Literary Criticism Of Enlightenment Discourse

Since the 1990s, the criticism of literary criticism has become a hot issue in thedeclining critic field. The predicament of literary, in my opinion, mainly lies in its lack ofjudgment it should have in the new era, leading to the difficulty in deciding its presentsituation and trend. To a large extent, it results from different ideas about enlightenment.The thesis, based on the transformation of enlightenment in the two critical periodsdivided by the year 1990, is to start with the key word enlightenment, analyzes theintegral transformation in modern literary criticism and the present value crisis and finallyexplore a possible way to its further development. The details are as follows:In Chapter One, it mainly analyzes the reasons why Enlightenment Discoursebecame an essential topic at the beginning of modern literary criticism, which can bereduced to four factors: the influence of ideological emancipation, the impetus of theNewenlightenment in the 1980s, the establishment of the intellectuals' principle status inenlightenment and the sense of enlightenment in literary creation.In Chapter Two, it further points out that humanism is the focus of Enlightenmentdiscourse and analyzes the reasons from the aspects of history and reality. Besides, itanalyzes the current significance and inadequacy in the theoretical construction ofhumanism in literary criticism.In Chapter Three, it points out that modernization is the core topic ofcontemporary enlightenment, which strategically borrowed the resource ofenlightenment in May Fourth Period and therefore continued the modern historicalmission. Then it illustrated with examples modern characteristics of enlightenmentdiscourse. While its reasonability is affirmed, the extreme views brought bymodernization are pointed out. The extreme views potentially prescribe the developmentand conceal the rich connotation of current literature, which may cause the crisis of thevalidity of literary criticism and enlightenment discourse in the1990s.In chapter Four, it points out that enlightenment discourse was again in a difficultsituation, because enlightenment as something related to modernism affected byrethinking modernity, was doubted and cultural conservatorium, post-modernism andthe new left appeared, which marked the division of enlightenment in literary criticism. Itcritically deconstructs the end of enlightenment held by post-modernity and reasserts the reasonability and significance of enlightenment discourse. At the same time, itpoints out that the acceptance of consumption makes the position of values of literarycriticism beset with crisis, which in a sense leads to the appearance of suchcharacteristics as personality, consumerism and marketlization in literary creation in the1990s.In Chapter Five, it mainly analyzes the deconstruction of enlightenment discourse inthe 1980s by literary criticism influenced by the new left trend of thoughts. It points outthat literary criticism shows the ignorance and prejudice of enlightenment discourseand that it has something wrong within itself from methodology to value judgment.Furthermore, based on the example of present writings on people at social bottom, itdiscusses how some critics transform their critical point from enlightenment in the1980s to the how-to-express level. The trend potentially deconstructs the tendency ofenlightenment in literary creation and criticism, which makes intellectuals lose their validposition of enlightening the masses and makes the present writings on people at thebottom confronted with dilemma。In Chapter Six, it points out that the above deconstructions in different ways makethe historical validity and realistic reasonability of enlightenment discourse in literarycriticism confronted with unprecedented crisis. Then it goes further to point out that thecrisis is related not only to the loss of the present intellectuals' position of enlightenmentbut also to the peripheral status of literature and literary criticism. At present, thereestablishment of the intellectual principle status in enlightenment is the main problemin the 1990s and a choice as well for literary criticism out of value crisis. However,because the recourses of enlightenment are inadequate shown in literary criticism,enlightenment is a subject to be completed with numerous difficulties at the same time.Therefore, after the reestablishment of the intellectual principle status, literary crisis isfaced with another problem of how to search for ideological resources to uphold andadhere to enlightenment in accordance with Chinese current reality.