Roberto Schwarz, historiador

Abstract

Roberto Schwarz's literary criticism always presupposes a rigorous reconstruction of the historical context in which the works he deals with were written, with special attention to social and literary forms. This article seeks to highlight  the  way  in  which  Schwarz reconstructs contexts  and  forms,  using Benjamin's concept of the “monad” to explain the role of literary analysis in perceiving the social tensions of an era. In these tensions, class   conflict   configures   dialectical movements between past  and present and between ideas and practices, summarized by Schwarz  in  his  well-known  formula  of “displaced  ideas”.  Without  intending  to reopen the debate generated by this formula, I intend to return here to the elements that clarify the conception of dialectics through which Schwarz thinksabout historical time and the interplay  of  social  practices.