The myth is ensnarled in anachronism: the modern meaning of the word ‘science’ had limited currency in the Romantic period, when its usual point of reference was systems of knowledge not limited to disciplines concerning the physical universe and its laws. Yet the myth continues to acquire credibility, so wedded to mysticism, the irrational, and everything opposed to scientific enquiry do we suppose the Romantics to have been. A cursory inspection of the evidence suggests the yawning insufficiency of such assumptions. Women whose scientific interests are reflected in poetry include Charlotte Smith, whose Beachy Head offers a natural history of the Sussex coastline, and Felicia Hemans, both of whom were interested in geology. Alan Richardson argues that Romantic poets’ beliefs concerning mental process were consistent with, and, in many cases, indebted to, those of contemporary science.