The final volume of René Wellek's monumental history of modern criticism is a comprehensive survey of the main currents of twentieth-century criticism in Western Europe. In this volume, as in the preceding books of the series, Wellek expounds and analyzes the work of the most prominent critics, offering succinct appraisals of his subjects both as individuals and as participants in the broader movements of the century. Contents I. French Criticism, 1900-1950 French Classical Criticism in the Twentieth Century Retrospect: Alain, Rémy de Gourmont The Nouvelle Revue Française: André Gide, Jacques Rivière, Ramón Fernández, Benjamin Crémiuex, Albert Thibaudet Marcel Proust The Catholic Renaissance: Charles Du Bos, Jacques Maritain and Henri Bremond, Paul Claudel Dada and Surrealism The Geneva School: Marcel Raymond, Albert Béguin, Georges Poulet Albert Camus Jean-Paul Sartre Paul Valéry Prospect II. Italian Criticism, 1900-1950 Benedetto Croce The Followers of Croce: Luigi Russo, Francesco Flora, Mario Fubini, Attilio Momigliano The Aestheticians: Giuseppe Antonio Borgese, Alfredo Gargiulo Critics concerned with English and American literature: Cesare Pavese, Mario Praz, Emilio Cecchi Italian Marxism: Antonio Gramesci, Giacomo Debenedetti The Catholic Renaissance: Carlo Bo The Close Readers: Renato Serra, Giuseppe De Robertis, Cesare De Lollis, Eugenio Montale III. Spanish Criticism, 1900-1950 Américo Castro Miguel de Unamuno Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo and Ramón Menéndez Pidal Azorín Salvador de Madariaga Jorge Guillén Dámaso Alonso José Ortega y Gasset

In the nineteenth century, literary criticism first developed into an autonomous, professional discipline in the universities. This volume provides a comprehensive and authoritative study of the vast field of literary criticism between 1830 and 1914. In over thirty essays written from a broad range of perspectives, international scholars examine the growth of literary criticism as an institution, and the major critical developments in diverse national traditions and in different genres, as well as the major movements of Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism and Decadence. The History offers a detailed focus on some of the era's great critical figures, such as Sainte-Beuve, Hippolyte Taine and Matthew Arnold, and includes essays devoted to the connections of literary criticism with other disciplines in science, the arts and Biblical studies. The publication of this volume marks the completion of the monumental Cambridge History of Literary Criticism from antiquity to the present day.