Hartman's book is both a survey of the history of modern literary criticism and a strategic intervention. First he presents an account of the culture of criticism since the late 19th century. He then widens the focus to provide a picture of the critical essay from 1700 to the 1990s in order to show that a major change in style took place after 1950. Two chapters focus on F.R. Leavis and Paul de Man, central - and controversial - figures in academic criticism. Hartman attends to major developments on the continent and in Anglo-American circles that have disrupted the calm of what he calls the friendship or conversational style. On the one hand, critics and thinkers have pursued strange gods in order to enrich and sharpen their critical style. This change Hartman welcomes. On the other hand, along with a renewed interest in politics and historical speculation, a didactic and moralistic tone has again entered the scene. Hartman rejects this new moralism. The author defends the reading of the text of criticism as carefully as the text of literature. He argues for a broader conception of critical style, one that would support the open and conversational voice of the public critic as well as the inventive and innovative practice of the technical critic. Hartman sets before out an ideal of literary criticism that can acknowledge theory yet does not shrink from a sustained, text-centered response.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Hartman (English and comparative literature, Yale) presents a historically directed commentary of the transformations in literary criticism and theory mainly of the past century. His series of ten essays, while discussing the roles of reading, culture, impressionism, deconstruction, and the new historicism, do not demystify the complexities of the specialized vocabulary and correlations with philosophy. This book fulfills its purpose of addressing the insular and beleaguered discipline but it assumes that the reader has a previous knowledge of the players and lingo. A similar choice (albeit with a different emphasis) for a wider audience is David Lehman's Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man ( LJ 3/1/91).
- Janice Braun, Medical Historical Lib., Yale Univ.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Janice Braun, Medical Historical Lib., Yale Univ.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
