The Death of the Critic
- ISBN-10
- 0826492800
- ISBN-13
- 9780826492807
- Category
- Literary Criticism / General
- Pages
- 160
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2007
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Academic
- Author
- Ronan McDonald
Description
The critic has long been a reviled figure, at best the mere handmaiden of the "creative" arts, at worst a parasite upon them. For Brendan Behan, critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They know how it is done. They have seen it done every day.
But they are unable to do it themselves. In an age of book clubs, celebrity endorsements and bloggers, what role is there now for the professional critic as an arbiter of artistic value? Are literature and the arts merely a question of personal taste? Is one opinion "as good as another"? Rónán McDonald's The Death of the Critic seeks to defend the role of the public critic. He argues against recent claims that all artistic value is simply relative and subjective. This forceful, accessible and eloquent book considers why high profile, public critics such as William E mpson, F.R. Leavis or Lionel Trilling, become much rarer in the later twentieth century. Alert to the cultural and academic climate of both the UK and the USA, this controversial and timely intervention will engage scholars, students, critics and anyone concerned with the role of literary and artistic culture in the public sphere.
Get the book
Similar books
-
August Wilson's Fences: A Reference Guide
By Sandra G. ShannonOutlines the plot and characters of this groundbreaking play; explains the production, historical context, and themes; and includes critiques and reactions of scholars.
-
京味浮沉与北京文学的发展：北京文学研究资料汇编
By 张莉编他们虽然不像其他流派团体一样,拥有严密的组织,但是常常会举办一些文化沙龙,比如说林徽因每逢周六就会在自家的四合院里举办茶会,邀约各类学术精英、社会名流前来品茶聚会、谈古论今。林徽因的女儿梁再冰后来回忆道:“每到周末, ...
-
为生命而读
By 张鹏, 约翰·伦纳德, 杨莉馨约翰?伦纳德是美国文学界的一位泰斗。作为一名博学、热忱、涉猎甚广的书评人，他亲手参与塑造了美国当代文学的风貌。本书系从伦纳德历经50载的阅读生涯中萃取的50篇对多位名 ...
-
The Storyteller's Sourcebook: A Subject, Title, and Motif Index to Folklore Collections for Children, 1983-1999
By Margaret Read MacDonald, Brian W. SturmMarshall , James . Goldilocks and the Three Bears . Retold and Illus . by : James Marshall . New York : Dial , 1988 . Mayo , Gretchen Will . Here Comes Tricky Rabbit : Native American Trickster Tales . New York : Walker , 1994 .
-
Introductions, Notes and Commentaries to Texts in ' The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker ': Volume 1, Sir Thomas More
By Cyrus HoyCyrus Hoy, Thomas Dekker Fredson Bowers. but this identification is by no means regarded as certain , ' Hand C is that of a theatrical scribe , Hand D has been attributed to Shakespeare , 3 Hand E has been identified as Dekker's.4 ...
-
The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 1: Problems of General Psychology, Including the Volume Thinking and Speech
By L.S. VygotskyAs Thompson has pointed out, we commonly use words, expressions, and constructions in written expositions that would seem artificial in oral speech. Gri- boedov's phrase, "and you speak as you write," refers to the comic transfer of the ...
-
The Ruined Cottage: The Brothers Michael
By Wiliam WordsworthThe Ruined Cottage: The Brothers Michael
-
William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
By William ShakespeareThis edition represents Shakespeare's text as it appears in the most authoritative of early editions, the Folio, published in 1623, and it supplies students with useful footnotes to the interpretation of the text.
-
The Quotable Mark Twain: His Essential Aphorisms, Witticisms & Concise Opinions
By Mark TwainHere are more than 1,800 quotations, organized from A-to-Z, from America's consummate author--Mark Twain.
-
Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing
By Diana George, John TrimburTested GOLD MEDAL WINNER only a few and proved Jowett training will bring WEEKS AGO ! " you new men and women Yriends , new popularity everywhere you go . ALL XO ! I don't care how skinny or llabSPORTS by you are , I'll make you OVER by ...