The Literary Absolute

The Theory of Literature in German Romanticism

Jean-Luc Nancy author Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe author Philip Barnard translator Cheryl Lester translator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:State University of New York Press

Published:15th Mar '88

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Literary Absolute cover

The first authoritative study of the emergence of the modern concept of literature in German romanticism.

The Literary Absolute is the first authoritative study of the emergence of the modern concept of literature in German romanticism. The authors trace this concept from the philosophical crisis bequeathed by Kant to his successors, to its development by the central figures of the Athenaeum group: the Schlegel brothers, Schelling, and Novalis.

This study situates the Jena romantics' "fragmentary" model of literature-a model of literature as the production of its own theory-in relation to the development of a post-Kantian conception of philosophy as the total and reflective auto-production of the thinking subject. Analyzing key texts of the period, the authors articulate the characteristics of romantic thought and at the same time show historical and systematic connections with modern literary theory. Thus, The Literary Absolute renews contemporary scholarship, showing the romantic origins of some of the leading issues in current critical theory.

"The authors have effectively situated romanticism within its philosophical context in a brilliant way." — Mark C. Taylor, Williams College

"It is the most useful historical and theoretical study of its topic that has been published during the last twenty odd years. Everyone concerned with literary criticism and philosophy should have it to read more than once." — Werner Hamacher, The Johns Hopkins University

ISBN: 9780887066610

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 236g

194 pages