Language and Human Action: Conceptions of Language in the Essais of Montaigne

ISBN-13: 9780820419879 / Angielski / Twarda / 1997 / 97 str.

R. A. Watson

Opis

Certainly the most elaborate single extant monument of Renaissance French prose literature, Michel de Montaigne's "Essais" presents a subject matter that often discusses and analyzes concepts of language in general as well as language as a vehicle of its own expression. This study addresses the author's exploration of the dedalus of language as he ambles and rambles its roads, streets, and alleys; draws the portrait of his philosophy of language or philology; and concludes his affirmative and positivistic attitude toward language and its literary application or the art and artistry of literature.
The great Renaissance humanist's depiction of language in the "Essais" is analyzed in this book on the basis of its division among intellectual, moral, and aesthetic aspects. This threefold reduction, finding its derivation in the critical work of Aristotle, Auerbach, and Bowen, is also related to the few particular and the important general critical studies of Montaigne and his vision and use, creation and re-creation of language.

Recenzje

"R.A. Watson's study is...clearly written, refreshingly jargon-free, and contains much interesting material on all aspects of Montaigne's preoccupation with language. Watson is particularly good at close analysis of specific passages or metaphors, as well as at bringing out sides of Montaigne that are seldom studied (his humor, in particular). His close readings always fit smoothly into the overall pattern outlined above, and the book is, in general, a pleasure to read". (Barbara C. Bowen, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Vanderbilt University)

O autorze

The Author: R. A. Watson is Library Technical Specialist at Illinois State Library in Springfield. A native of Illinois, he was granted his B.A. cum laude by the University of Notre Dame and his A.M., M.S., and Ph.D. by the University of Illinois. A member of the American Association of Teachers of French, the American Association of Teachers of German, the American Library Association, and the Modern Language Association of America, he has taught at the University of Illinois and Southwest Missouri State University.