THE CAREER OF RENE WELLEK

Chapter One of Rene Wellek by Martin Burro, Twayne Publishers, Boston, 1981

Europe and America In the fall of 1978, the distinguished American literary theorist, critical historian, and comparatist scholar Ren Wellek spoke at the Sterling emorial !i"rary, #ale $ni%ersity, on the occasion of an e&hi"ition of his pu"lications for the cele"ration of his se%enty'fifth "irthday( After outlining the main tasks ahead of him, the Sterling )rofessor *meritus of +omparati%e !iterature looked "ack on his ,riting life o%er the past fifty'four years and noted that his "ooks reflected the many changes in literary scholarship and criticism( Still, he hoped that he had preser%ed his o,n integrity and a core of con%ictions( Wellek, ,hose impulse has al,ays "een to help clarify the methodological -o,er of .a"el, once e&plained/ 0 y %ie,s and aspirations are "est e&pounded in my "ooks(1 any literary scholars the ,orld o%er kno, the con%ictions and aspirations in Wellek2s "ooks, if not in all of his hundreds of scattered essays and re%ie,s( Appealing also to the student of literature and criticism are the stages of Ren Wellek2s remarka"le de%elopment, particu' larly his formati%e years in *urope and the years preceding his ac3uiring American citi4enship in 1956( I Vienna Ren Wellek ,as "orn in 7ienna on August 88, 199:, the oldest of three children( In this old ;aps"urg capital<cradle of much contemporary thought in psychology, medicine, philosophy, politics, art, music, and literature<Wellek and his younger "rother, Al"ert =1995<1978>, spent their "oyhoods( -he culture of Wellek2s parents influenced his de%elopment profoundly( ;is father, .ronisla% Wellek =1878<19?9>, then a go%ernment la,yer, ,as a +4ech from a petty'"ourgeois +atholic family in )rague( @no,n as a Liedersnger, a Wagnerian, and an opera re%ie,er, .ronisla% Wellek also ,as an ardent +4ech nationalist and a "iographer of the composer .edrich Smetana and a translator of the poets Aarosla% 7rchlicky and A( S( achar( Ren Wellek2s mother, ne Ba"riele %on Cele,sky =1881<19?9>, came from a different "ackground( .orn in Rome, she "loomed into a "eauty ,ho spoke Berman, Italian, Drench, and *nglish( Ren Wellek2s maternal grandfather ,as a West )russian no"leman of )olish originE Wellek2s grandmother ,as a S,iss )rotestant from pictures3ue Schaffhausen( After the no"leman2s death, his ,ido,, son, and daughter tra%eled on the +ontinent( In 7ienna, Ba"riele %on Cele,sky met .ronisla% Wellek( In the cro,ded capital the young couple and their sons mo%ed from apartment to apartment( Drom 1996 to 1998 .ronisla% Wellek ser%ed under the Austrian prime minister, .aron %on .eck, to ,hom he ga%e +4ech lessons( In 1918 the Welleks settled in a large house ,ith garden and terrace( At home and in the kaleidoscopic Fanu"ian metropolis, Ren and Al"ert gre, up in an atmosphere rich in linguistic, aesthetic, political, and religious o%ertones( Since the )rotestantism of their S,iss grandmother pre%ailed in the family, the .rothers Wellek had "een "apti4ed in the !utheran +hurch( *%en the agnostic .ronisla% "ecame a nominal !utheran( As a "oy Ren Wellek read %oraciously( ;e and his "rother de%eloped 0cra4es1 for all kinds of encyclopedic and historical information<geography, science, religion, literature, military campaigns( Damiliar ,ith 7iennese opera, Ren Wellek also took piano lessons( At school he and his "rother spoke Berman, "ut often encountered anti'+4ech feeling( At home and on %acations in the ri%er %alleys and pine,oods of .ohemia, the "rothers spoke +4ech( A month after he "ecame ten, Ren Wellek started !atin lessons, and for eight hours a ,eek for eight years he read much of !i%y, +ornelius Gepos, +aesar, +icero, H%id, 7ergil, ;orace, +atullus, and -acitus( Furing the Dirst World War, Ren Wellek recalls, food in 7ienna gre, scarce and cannon "oomed in the +arpathians( When he ,as thirteen he started Breek, and during the ne&t three years he read Ienophon, much ;omer, some )lato and !ucian( Furing his con%alescence from scarlet fe%er, his father read to him the ,hole of -he )ick,ick )apers in Berman( When he returned finally to the Wahring Gymnasium, he ,as permitted to su"stitute *nglish or Drench for his interrupted +reek studies( Wellek2s choice of *nglish

