Stephen Spender's Political Writings and Views of the Twentieth Century
Stephen Spender was truly an influential writer of the twentieth century. The greatest part of Spender's life was spent voicing his political opinions through his literary works. Stephen Spender's political views have changed through out his life. During the time he was a young adult, Spender's political opinions were radically liberal, however he gradually migrated his viewpoint to become more moderate in nature. Stephen Spender was labeled as a political writer and was credited with "bridging the gap of between pre-WWII modernism and all that came after". (Sternlicht P.115) Much of Spender's works took a personalistic approach as he documented his political ideas and theories.
Politics took center stage in many of Spender's writings. Political views and events are illustrated in the following works. "Stephen Spender earned the reputation of a radical writer of concern, addressing the polically conscience-striken Left of his time (Sternlicht P.127). "In Forward From Liberalism, Stephen spender records the uncertainties in his attempt to find and support a position left of liberalism, the political creed he was born into" (Sternlicht P. 115). He also discusses his theories on political group dynamics with regards to the different political agendas existing in individual loyalty, which differentiates the dynamics groups. According to Sanford Sterlicht, a critic of the political writings of Steven Spender, Spender's book The God That Failed was proclaimed to be one of the most important books of the cold war. The novel describes the journey of six intellectuals into communism, and their return. The four gentleman were ...
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...d the way for others to follow in his footsteps and lead the charges for political content in literature. What once was a field that was seen in a negative context, Spender has provided the means to blend the two opposing forces of politics and creative literature. Stephen Spender will remain noted for his high profile lifestyle and his highly recognized political theories and ideals.
Bibliography:
Work Cited
Stephen Spender. The Thirties and After. London: The MacMillan Press LTD., 1978
Stephen Spender. Stephen Spender and The Thirties. London: Associated Press, Inc.,
1975.
Stephen Spender. Twayne's English Authors Series. Great Britian: William
Heinemann LTD., 1992.
Stephen Spender. Journals 1939-1983. London: Faber and Faber, 1985.
Sanford Sternlicht, Stephen Spender. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.
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Updike, John. "A&P." Thinking and Writing About Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 981-86. Print.
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...n American Literature. By Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 387-452. Print.
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Perkins, Geroge, and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
Kinnamon, Keneth. The Emergence of RIchard Wright: A Study in Literature and Society. 1973. Reprint, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972.
Strauss, Leo, and Joseph Cropsey. History of Political Philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
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