| The Critical Reception of Emerson: Unsettling All Things Contributor(s): Wider, Sarah Ann (Author) |
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ISBN: 1571131663 ISBN-13: 9781571131669 Publisher: Camden House (NY)
Binding Type: Hardcover Published: December 2000 Annotation: Since the 1820s, Ralph Waldo Emerson has provoked an unsettled response from his readers and contentiousness among critics. Critics still contest Emerson's position: Was he poet or philosopher? Did he liberate American literature or narrow it to a one-dimensional idea? Is his signature concept of self-reliance the most profound contribution to democratic individualism or the epitome of capitalism's impoverished thought? But by the mid 20th century the swing between condemnation and celebration of Emerson had given way to the familiar story of his bisected career, which provided a neat structure for viewing his life and work, and shaped our thought about him. Now that story is being challenged by the application of poststructuralism and textual editing, and with the publication of an amazing repertoire of editions, the Emerson canon is changing. The result is that Emerson criticism now faces a far more complex group of writings than before. One hundred and fifty years after Emerson styled himself an 'experimenter' who would 'unsettle all things, ' this new critical history illustrates the continuing, thought-provoking success of that experiment.Sarah Ann Wider is professor of English at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Click for more in this series: Studies in English and American Literature and Culture |
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| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | American - General - Philosophy - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures |
| Dewey: 814.3 |
| LCCN: 00042929 |
| Series: Studies in English and American Literature and Culture |
| Physical Information: 0.69" H x 6" W x 9" L (1.19 lbs) 249 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century |
| Review Citations: Choice 07/01/2001 pg. 1964 |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Since the 1820s, Ralph Waldo Emerson has provoked an unsettled response from his readers and contentiousness among critics. Critics still contest Emerson's position: Was he poet or philosopher? Did he liberate American literatureor narrow it to a one-dimensional idea? Is his signature concept of self-reliance the most profound contribution to democratic individualism or the epitome of capitalism's impoverished thought? But by the mid 20th century the swing between condemnation and celebration of Emerson had given way to the familiar story of his bisected career, which provided a neat structure for viewing his life and work, and shaped our thought about him. Now that story is beingchallenged by the application of poststructuralism and textual editing, and with the publication of an amazing repertoire of editions, the Emerson canon is changing. The result is that Emerson criticism now faces a far more complex group of writings than before. One hundred and fifty years after Emerson styled himself an 'experimenter' who would 'unsettle all things, ' this new critical history illustrates the continuing, thought-provoking success of thatexperiment. Sarah Ann Wider is Professor of English at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. |
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