Eighteenth-Century Literary Fragments: Queering the Fiction of "Finished" Work.

This article examines the eighteenth-century literary assumption that works must be "finished," challenging this binary by queering the concept through analysis of fragmented and unfinished texts by authors such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, and Mary Wollstonecraft. It argues that the notion of a completed work is a fiction that overlooks the partial, ongoing, and dialogic nature of writing, advocating for the critical reevaluation and elevation of fragmentary works often deemed inferior. By situating these texts within eighteenth-century hierarchical taxonomies and literary traditions, the authors promote a pluriversal reading that embraces multiplicity and resists singular, fixed narratives. The article encourages scholars and readers to approach unfinished works with openness to their inherent plurality and creative possibilities rather than as incomplete or lesser texts.