influenced his life decisi%ely( -hough he still spent long hours at his !atin, he gre, increasingly sceptical of mechanical instruction( II Prague With the collapse of the Austro';ungarian *mpire in 1918, the Welleks =and infant *li4a"eth> mo%ed to the ancient cathedral city of )rague, that pictures3ue settlement at the entrance to *astern *urope( 0+4echoslo%akia after the ,ar,1 Wellek notes, 0more than e%er, stood at the crossroads of all cultural influences, in conse3uence of her geographical position, her Sla%onic language and her Western sympathies(1 !ike his father<high in go%ernment office< the school"oy Ren Wellek identified ,ith the ne, +4echoslo%akia( 0-he outcome of the great ,ar, ,hich for the +4echs meant the fulfillment of a centuries'old desire, ,as a surprise and shock for the Bermans in .ohemia and ora%ia(1 Still, the first president of the Repu"lic, -homas asaryk, hoped that +4echoslo%akia might "ecome the S,it4erland of +entral *urope( Go *nglish, ho,e%er, ,as taught at Wellek2s Realgymnasium. Ge%ertheless, he continued to read *nglish literature at home, particularly Shakespeare and the Romantic poets( In school he studied "otany, history, geography, and three literatures<!atin, Berman, and +4ech( ;e read a good deal of Reformation history and "ecame familiar ,ith the Berman classics( After reading Schopenhauer and Giet4sche, he pu44led o%er his mother2s sentimental piety( In 1988, Wellek entered +harles $ni%ersity =the +4ech $ni%ersity of )rague>( -hough he %ie,ed his father2s legal profession as "oring, he himself ,ould "ecome a masterful Judge of e%idence, of critical defense and prosecution( Wellek pre%ailed upon his father to allo, him to study Bermanic philology( Academe promised intellectual ad%enture and social responsi"ility, art and learning, passion and Judgment( At +harles $ni%ersity, Berman historical scholarship still held s,ay, "ut often it colla"orated ,ith criticism( Aoseph Aanko lectured on Bothic %ocalism and consonantism, Arnost @raus on the Minnesnger, Htokar Discher on the life and poetry of ;eine, D( I( Salda on Sym"olism, and 7Kcla% -ille on comparati%e folklore( Drom each Wellek learned, "ut from each he ,ithheld total allegiance( Dascinated "y the Judgmental "oldness of Driedrich Bundolf Ls Shakespeare und der deutsche Beist =1911> and Boethe =1916>, Wellek in 198: %isited ;eidel"erg to hear Bundolf lectureE after calling on him, ho,e%er, Wellek ,as repelled "y Bundolf Ls adoring cult of Stefan Beorge( At +harles $ni%ersity, Wellek enJoyed the lectures on *nglish literary history gi%en "y the highly regarded +4ech scholar and teacher 7ilm athesius =1888<195?>( -he no"le and polite athesius, Wellek later ,rote, ,as 0the type of the +4ech scholar ,ho gre, up under Austria in the tradition of +4ech )rotestantism, ,ith asaryk as a model in mind, ,ho de%oted himself to the "uilding of the nation "et,een the ,ars(1 Furing athesius2s sudden loss of sight, Wellek =,ho then cared only for Shakespeare and the Romantic and 7ictorian poets> read portions of -he Dairie Mueene to him and o"ser%ed that often athesius2s responses to Spenser ,ent "eyond the con%entions of nineteenth'century positi%istic phil' ology( athesius, in fact, encouraged his students to free themsel%es from fanatic Berman factualism and to ,rite +4ech e&position in the simple, clear style of the *nglish( -hough athesius seemed to Wellek insufficiently concerned ,ith the pro"lem of e%il and tragedy, ,ith irrationality and the interior life athesius instilled in him 0a sane respect for order, tradition, common sense, lucidity distrust of the merely ne,, the pretentious and opa3ue( ( ( a concern for genuine disco%ery, for the frontiers of kno,ledge(1 III Wandering Scholar With his father2s financial help, Wellek in 1985 spent t,o months in *ngland preparing his thesis on 0-homas +arlyle and Romanticism1 and responding fa%ora"ly to the etaphysical re%i%al( -he ne&t year he and other +4ech students, under the auspices of the .ritish $nion of students, %isited +am"ridge, .irmingham, !i%erpool, H&ford, .ristol, and !ondon( As an undergraduate Wellek "egan pu"lishing his efforts in +4ech "ooks and periodicals ;is first essay, in Discher and Salda2s re%ie, @ritika, took to task A( 7( SlKdek2s +4ech translation of Romeo and Auliet( Hther early essays are on .yron and Shelley, early re%ie,s on %arious studies in +4ech, *nglish, Drench, and Berman( $nder athesius, Wellek completed his thesis on +arlyle/ Wellek argues that +arlyle fought the *nlightenment ,ith ,eapons from Berman Romanticism, "ut remained a )uritan( In Aune 1986, at age t,enty'three, Wellek recei%ed the degree Foctor of )hilology(

