ABSTRACT
In the introduction, the relevance of the book to literary studies and theory is illuminated; the relation between ‘uncertainty’ and ‘undecidability’ is explained; and the purpose, structure, content and vision of the book and its chapters are introduced. Undecidability is presented as a fundamental literary quality as well as a theoretical notion that is consolidated as a critical and analytical concept in twentieth-century literary theory and used as a structuring principle and a primary conveyor of meaning in Modernist literature. The introduction explains how the book, accordingly, sheds light on uncertainty as an intrinsic literary aspect, a specific literary device and strategy in Modernist literature and a prevalent concept in twentieth-century literary theory. The two elementary dimensions of the book are outlined: on one level the book is a descriptive and explorative study of the theory of uncertainty and the notion of undecidability in literary theory, and as such it represents a form of meta-study. At the same time, undecidability is put forward in a prescriptive manner, i.e. constructed as an analytical and productive critical concept that is particularly relevant to the study of Modernist literature, and as such the book itself constitutes a theory of uncertainty.
