Reading against history: the unfolding of the literary work in Péguy’s Clio
Date
2011
Authors
Roe, Glenn Hichul
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Association of Teachers of French (AATF)
Abstract
A fierce opponent of the historicist approach to literature that dominated French academe during his lifetime, the essayist and poet Charles Péguy (1873–1914) would theorize an alternative literary method that through the act of faithful and participatory reading could transcend the limitations of historicism. Outlined in his dialogue with History, Clio, Péguy’s vision of the literary act is that of an
intersubjective operation of mutual understanding between reader and author, in which the living relevance of literary works extends beyond their narrow historical origins; a conception that prefigures the formalist and hermeneutic literary
approaches that will arise decades later.
Description
Keywords
reading, history, Peguy, Charles, participatory, literature, engaged, theory, historicism, French
Citation
Collections
Source
The French Review 85.2 (2011): 302-315
Type
Journal article