Treatise on Style (French Modernist Library)
by Louis Aragon
On This Page
Description
Surprising juxtapositions like goats spread across pianos and fearful optical illusions like eyeballs being sliced characterized the surrealistic movement in the arts in 1928 when Louis Aragon published Trait#65533; du Style in Paris. Aragon had become ever more contemptuous of vogues and pretensions. In the name of surrealism, he produced the first significant critique of it. Instead of merely upsetting old relationships and skewering sensibilities, Trait#65533; du Style was meant to shock show more with a capital S, and it did. Only now has it been completely translated into English. Although time has attenuated the scandalous nature of Aragon's language, his criticism has lost none of its edge in this translation by Alyson Waters. From the beginning, which describes a postcard showing a little boy on a potty as representative of French humor and the French spirit, to the end, an attack in scatalogical language on the French military establishment, Aragon zeros in on one target after another. Nothing escapes his notice or venom--whether it is the masturbatory output of contemporary writers, the prostitution of culture, or the perversions of government. Still, Treatise on Style is more than a brilliant diatribe directed against what Aragon perceived as the moral, political, and intellectual failures of his time. He proposes surrealism, in art as in life, as a means to achieve a valid ethical and aesthetic "style." Surrealism, as Aragon defines it here, loses some of its mythical and mystical trappings; it becomes inspiration with rolled-up shirt-sleeves. He exercises this faculty in his own writing, which aims to shake readers out of their complacency by alternating the intensely lyrical with the borderline obscene and juxtaposing the language of the educated elite with that of the street. Whether denouncing religious fantacism or dispensing praise, Aragon remains true to his idea of the surrealist project: to reclassify certain values through the act of writing itself. Treatise on Style entertains as a portrait of a movement and of a personality who kept moving. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Aragon-Traite-du-style/1651
> Alain Trouvé. Discours critique et fiction dans le Traité du style d'Aragon.
In: Littérature, n°123, 2001. Roman Fiction. pp. 19-34. … ; (en ligne),
URL : https://www.persee.fr/doc/litt_0047-4800_2001_num_123_3_1717
> Alain Trouvé. Discours critique et fiction dans le Traité du style d'Aragon.
In: Littérature, n°123, 2001. Roman Fiction. pp. 19-34. … ; (en ligne),
URL : https://www.persee.fr/doc/litt_0047-4800_2001_num_123_3_1717
Feb 17, 2021 (Edited)French
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
220+ Works 3,075 Members
Louis Aragon was born in Paris, France. He had a varied professional life that included experimentation with numerous writing styles. Initially planning on a career in medicine, Aragon studied at the University of Paris. During World War I and World War II, he was mobilized as an auxiliary doctor. Dadaism and surrealism influenced many of his show more early works, including Nightwalker. In 1919 he co-founded the Surrealist magazine Literature, but he soon broke away from dadaism and surrealism and joined the Communist Party. Among his best-known works are Residential Quarters and The Bells of Basel, which reflect this Communist influence. His later works, such as Holy Week (1958), seem to turn away from some of his more controversial ideas. In the 1940s Aragon reintroduced rhyme in his work and was interested in ideas of automatic writing and freedom of the unconscious. Aragon wrote under numerous pseudonyms including Albert de Routisie, Arnaud de Saint Roman, and Francois La Colere. He died on December 24, 1982. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Critica Diabolis (10)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Traité du style
- Original title
- Traité du style
- Original publication date
- 1928
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Literature Studies and Criticism
- DDC/MDS
- 844.912 — Literature & rhetoric French Literature French essays 1900- 20th century 1900-1945
- LCC
- PQ2601 .R2 .Z47513 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures French literature Modern literature 1900-1960
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 75
- Popularity
- 421,810
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.86)
- Languages
- 5 — English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
