THOMAS CARLYLE: The Hero as Man of Letters

Edited with Introduction, TEXT, Notes, Question-ANswers and Important Explanations

by: Manindranath Sinha

pp.: 140

Price: Rs. 110.00

ISBN 978-81-7977-404-5

Also available at amazon

A classic of English literature, Carlyle’s Hero As Man of Letters deals with the concept of hero-worship, which is still a living phenomenon in all democratic countries. These hero-lectures hinge on the doctrine that it is the spiritual which determine the material, the doctrine on which the vast structures of all religious systems stand, and which holds the key to man’s true happiness and peace to this world. I have undertaken to edit this book mainly to meet the needs of the students who consider the book inaccessible to them. The reason why the students fail to understand these lectures is their unfamiliarity with Carlyle’s philosophy of life, his conception of hero-worship, and of history, and above all with the motive behind his use of the quaint ungrammatical expressions which have been denounced by Maculay as the “the half-German jargon of the present day.” The general introduction to Carlyle is meant to get the students acquainted with those things which will help them master the contents of the book, and lay to their heart its inestimable significance even to-day. The detailed summaries will give a fairly complete idea of the subject matter of the essays, and will be sufficient for those who want to enjoy a difficult author like Carlyle through proxy. 

List of Contents:


Life and works of Thomas Carlyle
Carlyle’s Concept of History
Carlyle as a Socio-Political Critic
Carlyle as a moral force
Carlyle as a Literary Artist
Carlyle as a Literary Critic
Carlyle’s Concept of Heroes
Carlyle’s Concept of Hero-worship
Carlyle’s Position and Influence
Introduction to Heroes and Hero-worship
Summary of The Hero as Man of Letters
Text of Carlyle’s The Hero as man of letters

Notes and Annotations

Questions and Answers

Explanations of Important Passages