„Hledisko chvíle“ a pravidla tvorby
‘The Perspective of the Moment’ and the Rules of Creative Writing

Karel Sezima as Critic during World War I

Summary/Abstract: The study looks at Karel Sezima’s (1876–1949) criticism during the Great War, 1914–1918. It seeks to demonstrate how Sezima opposed concepts that tried – from the outbreak of war – to identify the impact that current epoch-making events had on literature. Sezima preserved this mindset throughout the war, ignoring or criticizing the later changes in public discourse, the ethical shift in literature, and changes in other critics’ approaches. His insistence on the autonomy of art and his rejection of everything even suspected of putting pressure on the creative act were manifested as a continuation of the analytical model of criticism, which focuses on form. It resembled conservatism, enshrining modernistic attitudes to literature at a turning point in history. The author also seeks to explain how Sezima’s approach differed from Arne Novák’s (1880–1939).

• Details
• Contents