Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

1977

Keywords

Marmontel, Jean-François, 1723-1799, Criticism and interpretation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Romance Languages and Literatures

First Advisor

Giovanni Gullace

Second Advisor

Jacqueline Van Baelen (for Eliane Jasenas)

Third Advisor

William V. Spanos

Abstract

The ambiguity of Marmontel’s literary theories has made it possible for literary historians to find them either Neoclassical or Pre-romantic in nature. The present writer holds that neither identification is particularly helpful in understanding his critical thinking. Few studies of his critical works attempt to interpret what he wrote in the light of the particular context in which his statements occur.

The aim of this study is to offer insight into the workings of Marmontel’s thinking by interpreting what he wrote about specific critical problems in the course of his career. Four groups of problems treated by Marmontel are examined, based on a close reading of his writings. These problems are 1) The Defense of Poetry; 2) The Proper End of Poetry; 3) The Problem of Literary Decadence; and 4) Aspects of the Quarrel about Ancients and Moderns.

Each chapter opens with a short discussion of the history and context of the problem at the time Marmontel wrote, develops an interpretation of his treatment of it, and concludes with observations about the significance of this treatment and his critical thinking. These observations, pertaining to his critical methodology, values and orientation, are collected and systematically presented in the Conclusion.

Marmontel held numerous incomplete theories which he invoked for particular purposes when dealing with different critical problems. In discussing these problems, he was less concerned with philosophic rigor than with the effect of what he said on his readers. In sum, he is found to be a transitional critic whose theories, though closely associated with the movement of ideas in his century, point toward the 19th century.

Download

Share

COinS