Published in 1931, ''Axel's Castle: A Study in the Imaginative Literature of 1870–1930'' is a foundational work of literary criticism by Edmund Wilson. It is widely recognized for tracing the origins and development of the Symbolist movement and its profound influence on 20th-century Modernist literature. The book's title is derived from the play Axël (1890) by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. The character of Count Axël represents a total retreat from reality into a "castle" of private fantasy and art, which Wilson uses as a metaphor for the Symbolist tendency toward individualism and linguistic isolation. Wilson argues that Modernism was essentially a second wave of Symbolism, reacting against the scientific "fact-based" approach of 19th-century Naturalism. He explores how writers developed private languages and symbols to express their internal feelings, which often resulted in works that were brilliant but difficult to decipher. While Wilson deeply admired these writers, he also criticized the "Axël" impulse—the danger of art becoming so detached from common reality and social concerns that it loses its vitality.
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