Modern literature—emerging in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—coincides with seismic transformations in industrial capitalism, imperial expansion, class restructuring, and ideological crisis. It is therefore no accident that Marxist literary criticism has found in modernism a particularly rich, if contentious, terrain. The question is not merely what modern literature is, but what it does […]

If Alexander Pope represents the classical confidence in order, universality, and the authority of tradition, then William Wordsworth stands as one of the most decisive and radical reorientations in literary history—a turning inward that fundamentally redefines the location of truth, the function of poetry, and the nature of the human subject. Wordsworth does not merely

Within the long dialectic between romantic and classical tendencies in literary thought, Alexander Pope emerges as one of the most rigorous and self-conscious representatives of the classical orientation. If Romanticism privileges interiority, spontaneity, and the authority of individual experience, Pope articulates a counter-position grounded in order, universality, and the subordination of the individual to an

The thought of T. S. Eliot occupies a uniquely strategic position in the long oscillation between romantic and classical tendencies in literary studies. If Romanticism represents the assertion of interiority, spontaneity, and the sovereignty of individual experience, and Classicism represents submission to form, tradition, and universality, then Eliot emerges as a figure who both critiques

The history of literary theory can be productively re-read not merely as a succession of doctrines, but as the unfolding of two deep epistemological and psychological orientations: the romantic and the classical. These are not rigid historical periods alone; rather, they are enduring dispositions toward truth, knowledge, creativity, and the role of the individual. One

Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) remains one of the most influential sociologists of culture and literature in the twentieth century. Bourdieu’s work provides a dynamic framework for understanding literature as a socially embedded practice, where texts, authors, readers, and institutions interact within broader structures of power, taste, and symbolic capital. His approach moves beyond the traditional aesthetic

Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), a foundational figure in sociology, is widely recognized for his rigorous analysis of social structures, collective consciousness, and the moral foundations of society. While his primary focus was not literature per se, Durkheim’s insights into social cohesion, norms, and collective meaning provide a compelling lens through which to examine literature as a

Max Weber (1864–1920) stands among the foundational figures of modern social science. While not a literary theorist in the conventional sense, Weber’s analysis of culture, rationalization, and the ethical dimensions of social life offers profound insight into literature as a medium for understanding human truth. In Weberian thought, literature is not merely aesthetic or narrative;

Karl Marx (1818–1883), best known as a philosopher, economist, and revolutionary, profoundly influenced literary theory through his insights into society, ideology, and historical materialism. Marx’s analysis of culture positions literature not merely as aesthetic expression but as a reflection of social structures, class struggle, and material conditions. For Marx, literary texts are embedded in historical

Carl Jung (1875–1961), a pioneering figure in depth psychology, extended and transformed psychoanalytic thought, emphasizing the symbolic, mythic, and archetypal dimensions of the human psyche. While Sigmund Freud highlighted the role of unconscious desire and repression, Jung explored collective unconscious patterns, archetypes, and the spiritual and imaginative functions of the psyche, providing a rich framework