The Consecration of the Writer is the definitive study of the first stages of a phenomenon that has profoundly affected world literature: the process by which modern writers ceased to speak as representatives of some religious or political power and instead seized the mantle of spiritual authority in their own right, speaking directly to and in the name of humanity. Paul Benichou identifies three great moments in this process: the advent of the Enlightenment faith in philosophy and the rise of its literary concomitant, the man of letters; the literary creations of the counterrevolution and their surprising involvement in the elevation of the status of poetry; and, finally, the fusion of these tendencies in the early phases of romanticism in France. Benichou deepens our understanding of romanticism by showing that it was a revision of the Enlightenment faith rather than a reaction against it. The extraordinary depth of Benichou's research, the originality of his conclusions, and the importance of his methodological reflections make this study an essential reference in the contemporary return to literary history.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"If indeed there is a return to literary history, Paul Benichou's work might well serve as a model. Over several decades, with fanfare he pursued a vast project ... Le Sacre de l'ecrivain, which inaugurated this magisterial project, has now been finally translated into English, and one can only wonder why this remarkable book was not translated years ago... A special credit is due the translator Mark K. Jensen, whose English version has a natural flow. The modern relevance of Benichou's study is manifest in every chapter."--TLS, June 16, 2000
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978-0-8032-6152-5 (9780803261525)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Paul Benichou is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Superieure. He taught at Harvard from 1959 to 1979 and is the author of the classic Morales du grand siecle. Mark K. Jensen is an associate professor of French at Pacific Lutheran University and has written numerous essays on nineteenth-century French literature and the work of Benichou.
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Contents: Preface by Tzvetan Todorov; Translator's Introduction; A Note on the Translation; Author's Note INTRODUCTION 1. In Quest of a Secular Ministry The "Man of Letters" and the New Faith The Poet in the Age of Enlightenment The Revolutionary Crisis 2. The Poet Consecrated 3. Illuminism and Poetry: Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin 4. Counterrevolution and Literature The Denunciation of the Man of Letters Poetry versus Philosophy The Sacred Poet and the Christian Poet Sensibility and Religion The Genie du Christianisme or the Conversion of the Man of Sensibility Ambiguities of the Counterrevolution Pierre-Simon Ballanche First Appearance of the Poet: Lamartine's Beginnings 5. The Liberal Contribution Senancour The Early Nodier and the Meditateurs Secular Spiritualism: Aesthetics Germaine de Stael and Benjamin Constant Eclecticism: Cousin, Jouffroy 6. The Poetics of the Theosophist 7. The Romantic Revolution Royalist Romanticism La Muse Francaise Liberal Romanticism: Stendhal The Liberals and Poetry Romantic Unity, Nodier, the Second Cenacle Romanticism and French Society 8. The Beginnings of the Great Generation Alfred de Vigny Victor Hugo Sainte-Beuve 9. 1830 and the Jeune-France Youthful Romanticism and the Bourgeoisie The "Jeune-France," or Petit Cenacle Petrus Borel Philothee O'Neddy Gerard de Nerval Theophile Gautier Final Reflections; Notes; Index
