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The Metamorphoses of the Circle
Literary Studies, Literary Criticism, European History, European Literature
- GenresPhilosophy
Hardcover
First published March 1, 1967
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About the author
Georges Poulet
58 books7 followersGeorges Poulet (1902–1991) was a Belgian literary critic associated with the Geneva School. Best known for his four-volume work Studies in Human Time, Poulet rejected formalist approaches to literary criticism and advanced the theory that criticism requires the reader to open his or her mind to the consciousness of the author. His work has had a lasting influence on critics such as J. Hillis Miller.
Georges Poulet was born in Chênée, now part of Liège, Belgium in 1902. Poulet received his doctorate from the University of Liège in 1927, after which he taught at the University of Edinburgh. In 1952, Poulet became a professor of French Literature at Johns Hopkins University where he also acted as chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. He later taught at the University of Zurich and the University of Nice. Poulet died in Brussels, Belgium in 1991. His estate is archived in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.
Although he never taught at the University of Geneva, Poulet was associated with the Geneva School of literary criticism. He worked closely with critics such as Marcel Raymond, Albert Béguin, Jean Rousset, Jean Starobinski, and Jean-Pierre Richard. Poulet was influenced by his fellow Geneva School critics as well as by critics such as Jacques Riviere, Charles du Bos, Wilhelm Dilthey, and Friedrich Gundolf (Miller 305). Lawall (1968) identifies Poulet as "the first critic to develop Raymond’s and Beguin’s concept of experience in literature as a systematic tool of analysis. . . .He shifts their focus from the individual author to the author's generic human experience"
A renowned author, Poulet published many works of literary criticism in his lifetime. Among his most famous books are the four volumes of his masterwork, Studies in Human Time. The first volume, also called Studies in Human Time, was published in France in 1949 and won the Prix Sainte-Beuve in 1950. Poulet was awarded the Grand Prix de la Critique littéraire and the French Academy’s Prix Durchon in Philosophy for the second volume, 1952’s The Interior Distance. Volume three, Le point de départ, was published in 1964. The final volume, Mesure de l’instant appeared in 1968. In these four volumes, Poulet conducts an exhaustive examination of the work of French authors such as Molière, Proust, Flaubert, and Baudelaire to find the expression of what he calls the cogito, or consciousness, of each writer (Leitch et al. 1318).
Georges Poulet was born in Chênée, now part of Liège, Belgium in 1902. Poulet received his doctorate from the University of Liège in 1927, after which he taught at the University of Edinburgh. In 1952, Poulet became a professor of French Literature at Johns Hopkins University where he also acted as chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. He later taught at the University of Zurich and the University of Nice. Poulet died in Brussels, Belgium in 1991. His estate is archived in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.
Although he never taught at the University of Geneva, Poulet was associated with the Geneva School of literary criticism. He worked closely with critics such as Marcel Raymond, Albert Béguin, Jean Rousset, Jean Starobinski, and Jean-Pierre Richard. Poulet was influenced by his fellow Geneva School critics as well as by critics such as Jacques Riviere, Charles du Bos, Wilhelm Dilthey, and Friedrich Gundolf (Miller 305). Lawall (1968) identifies Poulet as "the first critic to develop Raymond’s and Beguin’s concept of experience in literature as a systematic tool of analysis. . . .He shifts their focus from the individual author to the author's generic human experience"
A renowned author, Poulet published many works of literary criticism in his lifetime. Among his most famous books are the four volumes of his masterwork, Studies in Human Time. The first volume, also called Studies in Human Time, was published in France in 1949 and won the Prix Sainte-Beuve in 1950. Poulet was awarded the Grand Prix de la Critique littéraire and the French Academy’s Prix Durchon in Philosophy for the second volume, 1952’s The Interior Distance. Volume three, Le point de départ, was published in 1964. The final volume, Mesure de l’instant appeared in 1968. In these four volumes, Poulet conducts an exhaustive examination of the work of French authors such as Molière, Proust, Flaubert, and Baudelaire to find the expression of what he calls the cogito, or consciousness, of each writer (Leitch et al. 1318).
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January 4, 2012
Scriitor belgian asociat cu Scoala de la Geneva, de care a fost influentat desi n-a predat niciodata la Universitatea de acolo, Georges Poulet a respins conceptul de critica literara ca modalitate de evaluare obiectiva a valorilor estetice, definind literatura ca pe o stare de spirit. De aceea, se arata interesat doar de critica - constiinta, care regindeste si recreeaza propria expresie a autorului, lucru perfect posibil in contextul in care experienta individuala a artistului este in acelasi timp personala si universala.
Metamorfozele cercului, lucrare publicata in 1966, este o calatorie prin literatura universala in cautarea cercului, "cea mai constanta dintre formele gratie carora izbutim sa ne reprezentam locul mental sau real in care sintem" si a atributelor sale, centrul si circumferinta, care ilustreaza constiinta de sine a omului in conformitate cu perceptia spatiului si a duratei, dat fiind ca plasat in centru, circumferinta tinde sa dispara si invers.
Studiul porneste de la poezia Renasterii, o poezie a centrului, fie ca acesta este Dumnezeu (ca la Dante sau Maurice Scève), fie omul (ca la Pico de la Mirandola), trece apoi in revista epoca baroca in care universul mare este tradus in universul mic, se opreste la Pascal, pentru care a fi centru inseamna a te afla in punctul cel mai de jos, cel mai departat de limitele realitatii. In secolul 18, apare tema tema baloanelor de sapun, a mingilor si a liniilor serpuite, frumusetea cercului dominind celelalte forme, iar in romantism se dezvolta dualitatea fundamentala a spiritului-centru si a realitatii-periferie.
Opera continua in acelasi fel, analizind creatia mai multor mari scriitori din diferite epoci, la care cercul apare fie explicit, ca tema, motiv sau leitmotiv, fie implicit, ca structura romanesca sau poetica.
Metamorfozele cercului, lucrare publicata in 1966, este o calatorie prin literatura universala in cautarea cercului, "cea mai constanta dintre formele gratie carora izbutim sa ne reprezentam locul mental sau real in care sintem" si a atributelor sale, centrul si circumferinta, care ilustreaza constiinta de sine a omului in conformitate cu perceptia spatiului si a duratei, dat fiind ca plasat in centru, circumferinta tinde sa dispara si invers.
Studiul porneste de la poezia Renasterii, o poezie a centrului, fie ca acesta este Dumnezeu (ca la Dante sau Maurice Scève), fie omul (ca la Pico de la Mirandola), trece apoi in revista epoca baroca in care universul mare este tradus in universul mic, se opreste la Pascal, pentru care a fi centru inseamna a te afla in punctul cel mai de jos, cel mai departat de limitele realitatii. In secolul 18, apare tema tema baloanelor de sapun, a mingilor si a liniilor serpuite, frumusetea cercului dominind celelalte forme, iar in romantism se dezvolta dualitatea fundamentala a spiritului-centru si a realitatii-periferie.
Opera continua in acelasi fel, analizind creatia mai multor mari scriitori din diferite epoci, la care cercul apare fie explicit, ca tema, motiv sau leitmotiv, fie implicit, ca structura romanesca sau poetica.
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