Supported "y the +4ech inistry of *ducation, Wellek once more %isited *ngland, this time to prepare a monograph on Andre, ar%ell in relation to .aro3ue and !atin poetry( .ut at H&ford, ,here he met ario )ra4, Wellek ,as surprised to learn that the Drench scholar )ierre !egouis ,as preparing a large "ook on ar%ell( With recommendations from H&ford Wellek applied to the Institute of International *ducation, and in the fall of 1987 he ,ent to )rinceton as a )rocter Dello, of *nglish( ;e spent a "usy year in the regular graduate seminars of -homas ( )arrott, Ro"ert @( Root, +harles +( Hsgood, and orris W( +roll( $nfortunately, Wellek2s seminar assignments ,ere much like those of his early years in Bermanic philology( At the time, )rinceton offered no modern or American literature( Wellek, ho,e%er, managed to read ;( !( encken, 7an Wyck .rooks, and the Ge, ;umanists( Since there ,as no opening for him at )rague, Wellek remained in the $nited States and taught Berman the ne&t year at Smith +ollege( -he follo,ing year he returned to )rinceton to teach Berman( ;a%ing a%oided at )rague the professors of positi%istic philosophy, at )rinceton he attended !edger Wood2s seminar on ;egel2s !ogic. Wellek2s thesis on +arlyle had led him to +oleridge, and +oleridge led him to @ant and Schelling( Furing this period, Wellek decided that the topic of his second thesis (Habilitation) ,ould "e the influence of @ant on *nglish thought( Wellek then %oyaged home "y ,ay of *ngland( At the .ritish useum he scrutini4ed +oleridge2s manuscript 0!ogic,1 ama4ed to see the fair and unfair use +oleridge made of @ant( I7 Privatdozent .ack at +harles $ni%ersity "y the fall of 19:9, Wellek completed Immanuel @ant in *ngland: 17 !" 1#!#. -hough athesius had reser%ations a"out the su"Ject of the Habilitation, he ad%ised Wellek to enhance his chances of securing a professorship "y ,riting a paper on the iddle *nglish poem -he )earl. Wellek passed his $o%entura, "asing his inaugural lecture =0-he -,o *nglands/ *mpiricism and Idealism in *nglish !iterature1> on an entry in +oleridge2s note"ooks( Writes Wellek/ 0I de%eloped the contrast "et,een the t,o traditions ,ith an unconcealed preference for the )latonic idealistic poetic tradition(1 Still, athesius selected Wellek as his e%entual successor as )rofessor of the ;istory of *nglish !iterature( Drom 19:9 to 19:? Wellek li%ed in )rague( ;e "ecame an acti%e Junior mem"er of the famous )rague !inguistic +ircle, translated Aoseph +onrad2s &'an%e and F( ;( !a,rence2s (ons and Lo)ers into +4ech, taught *nglish as a *ri)atdo+ent, and ,rote in +4ech, *nglish and Berman for a %ariety of +4ech Journals( In 19:8 Wellek married Hlga .rodskK, an elementary'school teacher from ora%ia( Wellek early sur%eyed the ,ork of the +am"ridge critics<I( A( Richards, D( R( !ea%is, and William *mpson< and contri"uted articles and re%ie,s to Slo%o a slo%esnost, Journal of the )rague !inguistic +ircle( ;e further de%eloped his considera"le skill in te&tual analysis, formulation of theory, and reasoned e%aluation( .elie%ing that history can "e ,ritten only from a sense of direction, Wellek as early as 19:8 sought in his paper on 0Words,orth2s and +oleridge2s -heories of )oetic Fiction1 for anticipations of the %ie,s of the Russian Dormalists and the +4ech Structuralists( Hf great interest to Wellek at this time ,ere the theories of 7iktor Shklo%sky, Roman Aako"son, Aan ukaro%sky, and Roman Ingarden( 7 London Since prospects for a professorship at )rague seemed remote, Wellek from 19:? to 19:9 ,as !ecturer in +4ech !anguage and !iterature at