Walter Benjamin, one of the foremost cultural commentators and theorists of this century, is perhaps best known for his analyses of the work of art in the modern age and the philosophy of history. Yet it was through his study of the social and cultural history of the late nineteenth-century Paris, examined particularly in relation to the figure of the great Parisian lyric poet Charles Baudelaire, that Benjamin tested and enriched some of his core concepts and themes. Contained within these pages are, amongst other insights, his notion of the flaneur, his theory of memory and remembrance, his assessment of the utopian Fourier and his reading of the modernist movement.

First translated in English in 1973, this is a study of the French lyric poet Charles Baudelaire. It should be useful as a text for readers of both Benjamin and Baudelaire, and for students of French literature.

About the Author
Walter Benjamin was a German-Jewish Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. He was at times associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory and is the author of Illuminations, The Arcades Project, and The Origin of German Tragic Drama.

Reviews
A series of brilliant insights ... a remarkable volume. * Times Educational Supplement *
His analyses are inspired. His fragments about with insights. -- George Steiner
Benjamin is indispensable as well as brilliant. -- Raymond Williams



Book Information
ISBN 9781859841921
Author Walter Benjamin
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 296g