The Critic in the Modern World: Public Criticism from Samuel Johnson to James Wood (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781623563738)

The Critic in the Modern World explores the work of six influential literary critics-Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt, Matthew Arnold, T.S. Eliot, Lionel Trilling and James Wood-each of whom occupies a distinct historical moment. It considers how these representative critics have constructed their public personae, the kinds of arguments they have used, and their core principles and philosophies.

Spanning three hundred years of cultural history, The Critic in the Modern World considers the various ways in which literary critics have positioned themselves in relation to the modern tradition of descriptive criticism. In providing a lucid account of each critic's central principles and philosophies, it considers the role of the literary critic as a public figure, interpreting him as someone who is compelled to address the wider issues of individualism and the social implications of the democratising, secularising, liberalising forces of modernity.

Author: James Ley
ISBN-10: 1623563739
ISBN-13: 9781623563738
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 05/08/2014
Pages: 248
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.50w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/15/2014 pg. 79
Publishers Weekly 05/12/2014
Choice 11/01/2014 pg. 438