Illuminations: Essays and Reflections"There has been no more original, no more serious critic and reader in our time." -- George Steiner Walter Benjamin was an icon of criticism, renowned for his insight on art, literature, and philosophy. This volume includes his views on Kafka, with whom he felt a close personal affinity; his studies on Baudelaire and Proust; and his essays on Leskov and on Brecht's epic theater. Illuminations also includes his penetrating study "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," an enlightening discussion of translation as a literary mode, and his theses on the philosophy of history. Hannah Arendt selected the essays for this volume and introduces them with a classic essay about Benjamin's life in a dark historical era. |
Contents
Unpacking My Library | 1 |
The Task of the Translator | 11 |
The Storyteller | 26 |
Franz Kafka | 56 |
Some Reflections on Kafka | 89 |
What Is Epic Theater? | 94 |
On Some Motifs in Baudelaire | 103 |
The Image of Proust | 149 |
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction | 166 |
Theses on the Philosophy of History | 196 |
Back Matter | 210 |
Back Cover | 239 |
Spine | 240 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abel Gance actor Adorno appear artistic aura Baudelaire Baudelaire’s beautiful become Benja Brecht Briefe called camera century collection collector concept criticism crowd cult value Dadaists death dialectical dream element epic theater essay everything existence experience eyes fairy tale Fascism fate father figure film flâneur Franz Kafka function German gesture Goethe hand historical materialist human Jewish Jews Kafka Karl Kraus language later Leskov linguistic literary literature living look lyric poetry man’s masses matter Max Brod means mémoire memory ment mode nature never novel object one’s original painting Paris passion past Paul Valéry picture play Poe’s poem poet poetry present Proust reader reality regarded Scholem Schriften sense shock Shuvalkin significance social sound film speak Stefan George story storyteller strange sure task things thinking thought tion tradition translation truth turn unique Valéry Walter Benjamin Werner Kraft words writing wrote