the School of Sla%onic Studies of the $ni%ersity of !ondon( Sponsored there "y the +4echoslo%ak inistry of *ducation, Wellek also ga%e si& pu"lic lectures a year on +4ech culture( Furing these !ondon years, he contri"uted his important 0-heory of !iterary ;istory1 to the si&th %olume of -ra%au& du +ercle !ingulsti3ue de )rague =19:6, pp( 17:<81>( Wellek notes that this essay for the first time in *nglish discusses Russian Dormalism and Ingarden2s phenomenology( Wellek argues against merely accumulating facts a"out literature, against reducing literature to historical information( ;e ad%ocates concentrating on the actual ,orks of art themsel%es, on "ridging the gulf "et,een content and form( In +am"ridge in the summer of 19:6, Wellek for the first time met D( R( !ea%is( -hough Wellek2s %ie,s in many areas coincided ,ith those of the +am"ridge group, his famous or notorious letter in Scrutiny in 19:7 charged !ea%is in his Re%aluation =19:6> ,ith an inade3uate appreciation of idealism as it descends from )lato, ,ith underrating the coherence and comprehensi"ility of the Romantic %ie, of the ,orld( !ea%is ,rongly countercharged that Wellek ,as an a"stract philosopher ,ith an inade3uate appreciation of sensiti%e concrete criticism( Wellek replied that he had intended only to sho, that literary criticism directed

against the soundness of thought is in%alid( As .ronisla% Wellek "efore World War I had transmitted +4ech culture to Austria, so Ren Wellek "efore World War II transmitted +4ech culture to *ngland( Se%eral of Wellek2s thoughtful, factual accounts of +4ech history and the +4ech situation stem from this period( In !ondon and en%irons, in speech and print, he sought help for his threatened homeland "y ac3uainting the *nglish ,ith %enera"le Anglo'+4ech relations, ,ith +4ech ,riters and %alues( Still, Ge%ille +ham"erlain, to Wellek2s utter dismay, let the little country go( After ;itler2s troops marched into )rague in the spring of 19:9, the -hird Reich halted Wellek2s salary( 7I Iowa American scholars came to Wellek2s aid( -homas )arrott informed Gorman Doerster of Wellek2s plight( Doerster, as Firector of the School of !etters at the State $ni%ersity of Io,a, in%ited Wellek to Join the *nglish Fepartment as a lecturer on a one'year appointment( ;a%ing ascertained the e&act location of Io,a +ity on a map in the .ritish useum, Wellek and his ,ife gratefully sailed for America in Aune( .efore the trip to Io,a, Wellek ,orked at #ale for si& ,eeks on the manuscript of his Rise of *nglish !iterary ;istory. -he Welleks mo%ed into a ne,ly rented house in Io,a +ity on Septem"er 1, 19:9<the day World War II "roke out in *urope( At Io,a, Wellek at first taught courses in the ;umanities and the *uropean no%el( -here he met se%eral stimulating colleagues, among them Austin Warren( Reappointed, Wellek soon taught a seminar in Berman'*nglish literary and intellectual relations( In the stormy de"ate in American uni%ersities "et,een scholars and critics =history %ersus %alues, facts %ersus ideas>, Wellek naturally supported Doerster2s Geohumanist reforms( !ike *ngland, America lacked theoretical a,areness( Its scholarship ,as anti3uarian, its criticism impressionistic( -o the collecti%e %olume !iterary Scholarship/ Its Aims and ethods =1951> Wellek contri"uted a re%ised %ersion of his 0-heory of !iterary ;istory(1 -hat same year the $ni%ersity of Gorth +arolina also pu"lished his Rise of *nglish !iterary ;istory. Wellek "ecame an associate professor at Io,a and associate editor of )hilological Muarterly =1951<56>( At meetings of the ne,ly founded *nglish Institute in the early 1959s, Wellek met William @( Wimsatt, +leanth .rooks, and Allen -ate( Ro"ert )enn Warren t,ice taught at Io,a as a %isiting professor( -hough +ontinental and American perceptions naturally differed, Wellek ,as impressed ,ith these 0Ge, +ritics(1 Sensing the limitations of Ge, ;umanism, Wellek and Austin Warren decided to ,rite -heory of !iterature, a "ook stressing the nature, function, form, and content of literature as ,ell as its relation to neigh"oring "ut distinct disciplines( -he needed "ook, sur%eying literary theory, practice, scholarship, history, and