The Closest Thing in History: The Fab Four and The Younger Romantics
Webster
Paperback
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Intriguing and insightful, author John Webster's 'The Closest Thing in History' explores the surprising similarities that exist between the biggest band in music - The Beatles - and another Fab Four - the Younger Romantic Poets (Keats, Byron, Leigh Hunt and Shelley) - who were responsible for shaking up the cultural zeitgeist in the early nineteenth century. Noting that both groups initiated significant cultural changes, the author introduces a host of intriguing parallels. Both benefitted from inspirational figures, Lord Byron generated an early form of Beatlemania, and both had interlocking relationships that were a pivotal element of their creative output. Placing the poets' careers and writing lives of alongside those of The Beatles yields some beguiling perspectives and a sense of the wider cultural and social developments over the past 200 years. With a conclusion that traces the process though which poetry as a mass medium has been largely replaced by the new force of rock 'n' roll, and considers how the Romantics' legacy could shed light on The Beatles' possible place in history, 'The Closest Thing in History' is a fascinating (and utterly unique) must-read for all those with a passion for music, poetry and cultural rebels.