Buy this book on-line Williams, Raymond : The Country and the CityHogarth Press, London, 1985 ISBN 0701210052
In The Country and the City, Raymond Williams analyzes images of the country and the city in English literature since the 16th century, and how these images become central symbols for conceptualizing the social and economic changes associated with capitalist development in England. Williams debunks the notion of rural life as simple, natural, and unadulterated, leaving an image of the country as a Golden age. This is, according to Williams, "a myth functioning as a memory" that dissimulates class conflict, enmity, and animosity present in the country since the 16th century. Williams shows how this imagery is embedded in the writings of English poets, novelists and essayists. These writers have not just reproduced the rural-urban divide, but their works have also served to justify the existing social order. The city, on the other hand, is depicted in English novels as a symbol of capitalist production, labor, domicile, and exploitation, where it is seen as the "dark mirror" of the country. The country represented Eden while the city became the hub of modernity, a quintessential place of loneliness and loss of romanticism. 334p. bibliography. index. Book. Book Condition: Near Fine. Binding: Soft cover Click here for full details of this book, to ask a question or to buy it on-line. Bibliophile Bookbase probably offers multiple copies of Williams, Raymond : The Country and the City. Click here to select from a complete list of available copies of this book. Bibliophile Bookbase lists over 5 million books, maps and prints including first editions, out of print books, incunabula, used books and collectables. Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints. |