pedagogy, ,ould "ring together Wellek2s insights into Sla%ic DormalismNStructuralism and Warren2s into American Ge, +riticism( -o e&pedite the colla"oration, Wellek enlarged the scope of his reading in American scholarship ,hile Warren read more *uropean studies( ean,hile, Wellek accepted !ouis Wright2s in%itation to ,ork as a Dello, at the ;untington !i"rary during the summer of 1958< on ,hat Wellek imagined ,ould "e the second installment of his Rise of *nglish !iterary ;istory =since -homas Warton to the present>( In the spring of 195: Wellek2s son I%an ,as "orn( .ecause of the ,ar Wellek naturally lost touch ,ith the )rague +ircleE ne%ertheless, he intensified his theoretical interests( At the center of his con%ictions ,ere the autonomy of the aesthetic e&perience, the human meaning of art, the necessity for responsi"le interpretation, the interdependence of theory and e&perience, and the interconnection of analysis, interpretation, and e%aluation( As Firector of the !anguage and Area )rogram in +4ech =195:<55>, Ren Wellek2s function ,as to produce oral interpreters for the $nited States Army( ;e ,as promoted to full professor in 1955, "ut his grinding stint as language director had retarded progress on -heory of !iterature. With support from the Rockefeller Doundation, ho,e%er, Wellek and Warren spent the ,ar'concluding summer of 195? in +am"ridge, assachusetts( *nthusiastically the +4ech and the American ,rote, e&changed, discussed, and re%ised chapters( Hf Austin Warren as ,riter and teacher, Wellek o"ser%es/ 0Working ,ith him ,as a course in style, in the art of e&position, in the clarity of formulation(1 7II New Haven In the fall they returned to Io,a, "ut Wellek, ha%ing learned athesius had died shortly "efore the

li"eration, considered returning to )rague( #ale $ni%ersity, ho,e%er, offered him a post, and Wellek "ecame a naturali4ed American citi4en in ay 1956( -hat same year #ale presented him ,ith an honorary aster of Arts degree, and he Joined the editorial "oard =1956<?9> of the odern !anguage Association( Still ,orking on -heory of !iterature, Wellek in the fall of 1956 "ecame )rofessor of Sla%ic and +omparati%e !iterature at #ale( -here ,as no chair, no program, no department then, "ut Wellek sensed that the time ,as gro,ing ripe for e&pansion( Soon there ,ould "e 18? undergraduates in his Sur%ey of the Russian Go%el( Wellek rightly insisted that one cannot study a single literature in isolation( All literature is interdependent, particularly the literature descending from Breece and Rome( Ideas, forms, genres, themes, motifs, techni3ues, metrics, stock characters, and much more cross all language "arriers( )rofessors of literature in ,hate%er language or languages must recogni4e as an ideal the supernational history of literature( Warren %isited Wellek in Ge, ;a%en the ne&t t,o summers, "ut the illness and su"se3uent death of Warren2s ,ife necessitated that Wellek ,rite chapters originally assigned to Warren( -hough -heory of !iterature "ears a 1959 pu"lication date, most of the "ook ,as ,ritten "et,een 195?<57, and it incorporates earlier papers, including Wellek2s ,ell'kno,n chapter 0-he ode of *&istence of a !iterary Work of Art,1 first pu"lished in the Southern Re%ie, in 1958( In the summer of 1957 WeIlek lectured on literary theory at the $ni%ersity of innesota, and the ne&t summer on the history of criticism at +olum"ia $ni%ersity, returning to #ale in the fall as chairman of his department( ean,hile, Warren left Io,a for the $ni%ersity of ichigan( -hough not concei%ed as a te&t"ook, -heory of !iterature caught on in American graduate schools( In a short time, it "ecame a )ade me%um. -oday it is an academic "est'seller, in t,enty't,o translations( -hough the "ook often is associated ,ith Ge, +riticism, Wellek o"Jects to "eing called a Ge, +ritic( -hanks to the fusion of the Berman'Sla%ic and Anglo'American critical traditions in -heory of !iterature, students and professors of literature the ,orld o%er ha%e "ecome cogni4ant of essential distinctions and of the cardinal idea that 0a literary ,ork of art is not a simple o"Ject "ut rather a highly comple& organi4ation of a stratified