareness of the importance of different sources for texts, from second-hand bookshops to libraries and archives.