Modern Language, Philosophy and Criticism

“A spirited, polemical, and informative survey of the practice and philosophy of literary criticism, charting its historical roots and intellectual underpinnings and laying out an intriguing trajectory for the way forward.” -Peter Lamarque, Professor of Philosophy, University of York, UK “With a grand-vista synopsis of stand-out texts throughout 2,500 years of poetics, Deakin prepares readers to assess the major schools of twentieth-century literary criticism, arming them with relevant developments in philosophy before launching into present-day debates. Deakin supports his arguments throughout with analyses of romantic and modernist works. His thrust deserves attention: that rather than repeat established patterns of political messaging, philosophically informed literary criticism continually requires a return to the first principles of the literary arts.” -Peter Cheyne, Shimane University, Japan and Durham University, UK This books delineates the seismic shifts of the twentieth century humanities by way of a close examination of the dynamic landscape of modern language, criticism and philosophy. In this manner, it argues that both philosophy and literary criticism have dovetailed in the twenty-first century. Starting out as a survey of literary criticism in its broadest terms, later chapters - which are more expository - assess recent movements within modern literary theory. These are located with respect to the post-Russell and Fregean “linguistic turn” in philosophy. Designed for specialists and non-specialists alike; philosophers, literary critics and even students of the modern critical tradition, the argument takes a novel stance towards modern criticism, language and philosophy, arguing for a return to a more formalist and rhetorical approach to literary criticism, while taking care not to indulge too many “political pathologies” when engaging with texts. Wayne Deakin is Assistant Professor and Senior Lecturer in Literature and Language in the Department of English at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. He is the author of Hegel and the English Romantic Tradition (2015) and numerous journal articles and book reviews.