character ,ith multiple meanings and relationships(1 -o the first issue of +omparati%e !iterature, on ,hose editorial "oard he is still a mem"er, Wellek contri"uted his ,ell'kno,n refutation of Arthur 9( !o%eJoy2s argument in 1985 against the unity of Western Romanticism( In the summer of 1959, Wellek Joined Aohn +ro,e Ransom, Allen -ate, and #%or Winters as a Dello, at the @enyon School( Dollo,ing the pu"lication of -heory of !iterature, Wellek put his greatest la"ors after teaching and administration into his monumental A ;istory of odern +riticism/ 17?9'19?9, a proJected fi%e =no, proJected si&> %olume magnum o,us of modern critical de%elopments, primarily in Drance, *ngland, Bermany, Italy, Russia, and America( -he ,ork ,ould support or correct -heory of !iterature. 7III Profession of riticism Since mid'century a flo, of pu"lications has issued from Wellek2s pen<"ooks, essays, sur%eys, re%ie,s, notes, letters<on *uropean and American philosophy, aesthetics, and history of ideasE on literary theory, history, and criticismE on periods, de%elopments, and mo%ementsE on style, methodology, and pedagogyE on critics, scholars, and<himself( ;is many re%ie,s on American, *nglish, Berman, +4ech, )olish, Russian, Drench, and Italian criticism are crisp and "alanced( ;is letters and comments in learned Journals contri"ute to critical in3uiry, to a sense of intellectual community( In 19??, #ale $ni%ersity )ress released the first t,o %olumes of the ;istory<-he !ater *ighteenth +entury and -he Romantic Age. 0-here is no other history like it,1 declared Fa%id Faiches, 0none ,hich com"ines its scope ,ith its sense of contemporary rele%ance(1 Dor Wellek2s si&tieth "irthday, in 196:, the +4echoslo%ak Society of Arts and Sciences in America honored him ,ith *ssays on +4ech !iterature, nine of his key +4ech ,ritings in *nglish, ,ith a "i"liography of more than a hundred Wellek ,ritings in +4ech and on +4echNSla%ic topics( -hat same year #ale pu"lished Wellek2s more unified collection, +oncepts of +riticism. -hese fifteen influential papers, dating from the mid'1959s to the early 1969s, define pro"lems of method and periodi4ation, set conceptual ideals, and measure results against literature itself( -o *merson R( arks, 0Go a%aila"le alternati%e to the structuralism ,hich he propounds "ears so ,ell the test of literature itself(1 *&clusi%e of a"out si&ty items in +4ech, the "i"liography co%ers all of Wellek2s ,ritings to the end of 1968(

-,o years after the pu"lication of +oncepts, )rinceton $ni%ersity )ress, ha%ing put its imprimatur in 19:1 on the printing in +4echoslo%akia of @ant in *ngland, appropriately pu"lished Wellek2s third collection, si& essays under the unam"iguous title +onfrontations/ Studies in the Intellectual and !iterary Relations .et,een Bermany, *ngland, and the $nited States during the Gineteenth +entury( ;o,ard umford Aones pronounced Ren Wellek 0the most erudite man in America(0 When #ale in 196? released the eagerly a,aited third and fourth %olumes of Wellek2s critical ;istory<-he Age of -ransition and -he !ater Gineteenth +entury<it ,as ,elcomed as 0the most comprehensi%e and "alanced account of the history of criticism in the modern age(0 In 1979, #ale pu"lished Wellek2s fourth essay collection =and "i"liography from 196: through 1969> Fiscriminations/ ore +oncepts of +riticism( Among many others, R( +ordon +o& pointed up Wellek2s 0%ast range of reference1 and 0encyclopedic kno,ledge of critical ,riting(0 !ike most flourishing scholar'critics, Wellek constructs his "ooks largely from his essays( Hften these are lectures'turned'essays, one reason for their directness and clarity( Gearly all forty't,o Wellek pieces that constitute *ssays on +4ech !iterature, +oncepts of +riticism, +onfrontations, and Fiscriminations ,ere culled from academic 3uarterlies and scholarly "ooks( Hne runs across his essays and re%ie,s in the ,hole gamut of learned Journals<from American !iterature to Ceitschrlft der Sa%igny<Stiftung. Hne finds first or second %ersions, ,hole or partial reprints, or translations of his essays in a host of collections, annuals, festschrifts, editions, and reference ,orks( H%er his long