Author Description
A unique addition to the popular Oxford Authors series, this anthology of works written between 1870 and 1905 bridges the Victorian and Modernist periods. It focuses on imaginative literature--poetry and short fiction--which together provide an image of an uneasy and pluralistic world, one that exerted peculiar pressures on the writer. French culture--reflected in the Naturalism of Zola and the Symbolism of Baudelaire and Mallarme--evolutionary theory, and urban alienation greatly influenced the work of the fin de siecle, and the selections included here also reveal the ideas and impulses that lay behind imperialism, socialism, and the early advance of the feminist movement. Rural culture is in decline, Romanticism has faded, and dogmatic religion is being replaced by attempts at elaborating a personal order. In addition to reflecting the social and historical context, Fletcher has also included examples of the literary innovations of the age, such as stream-of-consciousness narrative, experimentation in free verse, and the impressionistic short story. The writers represented include Samuel Butler, Swinburne, Walter Pater, Robert Bridges, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Robert Louis Stevenson, Oscar Wilde, George Gissing, A.E. Housman, Rudyard Kipling, W.B. Yeats, Aubrey Beardsley, Max Beerbohm, and many others.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This anthology investigates the transitional literary landscape of Britain between 1870 and 1905, a period defined by the erosion of Victorian certainty and the emergence of Modernist sensibilities. Editor Ian Christopher Fletcher curates a selection of poetry and short fiction to demonstrate how writers navigated the pressures of imperialism, socialism, early feminism, and the decline of traditional religious frameworks.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A curated collection of poetry and short fiction from the fin de siecle era.
- Analysis of the influence of French Naturalism and Symbolism on British writers.
- Examples of early literary innovations including stream-of-consciousness and impressionistic prose.
Scope Limits
- The collection focuses primarily on imaginative literature rather than non-fiction essays or political treatises of the era.
- It does not provide an exhaustive survey of all writers active during these thirty-five years.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and students frequently utilize this volume as a foundational resource for understanding the stylistic shift between the Victorian and Modernist periods. The text is noted for its effective contextualization of literary works within the broader social and historical currents of the late nineteenth century.
Page Count:
600
Publication Date:
1987-03-26
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192541862
ISBN-13:
9780192541864
Poetry
Short Stories
British literature
Literary Criticism
Anthology
Victorian
Modernist
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