The Great War and the Language of Modernism

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book The Great War and the Language of Modernism by Vincent Sherry, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Vincent Sherry ISBN: 9780190282851
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: April 10, 2003
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Vincent Sherry
ISBN: 9780190282851
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: April 10, 2003
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

With the expressions "Lost Generation" and "The Men of 1914," the major authors of modernism designated the overwhelming effect the First World War exerted on their era. Literary critics have long employed the same phrases in an attempt to place a radically experimental, specifically modernist writing in its formative, historical setting. What real basis did that Great War provide for the verbal inventiveness of modernist poetry and fiction? Does the literature we bring under this heading respond directly to that provocation, and, if so, what historical memories or revelations can be heard to stir in these words? Vincent Sherry reopens these long unanswered questions by focusing attention on the public culture of the English war. He reads the discourses through which the Liberal party constructed its cause, its Great Campaign. A breakdown in the established language of liberal modernity--the idioms of public reason and civic rationality--marked the sizable crisis this event represents in the mainstream traditions of post-Reformation Europe. If modernist writing characteristically attempts to challenge the standard values of Enlightenment rationalism, this study recovers the historical cultural setting of its most substantial and daring opportunity. And this moment was the occasion for great artistic innovations in the work of Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound. Combining the records of political journalism and popular intellectual culture with abundant visual illustration, Vincent Sherry provides the framework for new interpretations of the major texts of Woolf, Eliot, and Pound. With its relocation of the verbal imagination of modernism in the context of the English war, The Great War and the Language of Modernism restores the historical content and depth of this literature, revealing its most daunting import.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

With the expressions "Lost Generation" and "The Men of 1914," the major authors of modernism designated the overwhelming effect the First World War exerted on their era. Literary critics have long employed the same phrases in an attempt to place a radically experimental, specifically modernist writing in its formative, historical setting. What real basis did that Great War provide for the verbal inventiveness of modernist poetry and fiction? Does the literature we bring under this heading respond directly to that provocation, and, if so, what historical memories or revelations can be heard to stir in these words? Vincent Sherry reopens these long unanswered questions by focusing attention on the public culture of the English war. He reads the discourses through which the Liberal party constructed its cause, its Great Campaign. A breakdown in the established language of liberal modernity--the idioms of public reason and civic rationality--marked the sizable crisis this event represents in the mainstream traditions of post-Reformation Europe. If modernist writing characteristically attempts to challenge the standard values of Enlightenment rationalism, this study recovers the historical cultural setting of its most substantial and daring opportunity. And this moment was the occasion for great artistic innovations in the work of Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound. Combining the records of political journalism and popular intellectual culture with abundant visual illustration, Vincent Sherry provides the framework for new interpretations of the major texts of Woolf, Eliot, and Pound. With its relocation of the verbal imagination of modernism in the context of the English war, The Great War and the Language of Modernism restores the historical content and depth of this literature, revealing its most daunting import.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Guns across America by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Reinventing Paul by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book From the Stage to the Studio by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Thriving Under Stress by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Megadrought and Collapse by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Focus on Assessment - Oxford Key Concepts for the Language Classroom by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Environmental Justice: Creating Equity, Reclaiming Democracy by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book The Beauty Bias by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Writing With Power : Techniques For Mastering The Writing Process by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Receptors by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book Chosen People by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book ADHD by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book The Ante-Room by Vincent Sherry
Cover of the book The Goddess as Role Model by Vincent Sherry
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy