Lyric Poet of Developed Capitalism -- Chinese Translation Bestseller

Author: (German) Walter Benjamin, translated by Wang Caiyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The Lyric Poet in the Age of High Capitalism is a monograph by Walter Benjamin on Baudelaire. Baudelaire's exploration of the modern experience in mid-19th-century Paris deeply captivated Benjamin. From the perspective of a lyric poet alienated by the capitalist commodity world, Benjamin sought to reread Paris during the early stages of the capitalist industrial revolution. In the book, Benjamin laments alongside Baudelaire the "fading gas lamps of the Second Empire, the housing lots that fixed people to the land, and the columnists gradually degenerating into commodity producers." Together, they observe this noisy material world of commodities as "urban flaneurs" hidden among the crowds, express "shock" at the rapidly changing social reality, and yet, in the end, shatter Baudelaire's modernist hero's dream with a touch of sexuality and melancholy. Benjamin's unique perspective, meticulous observation, and keen inner sensitivity give this brilliant work, built upon a vast array of citations, an added poetic depth.