Scott continues his examination of modernism -- not in its skeptical, iconoclastic dissentient phase -- by tracing out a line of thought that accords the poetic imagination an essentially constructive role in the formation of fundamental beliefs. Occasionally, the entire line of thought is considered in relation to contemporary structuralist and postructuralist ideologies that have undertaken to convert the very idea of the imagination into something unreclaimably problematic. Originally published in 1985. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.