A Review of Raymond Williams’ “The Metropolis and the Emergence of Modernism”

陈雪莹

Abstract：Raymond Henry Williams is famous in the field of cultural studies. His article “The Metropolis and the Emergence of Modernism”， probed into the inward relationship between metropolis and formation of modernism. The paper is intended to give a review of this article.

Key words：Raymond Henry Williams； metropolis； modernism

1. Introduction

Specializing in Marxist cultural criticism， Raymond Henry Williams gained his reputation in the field of cultural studies. Williams published many books concerning researches about socialism and Marxism. According to Williams， culture is what refers to the representation of a particular lifestyle which is the combination of material and knowledge and spirit， and what culture emphasizes is the reconstruction of the structure of feelings.

In his article “The Metropolis and the Emergence of Modernism”， Williams probed into the inward relationship between metropolis and formation of modernism， and of course， features of modernism apparently displayed from the perspective of various themes. Generally speaking， what modernism is and how it forms in terms of Williams turns out to be the result of mixed cultures and rigid history since antiquity， which is true to the Marxist interpretation of social development.

2. A Brief Summary

Prime and foremost， modernism， as is known to Williams， is a critical concept. He believed that there was a decisive connection between the practices and ideas of the avant-garde movements and the conditions and relationships of metropolis in the twentieth century. In a simple sense， the former was historically intensified while the later， in a deeper sense， was culturally changing. What indeed caused such diverse cultures between technologies and institutions of modern art was immediate transmission.

Besides， the principal trait of modernism in the nineteenth century ought to be urban alienation. The inherent history of themes led to real and drastic shifts of form. Of all the themes undergoing varied alterations， five are paid great attention and are extremely substantial and fairly influential. The first is the theme of the crowd of strangers， referring to the fact that people in the crowded street were unknown to the observer and is now understood as “mystery”. The next came to be the theme of a solitary and isolated individual within the crowd， a subjective as well as social explanation of the alienation within the cities. The third theme was said to be the impenetrability of the cities. It means the direct concern with urban crime that is in impenetrable city against the new figure of urban detective. The fourth theme was connected with possibility of unity and the fifth one， last but not least， was the theme of escape to a more peaceful and innocent rural place. With the five themes recurred in metropolis， modernism commenced appearing.

Finally， the metropolis was made a melting-pot by virtue of these themes referred above. It should be noted that the diversity of themes helped to compose the repertory of modern art and bestowed the identification of modernism， many elements of which were relevant to specific cultures， situations and imperialism. A number of social and historical reasons drove the metropolis move into a cultural dimension whereas the imperialism led to unevenness of development that gave rise to enlightenment and modernity. Moreover， chief metropolises were brimming with complicated and sophisticated social relations which brought miscellaneity to cultural activities in contrast to traditions and conventions.

3. Assessment and Evaluation

Modernism is closely related to social development. Rapidly industrialized and speedily urbanized， metropolis was forced to change its traditionally social relationship and was substituted by steel and concrete with previous pastoral scenes gradually fading away.

A cultural study of modernism is a distinctive way of taking in the twentieth-century artistic form. Differing from Matthew Arnolds elite culture and Frank Raymond Leavis culture of minority， Williams as a disciple of Marx highlighted the importance of mass culture and held the belief that it was an alternative expression of modern art. He pointed out that “there would be a good many people in English cultural circles… dont purpose to give them the satisfaction” （Williams， 1979：317）.

He placed great emphasis on the role medium played throughout metropolis and deemed that it was the medium that delivered modernism. Not only did the development of society bring about a variety of cultures mingled with each other， but also widened the distance among individuals. On one hand， the coexistence of hundreds of cultures contending within one community counteracted the persistence of Logos and everything was in chaos and was seeking for order at the same time. That is why Williams contemplated a positive attitude toward the mobile twentieth century.

In addition to cultural aspect， history is also taken into consideration by Williams， the Marxist. As mentioned above， modernism appeared as the various themes transited from the previous form to a fresh one by reason of “the inherent history of themes at first contained within ‘pre-modern forms of art which then in certain conditions led to actual and radical changes of form” （Williams， 1992：85）.

4. Conclusion

Overall， “The Metropolis and the Emergence of Modernism” is a valuable resource for researchers focusing on modernism and learners of modern literature alike. It gives a panoramic view of the rise of modernism from the perspective of Marxist thoughts， both culturally and historically. The appropriateness of content and terseness of language and logic of expression make the article worth reading and studying. Raymond Williams stated in his article that the theme of alienation of modernism and the blends of cultures in modern art and extended that “there was no shadow of massive local urban development， no prejudice against thought and education， no alien ruling class， or at least none visible” （Ward， 1981：6）.

【References】

[1] Levenson， Michael H.. A Genealogy of Modernism： A Study of English Literary Doctrine 1908-1922[D]. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 1984.

[2] Ward， J. P.. Raymond Williams. Writers of Wales. Meic Stephens， R. Brinley Jones， Eds[D]. Wales： University of Wales Press， 1981.

[3] Williams， Raymond. “The Metropolis and the Emergence of Modernism”[J]. Booker. Peter， Ed. New York： Longman，1992.