WMR rebuts Watts

WMR replies to George Frederick Watts' letter.

Rossetti, William M. "'Festus and Recent Poetry." Athenaeum (April 15, 1876): 533. Web. 21 September 2011.

Rossetti replies to Watt's letter published in The Athenaeum on April 1st with three points. First, Rossetti claims that the number of editions of "Festus" does not prove current readership, but ultimately, he now realizes that more editions have been issued than he was previously aware of. He states that he's glad to know "Festus" is being read widely, since it's a poem he "sincerely admire."

Second, Rossetti clarifies that he'd already stated in Macmillan's Magazine that Bailey had influenced Dobell, and finally, he admits that George Frederick Watts was correct in saying Rossetti had cited the wrong publication date for "Festus." Rossetti said he based his earlier citation on the dedication date, which was in fact six years before the publication of the poem.

George Frederick Watts was among Rossetti's Cheyne Walk circle of associates; the pair had a lifelong association on literary matters as well as in Watts' efforts to care for Swinburne (336).