Rereading Walter Pater
By: William F. Shuter.
Series: Cambridge studies in nineteenth-century literature and culture
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 157
Subjects: Pater, Walter, 1839-1894 -- Knowledge and learning.; Pater, Walter, 1839-1894 -- Criticism, Textual.; Pater, Walter, 1839-1894 -- Manuscripts.; English essays -- Criticism, Textual.; Prose literature -- Technique.; Manuscripts, English.; Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 19th century.
Description: Walter Pater is increasingly being seen as a pivotal figure in nineteenth-century culture. His later work is often regarded as an effort to distance himself from his earlier, more controversial texts. William F. Shuter argues that Pater's writings demand a twofold reading.

Shuter first offers a conventional account of the texts in the order in which they were written, paying close attention to the changes in Pater's thought and interests over time; he then returns to the earlier texts, showing how the later work serves, paradoxically, as an introduction to the earlier. Drawing extensively on unpublished manuscript material, Shuter reveals that Pater himself authorized rereadings of his work in an effort to rewrite his own literary past and the past of his culture.

Such a rereading of Pater's work uncovers patterns of continuity and anticipation that decisively alter our understanding of Pater and his writings.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-151) and index.