René Wellek (1903–1995)
Author of Theory of Literature
About the Author
Image credit: Regents of the University of California
Series
Works by René Wellek
Confrontations: Studies in the Intellectual and Literary Relations Between Germany, England, and the United States during the Nineteenth Century (1965) 17 copies
Evidence in Literary Scholarship: Essays in Memory of James Marshall Osborn (1979) — Editor — 6 copies
Literary theory and structure: essays in honor of William K. Wimsatt (1973) — Contributor — 3 copies
Teori a literaria 2 copies
Yazın Kuramı 1 copy
Edebiyat Teorisi 1 copy
Teoria da Literatura Livro 1 1 copy
Γερμανικός και Αγγλικός ρομαντισμός - Μια προσέγγιση (German and English romanticism); (Greek ed.) (2008) 1 copy
Essays on Czech Literature 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Wellek, René
- Legal name
- Wellek, René Maria Eduard
- Birthdate
- 1903-08-22
- Date of death
- 1995-11-10
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia (PhD|1926)
Princeton University, graduate study (1927-28) - Occupations
- professor
literary critic
comparative literature scholar - Organizations
- Yale University
University of Iowa
School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London
Linguistic Society of America
Modern Humanities Research Association (president)
Modern Language Association of America (member of editorial board, member of executive council, vice-president) (show all 13)
Royal Netherlands Academy
Italian National Academy
Bavarian Academy
Connecticut Academy
P.E.N.
International and American Comparative Literature Association (president)
Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in America (president) - Awards and honors
- American Philosophical Society (1969)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1958)
L.H.D., Lawrence College, 1958
American Council of Learned Societies award for distinguished service to humanities, 1959
Fulbright research scholar, Italy, 1959-60
D.Litt. from Harvard University, 1960 (show all 22)
D.Litt. from Oxford University, 1960
D.Litt. from University of Rome, 1961
D.Litt. from University of Maryland, 1964
D.Litt. from Boston College, 1965
D.Litt. from Columbia University, 1968
D.Litt. from University of Montreal, 1970
D.Litt. from University of Louvain, 1970
D.Litt. from University of Munich, 1972
D.Litt. from University of Michigan, 1972
D.Litt. from University of East Anglia
Fellow, Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1942
Fellow, Kenyon School of English, 1949
Fellow, Indiana School of Letters, 1950-80
Senior fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1972-73
Yale University (MA|1946)
Guggenheim fellow, 1951-52, 1957, 1966-67 - Relationships
- Wellek, Albert (brother)
- Short biography
- René Wellek was an influential literary critic and theorist known for his pioneering work in the field of comparative literature. He taught at numerous institutions throughout his career, including Yale and the University of Iowa. Best known for his works Theory of Literature and A History of Modern Criticism, he was an advocate of the "intrinsic" literary critical method, which rejects the political and social influences on works of literature and stresses the content of the work itself.
- Nationality
- USA (naturalized 1949)
- Birthplace
- Vienna, Austria-Hungary
- Places of residence
- Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czechoslovakia - Place of death
- Hamden, Connecticut, USA
Members
Reviews
I was so happy that I did not have to read it once again when I passed my exam on basics of literary history.... I had the Dutch version, the translators did a good job, but a very tough book stays a very tough book.
It is very abstract, despite the writers added examples. No, I keep it, for old times sake, but not to read again.
It is very abstract, despite the writers added examples. No, I keep it, for old times sake, but not to read again.
THEORY OF LITERATURE: A Seminal Study of the Nature and Function of Literature in All Its Contexts by René Wellek
[The book] undertakes to arrange the main problems of literary study from the standpoint of what the authors call the ‘intrinsic’ concern for literature. Chapters on the nature of literature, on metre, style, metaphor, symbol, fictional technique and genres form the core of the book, but the ‘extrinsic’ approaches are not slighted: literature in relation to psychology, society, ideas and problems of editing and of literary history.
The peculiar success of this work lies in the harmony show more of powers sometimes mutually restrictive – clear theoretical vision and diverse learning. The perspective is international, and from it a panorama of modern literary scholarship from America to the Slavic world is unfolded. It is an indispensable manual for every student of literature. show less
The peculiar success of this work lies in the harmony show more of powers sometimes mutually restrictive – clear theoretical vision and diverse learning. The perspective is international, and from it a panorama of modern literary scholarship from America to the Slavic world is unfolded. It is an indispensable manual for every student of literature. show less
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 46
- Also by
- 4
- Members
- 1,059
- Popularity
- #24,317
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 89
- Languages
- 12