 | Ruins and Empire : The Evolution of a Theme in Augustan and Romantic Literature One of the most common scenes in Augustan and Romantic literature is that of a writer confronting some emblem of change and loss, most often the remains of a vanished civilization or a desolate natural landscape. Ruins and Empire traces the ruin sentiment from its earliest classical and Renaissance expressions through English literature to its establishment as a dominant theme of early American art. Laurence Goldstein is professor of English at the University of Michigan. |
