William Hazlitt: The First Modern Man

Duncan Wu (Professor of English at Georgetown University, Washington DC)

ISBN 10: 0199588848 / ISBN 13: 9780199588848

Edité par Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, Oxford, 2010

A propos de cet article

Romanticism is where the modern age begins, and Hazlitt was its most articulate spokesman. No one else had the ability to see it whole; no one else knew so many of its politicians, poets, and philosophers. By interpreting it for his contemporaries, he speaks to us of ourselves - of the culture and world we now inhabit. Perhaps the most important development of his time, the creation of a mass media, is one that now dominates our lives. Hazlitt's livelihood was dependent on it. As the biography argues, he took political sketch-writing to a new level, invented sports commentary as we know it, and created the essay-form as practised by Clive James, Gore Vidal, and Michael Foot. Duncan Wu's profile of one of the greatest journalists in the language draws on over a decade of archival research in libraries across Britain and North America, to reveal for the first time such matters as why Godwin broke with Hazlitt; how Hazlitt came to know Sir John Soane and J. M. W. Turner; the true nature of Hazlitt's dealings with Thomas Medwin, and what the likes of Joseph Farington and Sir Thomas Lawrence thought of him. In addition, it sheds new light on Hazlitt's dealings with such figures as Francis Jeffrey, Robert Stodart, John M'Creery, Henry Crabb Robinson, Joseph Parkes, John Cam Hobhouse, and Stendhal. It benefits also from Wu's New Writings of William Hazlitt, many of which make their appearance here, illuminating hitherto obscure passages of Hazlitt's life. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

N° de réf. du vendeur GOR003083323

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: William Hazlitt: The First Modern Man
• Éditeur: Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, Oxford
• Date de parution: 2010
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0199588848
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780199588848
• Reliure: Paperback
• État de l'article: Very Good
• Poids: 839 grammes

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Hailed as "excellent" (Harper's), "distinctly eye-opening" (WashingtonPost.com), and "astonishingly detailed" (Wall Street Journal), this marvelous biography draws on over a decade of archival research to explore all aspects of William Hazlitt's life. Duncan Wu examines Hazlitt's early aspirations to become a painter, his engagement with revolutionary politics, his rise to prominence as one of England's greatest literary critics, and the disillusionment and poverty of his final years. Along the way, Wu reveals countless new details concerning Hazlitt's relationships with Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, William Godwin, J. M. W. Turner, and other important figures of the Romantic era. But Wu sees Hazlitt as an essentially modern writer who took political sketch-writing to a new level, invented sports commentary as we know it, and created the essay-form as it is practiced in our own time. Painstakingly researched and filled with original insight, this biography benefits also from Wu's New Writings of William Hazlitt, many of which make their appearance here, illuminating obscure passages of Hazlitt's life.

À propos de l'auteur

Duncan Wu is Professor of English at Georgetown University.