career, Wellek has re%ie,ed more than a hundred scholarly "ooks ,ritten in %arious Bermanic, Romance, and Sla%ic languages( ;is re%ie,s display the range of his essays and "ooks( 7enturously, he has assessed a scholarly "ook on Hld @orean poetry for +omparati%e !iterature, and e%en an issue of #ale !iterary aga4ine for #ale Faily Ge,s( ost of his re%ie,s, of course, treat ,orks in *nglish on modern Western literature and literary study( Wellek2s re%ie,s crop up in do4ens of Journals, many in +omparati%e !iterature and )hilological Muarterly. Wellek2s ingenuity in carrying ideas from one "ook to the ne&t, in constructing "ooks from essays and re%ie,s, and in informing these shorter forms, in turn, ,ith arresting passages from his "ooks =particularly -heory of !iterature and ;istory of +riticism) makes for organic unity, for coherence and continuity( -hough the gusto of the great nineteenth'century critical historian Beorge Saints"ury is more intrusi%e than that of his t,entieth'century counterpart, Wellek2s ,ork also has a definite critical personality( -he personality reflects ha"itual diligence, patience and tact( -here is erudition and introspection, system and %ision, openness and independence, reason and enthusiasm( Audicious, su"tle, and so"er, the persona at times is dryly humorous<as ,hen Adam uller seems to cele"rate 0sentimental pan'se&uality1 ,hen addressing lady audiences, or ,hen Driedrich ;e""el notes do,n his and his ,ife2s dreams 0,ith the pedantry of a confirmed Dreudian,1 or ,hen the fe, today ,ho ,ant to "urn ,ith )ater2s gemlike flame 0are usually %ery young indeed,1 or ,hen )aul 7alery simply cannot compare period terms to "ottle la"els <1)a"st .lue Ri""on or !ie"frauenmilch1<or ,hen the ,ord %riti-ue gi%es 0a some,hat superior air to a hum"le "ook re%ie,,1 or ,hen 0it may "e reassuring1 to kno, that statistically nonconformists are more aesthetic than conformists, or ,hen one fails to find the ,ord %lassi%ismo in such o"%ious sources as 1 ili4ia, +icognara, *nnio Muirino, 7isconti( ( ( +ano%a,0 or ,hen Wellek, ha%ing counted the phrase ./iders,iegelung der /ir0li%'0eit1 =0reflection of reality1> 1,9:8 times in 7olume Hne of Beorg !ukKcs2s Aesthetik, concludes, 0I ,as too la4y or "ored to count it in 7olume -,o(1 Wellek2s distinguished ,ritings ha%e gained him distinguished honors( )articularly satisfying to the academic man of letters is the honorary degree "esto,ed upon him "y a Jury of his fello, academics( *steemed at home, Wellek the American comparatist is particularly hailed among the international community of scholars( In 19?8, !a,rence +ollege granted Wellek his first honorary doctorateE in 197?, the $ni%ersity of *ast Anglia, his t,elfth( .et,een, Wellek had recei%ed honorary doctorates from ;ar%ard, H&ford, Rome, aryland, .oston +ollege, +olum"ia, ontreal, !ou%ain, ichigan, and unich( Hf course, an academic ,riter ,hose erudition is as gargantuan as Wellek2s needs financial as ,ell as moral support, large "locks of time for reading, thinking, discoursing, and ,riting( Doundations and agencies ha%e heeded Wellek2s call( -o recei%e a Buggenheim Dello,ship is a great distinction/ Wellek has recei%ed three( In 19?1<?8, he ,orked on his ;istory, first in Ge, ;a%en and later in Italy, S,it4erland, and Bermany( ;is 19?6<?7 Buggenheim ena"led him again to ,ork ,ithout interruption in Ge, ;a%en and later to %isit +4echoslo%akia( Hn his third, 1966<67, Wellek returned to Italy, mainly to Rome and Sicily( .efore, "et,een, and after the Buggenheims, ho,e%er, others "acked Wellek2s critical la"ors( In

