A Short History of English Literature [antikvár]

PREFACE The present volume is a stepping-stone to the larger History of English Literature written by Professor Cazamian and myself,' and originally designed for French University students. A translation of the same into English having met with a favourable reception in the Universities of Great Britain and the United States, it has been thought that a similar History in an abridged form might prove acceptable in British and American Schools. The modem section of this abridgement has, it is true, lost the advantage of Professor Cazamian's authorship—a great loss if one considers the rare quahties of philosophical breadth and psychological acumen he has revealed in his presentation of the most crowded and complicated periods of literature. The regret can only be alleviated by the consideration that these very qualities, so admirably adapted to mature students, would have been less appreciated by younger minds not yet fully prepared for subtle analysis and intellectual construction. Here it was desirable that the simple narrative manner should prevail. Abstraction had to be avoided and concreteness must be aimed at. This general tendency of the book is made clear by the illustrations scattered about its pages. It is also attested by a certain number of quotations from poets and prose-writers, though much fewer (for want of space) than both publishers and author would have wished. Their fewness wiU, I hope, be redeemed by the anthologies, books of extracts, and encyclopaedias of hterature, that most schoolboys and schoolgirls have at their disposal. It is a question whether the living generation of writers should be admitted into a school handbook at aU. The present age is moving and perilous ground. Only a provisional account has been attempted of the times since 1900, chiefly since the Great War, The last chapter is, therefore, to be considered as a mere sketch, ' A History of English Literature, revised edition. J. M. Dent & Sons, London, 1933. Macmillan, New York, 1929.