Abstract
In his classic study of English literature since the sixteenth century, Raymond Williams delineates a historical trajectory that contrasts the “knowable communities” of rural country to the “city of light and darkness” as embodied by industrial London (Williams 1973). However, this dichotomy is more apparent than real, according to Williams, because both country and city were affected in varying degrees by the same force of production—i.e., capitalism. Up until modern times, English writers and artists tended to idealize the pastoralism of the countryside, within which the city defined itself and its spatial boundaries. Following Williams’ lead, other theorists have extended the dichotomy by arguing that in the modern era the roles have been reversed: the cities have become the centers of culture and identity, while the countryside all but disappears. The rise of modern metropolis provided the breeding ground for artistic and literary modernism.
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Lee, L.Of. (2016). City and Country in Chinese Fiction: An Historical Survey. In: Tambling, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Literature and the City. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54911-2_41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54911-2_41
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