Theoretical Discussions on the History of Literature according to René Wellek (III): Evolution and Literary History

This installment in the series of theoretical discussions on literary history examines René Wellek’s essay “The Concept of Evolution in Literary History.” Written in the late 1950s, this essay reviews and analyzes Western theories concerning change and transformation in literature, particularly the notion of evolution and its various interpretations. Wellek raises fundamental questions: How does art—and specifically literature—change over the centuries? Do literary works evolve toward perfection and progress? Are these changes cyclical, passing through stages such as birth, maturity, and death? Can the transformations of literary works be predicted on the basis of economic or social conditions? Or are they accidental and arbitrary? In this essay, Wellek critically engages with the ideas of philosophers and theorists such as Aristotle, Schlegel, Hegel, Darwin, Alexander Veselovsky, Jan Mukařovský, and many others in an attempt to address these questions. Ultimately, he advocates his own conception, grounded in the autonomy of literary works. Wellek regards literature as an aesthetic object and maintains that any discussion of literary value and literary history must be conducted exclusively through the concepts and terminology proper to art and literature.