Modernism and Mimesis

By Stephen D Dowden

This book offers a bold new view of the way in which modernist fiction, painting, music, and poetry are interlinked. Dowden shows that modernism, contrary to a longstanding view, did not turn away from mimesis. Rather, modernism operates according to a deepened understanding of what mimesis is and how it works, which in turn occasions a fresh look at other related dimensions of the modernist achievement. Modernism is neither "difficult" nor elitist. Instead, it trends toward simplicity, directness, and common culture. Dowden argues that na?vet? rather than highbrow sophistication was for the modernists a key artistic principle. He demonstrates that modernism, far from glorifying subjective creativity, directs itself toward healing the split between subject and object. Mimesis closes this gap by resolving representation into play and festivity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3030531368
• ISBN13: 9783030531362
• Release Date: September 2021
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
• Length: 283 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.3"