1841: Emerson's Essays to Lays of Ancient Rome

Chronology of World, British and American Literature

Emerson. American. 1841/44. Essays. Essays, First and Second Series. First: “Self-reliance”; “Compensation”; “The Over-Soul.” Second: “Poet”; “Manners”; “Gifts”; “Nature”; “Politics.”

Robert Browning. British. 1842. Poetry. “My Last Duchess.” Renaissance Duke suggests that his wife died because she did not appreciate the honor of marrying him.

Nikolay Gogol. Russian. 1842. Story. “The Overcoat.” Major development in Russian realism. Poor copyist loves his new overcoat. He is robbed, dies heartbroken. Outbreak of overcoat robberies follows his death. His ghost?

Nikolay Gogol. Russian. 1842. Novel. Dead Souls. Archswindler Pavel Chichikov. “Buys” serfs who have died since last census. Was Gogol a realist or fantasist?

Thomas Babington Macaulay. British. 1842. Ballads. Lays of Ancient Rome. Chief ballads are “Horatius,” “The Battle of Lake Regillus,” and “Virginia.”