A C Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon, London 1865
This poem was the first of Swinburne’s works to become widely known. It attracted much attention through its combination of unusual metres deriving in some measure from Classical Greek, and for its powerful imagery and language. The chorus with its outspoken reference to ‘the supreme evil God’ shocked many Victorians; Christina Rossetti covered the passage in her copy with a thick strip of paper.
After reading the poem, Powell wrote to Swinburne and thus began their friendship. The copy of Atalanta shown here was given to Powell by Swinburne.
