本书是对文化转变中的语言的一种精彩的考察与探究。它不是一部词典，也不是特殊学科的术语汇编；它应该是一种对词汇进行质疑探询纪录：这类词汇包含了英文里对习俗与制度广为探讨一些语汇及意义——这种习俗与制度，现在我们通常将之归类为文化与社会

雷蒙德·威廉斯在本书中考察了近代英国的教育、识字（图书、新闻报刊）、“标准英语”的发展，英语作家、戏剧的社会历史进程，20世纪英国小说的形成。在这些考察的基础上，他发现一种文化的变革正在发生，并且与之前英国曾经经历过的民主革命与工业革命一样重要。正是以他的英国文化史研究为依据，雷蒙德·威廉斯提出了在长时段内存在着一种文化革命的理论。

This book extends the theme of Raymond Williams's earlier work in literary and cultural analysis. He analyses previous contributions to a Marxist theory of literature from Marx himself to Lukacs, Althusser, and Goldmann, and develops his own approach by outlining a theory of 'cultural materialism' which integrates Marxist theories of language with Marxist theories of literature. Williams moves from a review of the growth of the concepts of literature and idealogy to a redefinition of 'determinism' and 'hegemony'. His incisive discussion of the 'social material process' of cultural activity culminates in a re-examination of the problems of alignment and commitment and of the creative practice in individual authors and wider social groups.

As a brilliant survey of English literature in terms of changing attitudes towards country and city, Williams' highly-acclaimed study reveals the shifting images and associations between these two traditional poles of life throughout the major developmental periods of English culture.