A Phoenix in Fetters

Between the French Revolution and World War I, Hebrew literature experienced a veritable renaissance, first in Central Europe and then in Eastern Europe. Its vigorous search for new modes of expression played a major role in the revival of Hebrew as a living language. In A Phoenix in Fetters, David Patterson describes the extraordinary paradox affecting Hebrew literature in the 19th century. On the one hand it aspired to serve as a conduit for the Jews of eastern Europe from the medieval to the modern world. On the other hand, it embraced a theory of literature that artificially restricted its development. The paradox was resolved only in the first decades of the 20th century.