If you are accessing the PDFs, it is helpful to know which volume covers which era and movement.
is a monumental eight-volume survey that traces the evolution of literary theory from the Enlightenment to the mid-20th century. Published by Yale University Press between 1955 and 1992, the work is celebrated for its immense erudition and its attempt to provide a unified "international perspective" on how we think about literature. a history of modern criticism rene wellek pdf
Wellek wanted to be the Aristotle of criticism. Instead, he became its Ozymandias: the colossal ruin whose scattered stones are more useful than the intact statue. The PDF is the modern equivalent of picking up a fallen fragment and marveling at the craftsmanship. If you are accessing the PDFs, it is
Wellek began publishing the series in 1955, eventually expanding it into eight volumes. His primary objective was to move away from a mere "history of taste" and instead provide a rigorous history of the principles and concepts that have governed literary interpretation. He sought to define the "modern" critical tradition as one that emerged when literature began to be viewed as a distinct, autonomous form of art rather than a branch of rhetoric or philosophy. Key Intellectual Themes At the heart of Wellek’s history is the tension between Classicist Wellek wanted to be the Aristotle of criticism