19?8 the Fistinguished Ser%ice A,ard came from the American +ouncil of !earned Societies( -he ne&t year he ,as Dul"right Research Scholar in Italy, in Dlorence and Rome( Brants from the Rockefeller and .ollingen Doundations allo,ed Wellek to take another lea%e from academic duties in 196:<65( In 1978 he ,as Senior Dello, of the Gational *ndo,ment for the ;umanities( An ine%ita"le outcome of outstanding scholarship, professorial charm, and administrati%e de&terity seems to "e election to %arious professional committees and offices( Acti%e in comparati%e literature sections of the odern !anguage Association, Ren Wellek ,as also on the editorial "oard =19?:<?5> and the e&ecuti%e council =19?9<69>( At the time he ,as !A %ice president =1965>, he ,as also president of three other associations/ the International +omparati%e !iterature Association =1961<65>, the American +omparati%e !iterature Association =1968<6?>, and the +4echoslo%ak Society of Arts and Sciences in America =1968<66>( *&cept for the first I+!A +ongress in 7enice, Wellek has lectured at e%ery +ongress( .esides reading papers regularly at A+!A meetings, he organi4ed the 1979 meeting at #ale( Such repute "rought in%itations to lecture and to teach( And highly successful lecturing and teaching "egat more in%itations( !ong "efore his retirement from #ale in 1978, Wellek from time to time had accepted temporary teaching assignments else,here( In 19?9, he taught a ,eekly seminar in the *nlightenment at ;ar%ard, ga%e nine guest lectures as part of the Bauss Seminar in !iterary +riticism at )rinceton, and "ecame a Dello, of the Indiana School of !etters( =Still chairman of #ale2s Sla%ic Fepartment, he "ecame Sterling )rofessor of +omparati%e !iterature in 19?8(> -he ne&t year, he made a return engagement as a %isiting professor at ;ar%ard( In 1961, a year after he "ecame chairman of #ale2s outstanding Fepartment of +omparati%e !iterature, he ,as a %isiting professor at the $ni%ersity of ;a,aiiE in 196:, at the $ni%ersity of +alifornia, .erkeleyE and in the summer of 1969, Dul"right Fistinguished !ec' turer in Bermany( II Wandering Scholar Emeritus After the death of his first ,ife in 1967, Ren Wellek married Gonna Folodarenko Sha,, a Russian migr, herself then a professor of Russian literature at the $ni%ersity of )itts"urgh( In 1978, at age si&ty' nine, Wellek retired from #ale( As director of the graduate program in comparati%e literature since 1957, he had directed o%er fifty Foctor of )hilosophy dissertations, many no, pu"lished( Wellek once ,rote/ 0I trust the company ,ho ha%e come from the department ha%e, ,hate%er the %ariety of con%iction they hold and interests they pursue, at least t,o things in common/ de%otion to scholarship and complete freedom to follo, their o,n "ent(0 Inde"tedness to Wellek has "een e&pressed in the form of anni%ersary %olumes, special issues, dedications, ackno,ledgments, and u"i3uitous footnotes( In spite of academic retirement, Ren Wellek2s academic )ita continues to "urgeon( In 197: he ,as a 7isiting )rofessor at )rinceton, and in 1975 he ,as )atton )rofessor of +omparati%e !iterature at Indiana $ni%ersity( In !ondon that year, he "ecame president of the odern ;umanities Research Association( -he follo,ing spring, under circumstances far happier than those in 19:9, Ren Wellek, as Fistinguished 7isiting )rofessor, returned to the $ni%ersity of Io,a( In 1977, as Senior Dello, of the Society of the ;umanities, he conducted a seminar at +ornell $ni%ersity( In 1979, he taught at the $ni%ersity of +alifornia, San Fiego( !ater that year, at the opening ceremony of the Inns"ruck +ongress of I+!A, Ren Wellek recei%ed the 2erdienst0reu+ 1. 3lasse 45r 3unst und /issens%'a4t and in the fall ,as Walker'Ames )rofessor at the $ni%ersity of Washington( In America and in *urope the irresisti"le 0critic of critics1 still lectures in his rapid, +4ech'accented deli%ery( ;e continues to ser%e on committees and editorial "oards( ;is %arious studies and defenses of literary criticism continue to astonish and inspire( Wellek2s mem"erships in learned societies, it might "e ,ell to note here, include the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American )hilosophical Society, the .a%arian Academy, the .ritish Academy, the +onnecticut Academy, the Italian Gational Academy, the !inguistic Society of America, and the Royal Getherlands Academy( At his 1978 "irthday cele"ration at #ale, Ren Wellek defined as his central pursuits the completion of the fifth and si&th %olumes of his ;istory of +riticism and the re%ision of his early, still %alid, @ant in *ngland. When asked ho, he likes retirement from academic duties at #ale, the sturdy, indefatiga"le, ,hite'haired scholar 3uips, 0I enJoy it "ut miss my %acations(1 "ack to the rathouse