Description
This large and ambitious study reinterprets the evolution of British and German Romanticism as a progress through three successive 'moods.' By this term Pfau here means emotion "read in its embodied manifestation as the 'voice' of a historical moment, rather than that of a given individual." In constructing this reading, he draws on a multifaceted philosophical tradition influenced most strongly by Heidegger and Kant, but also by such wide-ranging figures as Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Adorno, among others. The result is a new understanding of the basis of the Romantic poet's voice (picking up on the German etymological link between Stimmung, 'mood,' and Stimme, 'voice') as a holistic cultural condition not localizable as either content or form, textual or psychic. This is a work for scholars and advanced students, one that is likely to stimulate considerable reaction and make a significant and enduring contribution to Romantic studies.
Without a doubt, the most advanced restatement of the nature of feeling that I have encountered. Stunning in its mix of theoretical approaches, integration of historical context, and attention to a range of primary materials, both English and German. -- Alan Liu, University of California, Santa Barbara
About the Author
Thomas Pfau is a professor of English and Germanic languages at Duke University.
Reviews
A timely study. BARS Bulletin and Review 2006 Makes an original and compelling case. -- A. C. Goodson Studies in Romanticism 2006 Pfau offers interesting and fruitful readings. -- Matthew Bell Colloquia Germanica 2005 Pfau has introduced a new analytical category into literary studies, embedded it in a rich tradition of philosophical and theoretical speculation, and... laid the groundwork for future studies. -- George S. Williamson German Quarterly 2007 Pfau's aims... are wide-ranging and challenging, and his critical method is interesting. Year's Work in English Studies 2007 Thomas Pfau is to be congratulated for this erudite, insightful, and provocative attempt to write a history of the feelings that shaped and gave substance to English and German romanticism. -- Arnd Bohm Seminar: Journal of Germanic Studies 2008 Romantic Moods both succeeds on its own terms and offers an important model for those seeking an alternative to the historicist methods of interpretation that have dominated Romantic studies for the last two decades. -- Nicholas Halmi www.erudit.org 2008
Book Information
ISBN 9780801881978
Author Thomas Pfau
Format Hardback
Page Count 592
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 37mm
Without a doubt, the most advanced restatement of the nature of feeling that I have encountered. Stunning in its mix of theoretical approaches, integration of historical context, and attention to a range of primary materials, both English and German. -- Alan Liu, University of California, Santa Barbara
About the Author
Thomas Pfau is a professor of English and Germanic languages at Duke University.
Reviews
A timely study. BARS Bulletin and Review 2006 Makes an original and compelling case. -- A. C. Goodson Studies in Romanticism 2006 Pfau offers interesting and fruitful readings. -- Matthew Bell Colloquia Germanica 2005 Pfau has introduced a new analytical category into literary studies, embedded it in a rich tradition of philosophical and theoretical speculation, and... laid the groundwork for future studies. -- George S. Williamson German Quarterly 2007 Pfau's aims... are wide-ranging and challenging, and his critical method is interesting. Year's Work in English Studies 2007 Thomas Pfau is to be congratulated for this erudite, insightful, and provocative attempt to write a history of the feelings that shaped and gave substance to English and German romanticism. -- Arnd Bohm Seminar: Journal of Germanic Studies 2008 Romantic Moods both succeeds on its own terms and offers an important model for those seeking an alternative to the historicist methods of interpretation that have dominated Romantic studies for the last two decades. -- Nicholas Halmi www.erudit.org 2008
Book Information
ISBN 9780801881978
Author Thomas Pfau
Format Hardback
Page Count 592
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 37mm
